Hazmat Modine in Kiev with Albert Kuvezin

We arrived at the festival in Kiev after getting up at 3:30 a.m., taking the two flights from Kazan. It was sort of a Ukrainian patriotic festival on a beautiful hilltop above the town.

Lessons for Egypt from Ukraine

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Ukrainians who participated in the peaceful Orange Revolution of 2004 have some advice for people in Egypt, a people’s revolution does not always lead to a functioning democracy. Brigid McCarthy reports. Download MP3

Ukraine rewrites history books

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Ukraine’s new Russia-leaning government is re-writing history. It’s put out a new curriculum and history textbooks that omit the Orange Revolution of 2004. Correspondent Brigid McCarthy has the story. Download MP3

The news in eastern Europe

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

For the Geo Quiz, we want you to identify an eastern European country by the top stories on its TV newscasts last night. One channel led with a visit by Venezuelan President Chavez. And in local news, some residents in the Black Sea port of Sevastopol were alarmed by the smell of natural gas. Download MP3

Mad Heads XL

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Mad Heads XL is one of the most popular rock bands in Ukraine. It’s also among the few Ukrainian bands with a sizable international following. Mad Heads started out performing in English. But a few years ago, the band decided to switch to Ukrainian. And when they did, things started happening to their music. Brigid McCarthy reports from Kiev. Download MP3

• Mad Heads XL’s website
• Mad Heads XL on MySpace
• Wikipedia: Mad Heads XL

Ukraine’s political divide

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Last week Ukrainian lawmakers hurled eggs and smoke bombs in the chambers of parliament. This was after the ruling party of President Viktor Yanukovich (pictured) ratified a controversial treaty between Ukraine and Russia which extends the lease of a Russian naval base in Ukraine an additional 25 years. The brawl could signal the beginning of a turbulent period in Ukrainian politics, as Brigid McCarthy reports from Kiev. Download MP3 (photo by Ingwar)

• Battle lines drawn over Ukraine’s strategic direction
• In pictures: Ukraine parliament chaos

Death-defying winter sport

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Thousands of miles from the Olympics in Vancouver, on the streets of Ukraine’s capital, there’s another, death-defying winter sport taking place. Walking down a Kiev sidewalk these days is like buying a lottery ticket to the hospital. Pedestrians pick their way across sheets of ice that are slick as oil, polished by thousands of feet. Brigid McCarthy reports from Kiev. Download MP3

• Wikipedia: Kiev
• BBC Ukraine profile

Ukraine: building a nation

The World’s Jason Margolis spent 10 days in Ukraine and reports on the quest for Ukrainian identity, exploring the nation’s music, politics, history, and humor.

Jason Margolis: Thoughts on Ukraine

Reporter Jason Margolis visited Ukraine for 10 days. In his journal, he describes what he found: beautiful architecture, clean streets, and a certain bluntness.