"The Kyiv of my childhood was so big that until I was 25, I was constantly discovering something new. There were many identical trolleybuses with yellow and red stripes and yellow Icarus with an accordion. On Mount Shchekavytsia, where the mosque and construction are now, a wild place - a lilac forest that bloomed and smelled in the spring. That Kyiv was significantly different from today's: each district looked different had its face and architecture. I really liked it, but now it is lost forever. I remember many houses that no longer exist physically, but their souls are still in the same place.
It so happened that I lived in a dormitory area for 21 years, and I always say that I am from Academ. I love it. Living in such a dormitory, you have other options, such as fishing and collecting birch sap from trees, as we did. Nature was the most crucial thing there. Within 10 minutes of home, the city was over, and you were in another world. Deep behind the nine floors, you can find many pre-revolutionary mansions. So to say a small town within a city.
Since 2012 I have been living in Schekavytsia above Podil. I love Podil for the people, for the community of the district. Here, everyone knows each other and together defend their interests. Residents impact the development of Podil, and they are heard.
Residents created "Samosad" and did not allow the commissioning of the yellow monster house on the corner of Konstantynivska and Valy because activists are suing the developer. Guest yard. Several bars come together and hold the parties in Podil, locals discuss the district's future at meetings, and during the Docudays film festival, participants are given discounts at local places. People who have a business are integrated into the district's cultural process, and everything works together.
Today, power in Kyiv belongs to developers, so we are witnessing a period of chaotic mass construction. Everyone is in a hurry to snatch a piece. Chaos is a word that we can use to describe Kyiv for the last ten years. In the 1990s and 2000s, trams were removed from most central streets. In 2004, the only tram connection between the Left and Right Banks was cut off. In cities where pedestrians are a priority, there are free from cars wide sidewalks, bike paths, and public transport. We still have the priority of motorization.
I don't understand how it was possible to lose so much greenery on the streets. Today the city is abandoned, and everyone is driving as best they can. On the one hand, young people initiate positive improvements. On the other hand, impunity frees the hands of scums.
Since there is no general strategy for the city's development, everything is done point by point. It is due to a lack of ownership. It's all not yours, someone here by road, someone thinks that "yours" - it's just to the doorstep. Kyiv is the face of the whole country with its beauty and ugliness.
But this city I love above all for the people, the slopes and the most beautiful sunrises and sunsets in the world. It is clear that I live in a bubble. The city is also very different, and life here varies from district to district.
For the last five years, Kyiv has been one of the places where history is written. Then one will talk about it as a particular movement, give it its own definition, study its causes and consequences.
I feel that I am at the center of important events. I am a part of them and a participant. I love Kyiv for this.
At 16, I began to travel actively and became interested in urban planning. I have participated in volunteer projects in Germany and Switzerland. I am a city dweller, and I like urban culture. Over time, when I saw many countries, I realized that Kyiv has everything. You can find an example of any architectural style and trend. Here is everything that people go to see abroad.
There is still a strong inferiority complex, such as all ours is bad, and everything else is cool. I somehow wanted to fix this situation. With the band 5 Vymir, we recorded the album "Mistoliniya," dedicated to Kyiv. Through music, they wanted to convey the atmosphere and rhythm of this city. Its grayness, melancholy, and loss also have their beauty and aesthetics. In my opinion, we succeeded.
Then the city's media resources appeared, and I started writing materials about Kyiv architecture, mostly about constructivism. I have often heard people call constructivist houses gray boxes. But in fact, it is a very thoughtful gray box. IIt is the first architecture style in the history of humankind, where everything was created for the convenience of residents, where there is nothing superfluous, every detail is important. We have to talk about it because no one has taught us.
A few years ago, I wrote the song "Kyiv Streets" - the soundtrack of the old and quiet city. Sometimes Kyiv is like that. You also need to be able to see it. When you live in a metropolis, you choose an area where you are comfortable. It all depends on what you are emphasizing.
Now I will go on a music tour in Europe and take postcards that I printed from my photos. They have panoramas of the old city from different slopes. I am creating an image of my city, and it should inspire the guests of my performances to come here. It is my mission."
Kostya Pochtar, musician, author of the Postman project
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