Halyna Solodovni
Pensioner
“One just has to be an optimist and emotionally stable to make it in Ukraine. My husband is seriously ill. Medicine costs a fortune. However, I still find the means to support him. It’s not like I have a choice. Ukrainians are used to surviving, not living. We are taught to expect harm rather than support from our government. That’s why I am not shocked or surprised by the present situation.”
Tetyana Bondarenko
Salesperson
“The crisis hit my family badly. Sales went down by half and salaries dropped correspondingly. Unpredictability is the most frightening. One cannot be certain of anything in this country. It’s a pattern. I have two kids. Every day they go to a cold school and come back to a cold apartment with no hot water or heat. I am afraid to think about their future.”
Alina Glotova
Unemployed
“Certainly, there is no faith left in the present political leaders. However, the overall situation in Ukraine is… a normal democratic process. We are only 17 years old and have to undergo some trials until we get there.”
Oleksiy Solmanov
Photographer
“I am a photographer, one of those freelancers whose orders were gone when the crisis started looming on the horizon. No orders, no job. I am trying not to panic though. There is nothing one can do with our government. The necessity to steal, cheat and bribe is ingrained in our mentality. Normal Ukrainians steal just like their political leaders. The difference lies in the sums.”
Lidiya Dmitriyeva
Insurance company staffer
“I came back from Austria and people there don’t know about the existence of a world crisis. Certainly, it’s scary to live here. But what can we do? We need leaders with new outlooks, without corrupted mentalities and with fresh ideas. However, a person with all these qualities doesn’t have a chance to make it to the top.”
