Author Archives: Mike

A proposal for an Open Air Museum of Folk Architecture and Customs of the Podolian Region The Podolian Agency for Regional Development is proposing to develop an Open Air Museum of Folk Architecture and Customs in the Village of Severynivka … Continue reading →

Dr. Nickolay Pirogov was a well known Russian scientist, surgeon and educator whose estate, called Vyshnya (“cherry tree”) in Vinnytsya is a beautiful park covering 16 hectares (39.5 acres). Dr. Pirogov lived from 1810 to 1881 and, besides being a … Continue reading →

ПРИВЕТ! WARNING: THIS BLOG ENTRY HAS GRAPHIC ARCHITECTURAL IMAGES! …taken as part of my “research” at Pirogova, near Kyiv, the Museum of Folk Architecture and Customs of Ukraine. Do not view this material if architecture bores you! The young ladies … Continue reading →

I am enjoying the opportunity to document my activities and adventures in the Peace Corps in Ukraine. If you were to guess that the granite statue picture I took in Gorky Park in Vinnytsya is Maxim Gorky, you would be correct. … Continue reading →

Майк and Grygoriy Artynov, two architects in Vinnytsia A project I am starting to work on is near the village of Severynivka which is located 15 km from the regional center city of Zhmerynka, a region which traces its history to … Continue reading →

For the next two years I will be in Vinnytsia, Ukraine, working with the Podolian Agency for Regional Development (PARD), www.pard.org.ua  The main goal of the organization is to assist in the social and economic development of the Podillya region … Continue reading →

Check out the Chernihiv, Ukraine, tourism web site at www.chernihiv.com.ua Its easy to use. You just need to register with your email and a password. Automatically you will be sent by email a link to activate and then you are … Continue reading →

Living in Chernihiv, Ukraine, the past few months has been an experience which I cannot describe fully in words. On June 13 through the 16th I will be in the capital city of Kyiv for the official “swearing in” retreat. … Continue reading →

As my time in Chernihiv winds down, only three more weeks until the swearing in ceremony in Kyiv with the US Ambassador and a former president of Ukraine who first invited the US Peace Corps to serve in his country, I … Continue reading →

This city of about 15,000 people was a delight to discover. The trip by marshrutka was 3 1/2 hours each way and was an adventure in itself, dodging potholes, cows and traveling through the scenic countryside as if in a … Continue reading →