So our very own, dear English-language newspaper Kyiv Post is celebrating its 25th anniversary. Time has flown, but this legendary publication, from its humble origins, has grown from strength to strength.
A quarter-century of top class, independent journalism in variable and usually very challenging conditions, public service of the exemplary sort, and a valuable training ground in veritable field conditions for many local or expat journalists.
All this, and the enormously valuable contribution which Kyiv Post has made to maintaining the highest standards of journalism in a country struggling through democratic transformation and consistently presenting an accurate and fair picture to the outside world of what has been going on in Ukraine, has transformed it into an institution.
It has covered with courage and determination all the big stories in Ukraine during most of its independent existence — the Georgiy Gongadze murder in 2000 in the Kuchma era, the Orange Revolution in 2004, the EuroMaidan Revolution in 2013–14, the fight against Russia’s aggression and the ongoing struggle against endemic corruption and would-be oligarchic hegemony for genuine democracy and Ukraine’s integration into Euro-Atlantic structures and norms.
In the early days, Kyiv Post under its founder Jed Sunden was a shoe-string operation run out of a private flat. As early as in 1997, it went online and today, this award-winning and state-of-the-art publication provides Ukrainian and foreign readers with the best of what should be known about Ukraine, its politics, economy, business, culture, and leisure sphere.
As a journalist and Ukraine watcher myself, I have relied considerably on the Kyiv Post to keep me informed and to tip me off about the issues that really matter. And there is no doubt that after Brian Bonner took over in 2008 as the chief editor, the reputation of the newspaper continued to grow, making it indispensable.
I have also had the privilege of helping out in the Kyiv Post’s beehive of a newsroom and editorial center on Pushkinska Street before it moved quite recently to its new and more comfortable office. If any of you remember the wonderful US TV series Lou Grant about life in an imaginary US newspaper office this was its smaller-scale Ukrainian equivalent. And Brian, like Lou, led by example. His commitment, integrity and industriousness were amazing, and, not detracting from the caliber of his wonderful and dedicated young staff, it is no wonder that he has come to personify Kyiv Post.
Enough about what I think about the Kyiv Post. Without Brian knowing in advance, I used one of the publication’s standard ways of gauging opinion. I’ve conducted my own Vox Populi among some of the regular readers of the publication. Here’s what they say:
Padraig Purcell
Padraig Purcell, an Irish results coach, strategist, campaigner, and interventionist who has spent many years in Ukraine notes that: “Kyiv Post has been positive and supportive of progress. I remember when I was helping a Ukrainian friend to build a ‘good news’ project to tell the world the good news about Ukraine: Mike Willard was happy to meet with her, to share ideas and to offer her a blog. During Maidan times I posted updates a few times a day on the KP Facebook page, both to encourage volunteers and to give updates on developing situations. Purcell adds: “Thanks to Brian Bonner, it was a pleasure to attend the Kyiv Post conferences and to meet some of the best experts on Ukraine in the world. It is wonderful to see young entrepreneurs, under 30 supported, challenged and awarded.”
Purcell writes: “Kyiv Post has been, is and has potential to become the voice for justice in Ukraine: particularly, the great reporting in favor of those reforms that Ukraine needs to jump forward.”
Peter Dickinson
Peter Dickinson, a British journalist and publisher based in Kyiv says: “I think the Kyiv Post has provided a unique service as a flagship of ethical and quality journalism over the past 25 years. One aspect of the Kyiv Post’s contribution to Ukraine that is often overlooked is the number of important media professionals it has produced who have gone on to contribute to Ukraine’s development. It has been a demanding and impressive school indeed!”
Vladislav Davidzon
For Vladislav Davidzon, the editor of the Odessa Review, “the Kyiv Post has retained its status as the English-language newspaper of record, even as it operates in a difficult environment. A lot of very good journalists have passed through the institution on their path, and the quality of the English prose has improved markedly in recent times. Long may it flourish.”
Peter Pomerantsev
British journalist and author Peter Pomeranzev stresses: “In an environment of fake news and partisan bias, the Kyiv Post is a voice of reliability and accuracy from a place at the heart of the information wars.”
Paul Niland
Paul Niland, a longtime writer, adds: “If this newspaper didn’t exist, many people around the world would find it hard to get reliable news and commentary from Ukraine. The writers and journalists who contribute to the output of the Kyiv Post live life here, on the ground. Their voices are a valuable resource for a country that sadly found itself on the receiving end of Russia’s hybrid war, in fact, Ukraine was the petri dish for many of their warring techniques, especially informational. That is why international readers should pay attention when the Kyiv Post seeks to inform them.”
Niland also commends Kyiv Post for confronting corruption. “The Kyiv Post exists to hold Ukraine’s political leaders to account, and it preforms this task without bias or favor and uninfluenced by wads of cash often spent in the Ukrainian media environment for flattering coverage. To the expat community, it is a window into this world, exposing the corruption and the lack of professionalism many in high political circles are guilty of.”
Roman Waschuk
According to former Canadian Ambassador to Ukraine Roman Waschuk: “Kyiv Post has been an opinion-shaper in the expat community of Ukraine. Its editorial independence and crusading spirit have spoken truth to power (and occasionally gotten carried away with it, as in the last years of Petro Poroshenko’s term). KP also helped to open up the cultural and lifestyle richness of the capital and country to English-language readers.” In an environment of fake news and partisan bias, it’s a voice of reliability and accuracy from a place at the heart of the information wars.
Anonymous British expat
A retired British businessman based in Kyiv who prefers to remain anonymous summarizes his assessment of the Kyiv Post in a shorthand style: “Longest surviving English-language window on contemporary/daily developments in Ukraine; fiercely independent and relentlessly pursues truth, especially vis-a-vis such headline subjects as oligarch/elites, manipulation, corruption, Russian influence/interference — especially under Brian Bonner; essential lifestyle guide for incoming/languageless expats — though less so with advent of FB; community catalyst and contributor with such projects as Kyiv Employment Fair.
Martin Pfister
In short, as retired Swiss businessman Martin Pfister put it: “There is little (nothing really) beating the Kyiv Post when it comes to sharing the perceived truth and taking some serious risks, personal and political in illustrating how Ukraine lives and operates.”
Active support
We, expats who have been based in Ukraine, or local Ukrainians who read English, have become so used to having the Kyiv Post in all its forms around that it is hard to imagine what life in Ukraine would be for us without it.
And because of this, we should not take the Kyiv Post and what it represents for granted but express our appreciation through active support.
