New Year cards. A world of fairy tale, a roll-call of friends and the expectation of a miracle

The New Year and Christmas are the most beloved holidays of kindness and of dreams coming true. Looking at old New Year cards from the family relics, you recall the atmosphere of winter days and the expectation of a miracle on the eve of the holy evening, the family celebration, the merry holidays and the parties with carnival costumes and presents.

 

Serhiivka. The Holy Sergius Convent. The history of its founding. Churches, holy things, feasts

The Holy Sergius Convent is situated in the village of Serhiivka of the Sloviansk district, 10 kilometres from Kramatorsk.

Serhiivka, Donetsk region. The Holy Sergius Convent

Dachne. How can you live in a Ukrainian village if everything is closed and ruined?

"My dear and guiltless land!

For what does the Lord punish you,

Punish you so hard?"

T. H. Shevchenko. Hosea. Ch. XIV.

Travelling around the corners of our country, meeting people, getting to know the history and the notable sights of towns and villages, you always see something moving that surprises and astonishes you. The Ukrainian people are famed for their industriousness and hospitality, for their rich traditions and centuries-old history. The nature of Ukraine has been sung by writers and painters. But most of our villages frighten you with their empty streets and abandoned houses. The infrastructure in the small settlements has been destroyed, there are no pharmacy points and no shops, the schools and kindergartens are closed. How unlike Ukrainian villages are to the European hamlets with their chalet-style villas.

The village of Dachne of the Mezhova district of Dnipropetrovsk region lies on the bank of the Vovcha river.

 

M. D. Leontovych and Pokrovsk. The memory of the composer and his Shchedryk

Pokrovsk positions itself as the town in which the world-famous composer Mykola Dmytrovych Leontovych lived and worked. By the entrance tothe Yuvileinyi park, in 2018, the second monument in Ukraine to the brilliant conductor, musician and teacher was unveiled.

Pokrovsk. Donetsk region. The monument to M. D. Leontovych

Hryshyne. The oldest church in one of the oldest villages of the Pokrovsk district

The Church of the Intercession of the Most Holy Mother of God in the village of Hryshyne was built in 1804 and is the oldest church in the Pokrovsk district of Donetsk region.

 

Hryshyne, Donetsk region. The Church of the Intercession of the Most Holy Mother of God

Vinnytsia. A promenade along Soborna. Beauty + history

In recent years Vinnytsia has several times been recognised by the inhabitants of our state as the most comfortable town to live in in Ukraine. Decent roads and a well-organised system of municipal transport, the preservation of the architectural heritage and green oases, cycle paths and benches with solar panels, and of course fountains, fountains.

 

Vinnytsia. A view of Soborna Street by the Central Park