The Seven Wonders of Ukraine

  We have left this article as it was originally written for Kuriositas in 2012 and dedicate it to those suffering in the war,

What springs to mind when you think of Ukraine? Since independence in 1991 the second largest country in Europe has been somewhat demonized by elements of the Western European media. It has often been portrayed as something of a cultural backwater with little to recommend it. Here we address that issue by revealing to you the Seven Wonders of Ukraine.

Eduard Romanyuta: I’ll Never Let You Go

Don’t be deceived by the incredibly sloppy (albeit beautifully filmed) start to this video by Ukrainian singing star Eduard Romanyuta for his single I’ll Never Let You Go. Yes, it’s a case of boy having met girl, boy gets girl in to a field in the summer for a little Anakin and Padmé type fooling about. As part of the cycle of romance we have seen it all before – but then come the alien invaders! At first our naive duo thinks that the visitors must be friendly – and then tragedy strikes.

There will be a part two, which of course we will post up on Kuriositas as soon as it comes out. Directed by Chupacabra, the CGI is excellent and it is great to see another city other than New York, London or Paris getting the full alien invasion and destruction treatment.  Shame it has to be Kiev – I always thought it looked rather pretty. Anyway, here's the trailer for Invincible.

Turnikmen – Street Gymnastics – Ukraine Style

I think it was George Bernard Shaw who said that youth is wasted on the young. Well, not these boys, that’s for sure. I haven’t seen so much youthful joie de vivre on video for quite a while but I do have to add the caveat that I suspect these boys are all mad bonkers.

Many of the stunts that these boys pull off here will slacken your jaw. Setting the scene, both of these videos were shot in Ukraine. The first was taken at school #1 in the town of Sambir (whence SoN who shot this hails). 

The boys all identify as Turnikmen – street athletes who perform strength exercises of varying complexity in an outdoor setting.  They combine acrobatics and gymnastics using a conventional horizontal bar.   Some of the things that they do here look dangerous to say the least but it is done with such swagger and confidence that it makes you hold your breath but still believe in their ability to pull off yet another spectacular move. They did, however, have to learn how to perform these amazing moves.  I suspect their mother’s probably live in constant fear and expectation of another trip to the local hospital!

See what I mean about mad bonkers? As an educator in the UK, who teaches the age group depicted here I have to say that the management of my institution would have three fits and a faint if anything like this was attempted on site – health and safety regulations would simply not allow it. Yet here the bars and straps seem to have been provided by their school. Different strokes for different folks I guess!

The second video above is once more filmed in the Ukraine – from Sambir again but also the towns of Drogobych and Kalyniv.

Next

How often do we follow each other blindly? This question – and any number more – is posed in this very funny but somewhat startling animation by Ukrainian animator, graphic artist and web designer Anatoliy Lavrenishyn or just toll for short.

You might say that this is a rather bleak view of humanity but with our history it is sometimes difficult to be optimistic. This animation, however, is quite deliciously dark with an upbeat soundtrack and more than a little humor thrown in for good measure.

If this wets your appetite, toll has a number of other animations on his Vimeo page or you can visit his website to learn more about his work.