In 1992, the Ukrainian port city of Mykolayiv suddenly opened to the world. It was a year after the country gained its independence and the times were heady—but also precarious.
With no experience in international marketing and almost no one able to speak English, Ukraine’s new freedom left people vulnerable to outsiders who understood the system far better than they did.
This personal recollection of Victor Sergeyev captures the shock of encountering shady \"businessmen\" from the west and of the hyperinflation that would soon make basic goods triple in price overnight.
It also describes the wonder of enjoying the first open political discussions after independence, and a business trip to Hamburg that underscored the contrast of stability and abundance in the west with the realities of life in post-soviet Ukraine.
Yet despite the chaos, Ukrainians willingly adapted to the new trajectory on their path to life in a free country.
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