Serhii Piaterykov may be rightly seen as the photo chronicler of Kyiv: for a several decades already, he has been photographing the city, so that by now, he knows and feels every nook and cranny of it. Our readers get to see Piaterykov’s new and old works in the section “Racy Backyards” which offers his atmospheric contributions created in collaboration with Liudmyla Zasieda. This duo has been on a creative holiday for several months already. So we would like to share the good news: a new story about touring racy backyards of the capital is on the way. We learned about it while talking to Piaterykov on the eve of his birthday, which he celebrated on October 4. Using this occasion, we also asked the hero of the day what improvements he saw as necessary for the city to prosper.
You and Pavlo Pozniak coauthored photo guidebook Kyiv: Looking Back on the Century which was published in 1987, almost 30 years ago. Do you want to create some book nowadays?
“I would like to see this very book updated and republished. When I and Pozniak did it, the country was different. A long time has passed since, we have long been living under a different government, and street names have changed as well. I have the album Kyiv: 25 Years Later posted on Facebook, which sets double-page spreads of the book Looking Back on the Century against photos of these same locations taken now. I tried to make such a publication several times, but something did not work out, so I have abandoned that project as I just cannot find the inner strength to do it now.
Photo by Artem SLIPACHUK, The Day
“Meanwhile, I would gladly create a book entitled Kyiv: Looking Back on the Century-and-Half! Moreover, I have enough material to do it.”
The results of the competition for the office of Kyiv’s chief architect were announced this September, giving the position to Oleksandr Svystunov. What should the person who holds this office do first?
“When we spoke at Den’s office past year (the conversation was covered in the article “About Old Kyiv and... Contemporary Reporting,” Den’s No. 48, March 20, 2015), I said that the unique atmosphere of Kyiv, its antique feel had been virtually destroyed in recent years. So first of all, we must preserve what is left. The ancient citadel of Kyiv, the City of Yaroslav which stretches from the Golden Gate to Andriivsky Descent, forms the buffer zone of the UNESCO World Heritage Site St. Sophia of Kyiv. Nothing may be built in that area, no digs may be done even. Meanwhile, they dug an underground garage block near St. Sophia. After each movement of the shovel, you actually should rummage through earth with a small brush, since every pit holds some archaeological find there. And still, how many skyscrapers have been built there, in a conservation area! There are similar issues at Pushkinska, Zhylianska, and Saksahanskoho streets as well as in Pechersk district...
“I and Zasieda recently went to Sobachka neighborhood, this is a historic name of the area which is better known as Klov. What monsters have they built there! Pervomaiskoho Street is lined with architecturally terrible structures. I just cannot fathom how they could give permissions for such projects.
“I doubt that we will see a chief architect coming who really cares about old Kyiv, because money talks these days. After all, this environment is no more. Back in the 1970s, Kyiv was considered a garden city. Now, the green oases have almost vanished from the capital. There are Old and New Botanical Gardens and Shevchenko Park, while small public gardens, which gave Kyiv its unique flavor, have been cut down and built over. Lvivska Square, once featuring a public garden and a fountain, has had them replaced with a clumsy box of a supermarket. One sees such things at every step.”
FALL ON THE HILLS OF KYIV. PICTURED: VOLODYMYR HILL, ONE OF PIATERYKOV’S FAVORITE LOCATIONS IN THE CAPITAL / Photo by Serhii PIATERYKOV
You mentioned a walk around Sobachka. What plans do you and Zasieda have regarding the “Racy Backyards” section?
“We will continue to contribute to it, for it is interesting both to us and your readers, as I see that our contributions enjoy their attention. But when we started the ‘Racy Backyards,’ we intended to run it as a weekly feature, but now, it will probably appear once a month.
“I have been covering history of Kyiv for decades, with my stories published as a book and in newspapers where I worked and tried to introduce such sections. But the form which I and Zasieda invented and Den allowed us to implement – that form is just unique, this has never been done before. We had a creative break this year, and having rested a bit, we embarked on a walking tour of Kyiv past week, so our new contribution is on the way.”
