0:00:02 > 0:00:05My Bradshaw's Continental Railway Guide dated 1913
0:00:05 > 0:00:11has brought me east to the borderlands where Europe meets Asia.
0:00:11 > 0:00:14My journey will take me from the grasslands of the Steppes
0:00:14 > 0:00:16to the shores of the Black Sea
0:00:16 > 0:00:20and run along the ridge of the mighty Caucasus Mountains.
0:00:20 > 0:00:22To a volcanic land of fire.
0:00:24 > 0:00:28I'll explore countries which at the time of my guidebook were under the
0:00:28 > 0:00:34rule of a tsar but which a century ago fell to a revolutionary empire
0:00:34 > 0:00:37the likes of which have never been seen.
0:00:37 > 0:00:40I'll encounter Cossacks and Communists.
0:00:40 > 0:00:42Monasteries and mosques.
0:00:42 > 0:00:45Tea and black gold.
0:00:45 > 0:00:47On my journey through these enchanting lands
0:00:47 > 0:00:52I'll try to understand the tensions and conflicts of today.
0:01:14 > 0:01:18I'm travelling to a region whose people felt a strong sense of
0:01:18 > 0:01:23nationhood over centuries when their country appeared on no map.
0:01:23 > 0:01:28I'm in Ukraine which first existed as an independent state
0:01:28 > 0:01:31only in 1991.
0:01:31 > 0:01:33In my Bradshaw's, its cities
0:01:33 > 0:01:36are listed under Austria-Hungary and Russia.
0:01:36 > 0:01:39And, before that, parts of it belonged to Poland
0:01:39 > 0:01:42and the Ottoman Empire too.
0:01:42 > 0:01:46Ukraine means borderland and standing at the edges of Europe,
0:01:46 > 0:01:52it has long been torn physically and emotionally between East and West.
0:01:52 > 0:01:56The struggle to control its territory and to win its allegiance
0:01:56 > 0:01:58continues in the present day.
0:02:01 > 0:02:04My journey starts in the north of the country
0:02:04 > 0:02:06in the capital city Kiev.
0:02:06 > 0:02:09The cradle of Slavic civilisation.
0:02:10 > 0:02:15I travel West to Lviv where the flame of Ukrainian nationalism burns
0:02:15 > 0:02:20brightly and onward by overnight train to Odessa on the Black Sea.
0:02:20 > 0:02:23A thriving port and seaside resort.
0:02:25 > 0:02:29On my way I cross swords with Cossacks.
0:02:29 > 0:02:31You need to hold it firmly
0:02:31 > 0:02:33but tenderly, like a woman.
0:02:34 > 0:02:36Oh!
0:02:37 > 0:02:40Put on a pinny to learn the secrets of Ukrainian cuisine.
0:02:41 > 0:02:43I'm just dying to lick my finger
0:02:43 > 0:02:46because this looks absolutely delicious.
0:02:46 > 0:02:49Encounter the body and soul of a mummified monk.
0:02:49 > 0:02:51That is extraordinary.
0:02:51 > 0:02:53I'm seeing the hands of the Saint there.
0:02:55 > 0:02:58And get down and dirty in the spa.
0:02:58 > 0:03:01I'm now lying in very warm mud
0:03:01 > 0:03:07and the lady with the rubber gloves has begun a fairly intimate massage.
0:03:12 > 0:03:15My first stop will be the Ukrainian capital, Kiev.
0:03:15 > 0:03:20Bradshaw's tells me it's commercial, strongly fortified, picturesque,
0:03:20 > 0:03:25sometimes termed the Jerusalem of Russia.
0:03:25 > 0:03:26Jerusalem.
0:03:26 > 0:03:29Perhaps meaning the core of its religion.
0:03:29 > 0:03:32The source of its spiritual life.
0:03:39 > 0:03:43Kiev Central Station dates from 1927.
0:03:43 > 0:03:47With ornate chandeliers hanging from lofty ceilings,
0:03:47 > 0:03:52it's a landmark of the architectural style known as Ukrainian Baroque.
0:03:55 > 0:03:59In the city itself, I find a mix of building styles from different eras.
0:04:02 > 0:04:07And overlooking everything, the gigantic Soviet Motherland Monument.
0:04:15 > 0:04:19I'm heading straight to the heart of ancient Kiev
0:04:19 > 0:04:22on a route that takes me almost vertically straight up.
0:04:23 > 0:04:25Dobroye utro.
0:04:25 > 0:04:29Odin bilet, pozhaluysta.
0:04:29 > 0:04:31Spasibo.
0:04:31 > 0:04:36Alongside the native Ukrainian, Russian is widely spoken here
0:04:36 > 0:04:39and luckily I can remember just enough from my school days
0:04:39 > 0:04:41to scrape by.
0:04:42 > 0:04:46I've taken the funicular to see for myself why, centuries before there
0:04:46 > 0:04:49was a city of Moscow, there was a city of Kiev.
0:04:49 > 0:04:53Set on high, commanding ground above the River Dnieper,
0:04:53 > 0:04:56which runs for more than 2,000km
0:04:56 > 0:05:00from the heart of this, the vast Eurasian landmass,
0:05:00 > 0:05:02to the Black Sea.
0:05:10 > 0:05:13Until the turn of the 20th century,
0:05:13 > 0:05:17the top of the hill could be reached only by climbing a wooden staircase.
0:05:17 > 0:05:20But by the time of my guidebook,
0:05:20 > 0:05:23tourists were able to ascend with ease.
0:05:27 > 0:05:30Bradshaw's has brought me to the Saint Vladimir monument
0:05:30 > 0:05:35on an elevated, open space by the river, a favourite promenade.
0:05:35 > 0:05:39On the whole, history is not made by individuals.
0:05:39 > 0:05:44It's about economic forces, social change, new ways of thinking,
0:05:44 > 0:05:46transformative technologies,
0:05:46 > 0:05:51but every now and again one person makes a decision
0:05:51 > 0:05:53which by itself shapes the future.
0:05:53 > 0:05:56Volodymyr was such a one
0:05:56 > 0:06:00and his decision determined the development of Ukraine,
0:06:00 > 0:06:03and indeed Russia, for more than 1,000 years.
0:06:15 > 0:06:18I'm heading for Kiev's oldest church
0:06:18 > 0:06:21which dates back to 1017.
0:06:21 > 0:06:24My guidebook describes it as generally surrounded
0:06:24 > 0:06:26by pilgrims and beggars.
0:06:27 > 0:06:30Today, you're more likely to find Kiev's faithful
0:06:30 > 0:06:32mixing with tourists.
0:06:35 > 0:06:38I'm meeting an historian
0:06:38 > 0:06:41to find out why this cathedral is so important.
0:06:41 > 0:06:45- Hello.- Nice to see you and welcome to Kiev.- Thank you very much.
0:06:45 > 0:06:50And the glorious St Sophia Cathedral looking wonderful in this weather.
0:06:50 > 0:06:51Yes, sure.
0:06:51 > 0:06:55When is there first an important city of Kiev?
0:06:55 > 0:06:58The settlement in the territory of Kiev existed from
0:06:58 > 0:07:00at least to the early 6th century.
0:07:00 > 0:07:05But at the beginning of the 9th century, the Vikings came here,
0:07:05 > 0:07:08they recognised the significance of the trade route from the northern
0:07:08 > 0:07:13Europe to Byzantium and they turned Kiev into their stronghold.
0:07:13 > 0:07:17And these Vikings, are they the people that we know as Rus?
0:07:17 > 0:07:19Yes, they were called Rus.
0:07:19 > 0:07:23This name was used as a label to name them
0:07:23 > 0:07:28and it was also used as the place name for this territory,
0:07:28 > 0:07:30the Middle Dnieper area.
0:07:32 > 0:07:34Kievan Rus', as it became known
0:07:34 > 0:07:39was the first great Eastern Slavic state and included large swathes of
0:07:39 > 0:07:41present-day Russia.
0:07:42 > 0:07:46And its greatest leader's critical decision was one of faith.
0:07:46 > 0:07:50Tell me about Volodymyr, who has a statue here.
0:07:50 > 0:07:54Volodymyr is one of the greatest rulers of the Kievan Rus'.
0:07:54 > 0:07:59His name is usually connected with the adoption of Christianity.
0:07:59 > 0:08:03And is it true that Volodymyr shopped around
0:08:03 > 0:08:05looking for the right religion?
0:08:05 > 0:08:09Yes, there is a curious story in Kiev's primary chronicle
0:08:09 > 0:08:13about Volodymyr, who sent embassies to the neighbouring countries
0:08:13 > 0:08:18to ask to them to make presentations of their religions.
0:08:18 > 0:08:21For example, he refused to take Islam
0:08:21 > 0:08:25because this religion prohibits drinking the wine.
0:08:25 > 0:08:28He said the drinking of wine is the joy of Russes.
0:08:28 > 0:08:34According to myth, having also rejected Judaism and Catholicism,
0:08:34 > 0:08:39Prince Volodymyr the Great decided on the Orthodox version of
0:08:39 > 0:08:45Christianity because of the overwhelming beauty of its liturgy.
0:08:45 > 0:08:48Actually, his decision was political.
0:08:48 > 0:08:51Volodymyr chose Orthodox Christianity to align himself with
0:08:51 > 0:08:57the powerful Byzantine Empire and to boost the prestige of his realm.
0:08:57 > 0:09:00I suppose this created a doctrinal gulf
0:09:00 > 0:09:02between the Catholic countries of the West
0:09:02 > 0:09:05and the Orthodox countries of the East.
0:09:05 > 0:09:09Yes, it could be compared with the Iron Curtain, for example.
0:09:15 > 0:09:18Built to unite the religious and political authority
0:09:18 > 0:09:23of Kievan Rus', Saint Sophia's, with its wealth of Byzantine decor
0:09:23 > 0:09:27remains a powerful national symbol.
0:09:27 > 0:09:31The interior is really breathtaking, isn't it?
0:09:31 > 0:09:32Yes, sure.
0:09:32 > 0:09:36And I would like to point your attention on this beautiful
0:09:36 > 0:09:40mosaic which is called Mother of God Oranta.
0:09:40 > 0:09:43It was made by Greek artists,
0:09:43 > 0:09:48but today it is considered as one of the important symbols of Ukraine
0:09:48 > 0:09:52just because Kiev is the heart of Ukraine
0:09:52 > 0:09:55and Saint Sophia is the heart of Kiev.
0:09:55 > 0:09:58Is this also a heritage that is more widely claimed,
0:09:58 > 0:10:00for instance, by Russians?
0:10:00 > 0:10:06Yes, I think that's Saint Sophia Cathedral and Kiev are very
0:10:06 > 0:10:08important places for all of Eastern Europe,
0:10:08 > 0:10:10not just Ukraine and Russia.
0:10:10 > 0:10:14It is an important part of Russian historical myth
0:10:14 > 0:10:18and many people in Russia still believe
0:10:18 > 0:10:25that the best thing they can do is to reunite the Kievan Rus'.
0:10:25 > 0:10:29The results of this ideology are clearly visible in Crimea,
0:10:29 > 0:10:30or in Donbass now.
0:10:32 > 0:10:36Bitter fighting continues in those Eastern regions of Ukraine
0:10:36 > 0:10:40after they were annexed by Moscow in 2014,
0:10:40 > 0:10:44a move welcomed by their large Russian-speaking minorities,
0:10:44 > 0:10:47but contrary to international law.
0:10:48 > 0:10:53It's extraordinary to encounter symbols that are 1,000 years old
0:10:53 > 0:10:56and to find that they are politically sensitive today.
0:11:01 > 0:11:04My guidebook tells me that churches
0:11:04 > 0:11:07and religious establishments are numerous in Kiev
0:11:07 > 0:11:08and there's another that,
0:11:08 > 0:11:11like St Sophia, attracts throngs of pilgrims.
0:11:14 > 0:11:18To reach it, I will first go a long way underground.
0:11:18 > 0:11:22This is the second very long escalator I've been on.
0:11:22 > 0:11:24The stations are incredibly deep.
0:11:27 > 0:11:30And very splendid.
0:11:32 > 0:11:35This particular station, Zoloti Vorota,
0:11:35 > 0:11:40is often heralded as one of the most beautiful Metro stops anywhere.
0:11:52 > 0:11:55And from the most stunning station I'm heading
0:11:55 > 0:11:57to one of the deepest in the world.
0:11:58 > 0:12:03Arsenalna is 105 metres below ground.
0:12:11 > 0:12:15The 70-acre complex of churches and cathedrals,
0:12:15 > 0:12:19collectively known as the Pechersk Lavra,
0:12:19 > 0:12:23is probably the holiest place in all of the Eastern Slavic states.
0:12:42 > 0:12:44Bradshaw's has brought me
0:12:44 > 0:12:47to the Pechersk monastery caves of St Anthony,
0:12:47 > 0:12:52"Where in niches repose 82 saints,
0:12:52 > 0:12:56"some of the mummified being elaborately dressed."
0:12:56 > 0:12:58What a fascinating place.
0:13:03 > 0:13:07Brother Innocent is one of nearly 160 monks
0:13:07 > 0:13:10who look after the caves and churches.
0:13:10 > 0:13:13- Brother Innocent? - Hello, Michael.- Excuse me.
0:13:13 > 0:13:17How very nice to see you. This is an extraordinary place.
0:13:17 > 0:13:22- And you have, in the niches here, the bodies of saints.- Yes.
0:13:32 > 0:13:34What is it like for you, Brother Innocent,
0:13:34 > 0:13:38to be in this very special place, to spend so much of your life here?
0:13:46 > 0:13:50Monks came to these caves in search of quiet and solitude.
0:13:52 > 0:13:54And here they remained after death.
0:13:56 > 0:14:02In the cool, dry environment, the bodies, now numbering over 100,
0:14:02 > 0:14:06were preserved naturally with no need for embalming.
0:14:06 > 0:14:09Brother Innocent, this is a very special moment.
0:14:09 > 0:14:11Thank you so much.
0:14:13 > 0:14:17Sometimes our holy relics, they smell very nice.
0:14:18 > 0:14:23And I'm seeing the hands of the saint there.
0:14:23 > 0:14:24That is extraordinary.
0:14:24 > 0:14:27The relics of Saint Unitist.
0:14:27 > 0:14:31And he lived in the 15th century.
0:14:31 > 0:14:36And I can catch the smell now coming from the cask.
0:14:36 > 0:14:39But as you say, it's not a bad smell, it's a good smell.
0:14:39 > 0:14:41Yes, yes.
0:14:41 > 0:14:44And each of the relics, they have their special smell.
0:14:44 > 0:14:48Oh, that's extraordinary. Thank you so much.
0:14:48 > 0:14:49You're welcome.
0:14:54 > 0:14:56We've come to the cluster of churches known
0:14:56 > 0:14:59as the Upper Lavra, where the faithful gather
0:14:59 > 0:15:01several times a day.
0:15:12 > 0:15:14Today's Ukrainian Orthodox service
0:15:14 > 0:15:18for the eve of Pentecost has drawn many worshippers.
0:15:26 > 0:15:31Under communism, 80% of church buildings in Ukraine
0:15:31 > 0:15:34were destroyed and their priests persecuted.
0:15:35 > 0:15:39The Pechersk Lavra was closed down until 1988.
0:15:48 > 0:15:52The elaborate rituals and the beautiful singing of the monks
0:15:52 > 0:15:54makes this very special.
0:15:54 > 0:15:58The face of the congregation is deeply impressive.
0:15:58 > 0:16:02Religion was repressed in this country for decades
0:16:02 > 0:16:07and it seems somehow to have burst out with renewed fervour.
0:16:13 > 0:16:18In a different part of Kiev, I find another group of devotees.
0:16:20 > 0:16:24As the sun begins to set on the city, I'd drop in on what I might
0:16:24 > 0:16:28call a sect whose focus is not the soul.
0:16:28 > 0:16:31They are rather more... body worshipers.
0:16:31 > 0:16:35Well, this must be one of the strangest things I've ever seen.
0:16:35 > 0:16:39This open-air gym, known as the Kachalka, opened in the 1970s
0:16:39 > 0:16:44and all the machines make use of scrap metal.
0:16:44 > 0:16:47There are marine parts, there are automotive parts,
0:16:47 > 0:16:49there are radiators.
0:16:49 > 0:16:52Very popular with the men and women of Kiev who come,
0:16:52 > 0:16:55in a very special way, to pump iron.
0:16:57 > 0:17:01You can work out here for no charge all year round.
0:17:01 > 0:17:04A chance to build some muscles of steel.
0:17:04 > 0:17:06Hello, ladies.
0:17:06 > 0:17:11- Hello.- Hello.- You look pretty serious about your body building.
0:17:11 > 0:17:14Are you kind of professionals, or something?
0:17:14 > 0:17:17Yes, professional, but not body-building. Strong woman.
0:17:17 > 0:17:19- Strong woman?- Yes.- Is that what it's called, strong woman?
0:17:19 > 0:17:20How well do you do?
0:17:20 > 0:17:23Number two and number three in the world.
0:17:23 > 0:17:25- Respect, respect.- Thank you. - Thank you very much.
0:17:25 > 0:17:27Don't let me stop you.
0:17:31 > 0:17:35Well, as you would expect, I feel duty bound to have a go.
0:17:35 > 0:17:38I'm going to try and lift this piece of machinery.
0:17:48 > 0:17:50Dear me.
0:17:50 > 0:17:54Perhaps heavy lifting is something best left to the strong women.
0:18:05 > 0:18:09I'm keen to find out about another chapter in this region's history
0:18:09 > 0:18:12in a park just west of the city centre.
0:18:15 > 0:18:18Welcome to the Cossack settlement.
0:18:18 > 0:18:20Thank you very much.
0:18:20 > 0:18:23- So, you're Ludmila?- Yes.- I'm Michael.- Michael, nice to meet you.
0:18:23 > 0:18:26Hi. Well, these look very fierce Cossacks, wow.
0:18:26 > 0:18:29- Yes.- And beautiful horses.
0:18:29 > 0:18:34I've come to Mamajeva Sloboda to see how these warrior horsemen lived.
0:18:34 > 0:18:36- I will help.- OK.
0:18:37 > 0:18:39There we are.
0:18:43 > 0:18:48A martial community, recreated in this living history museum
0:18:48 > 0:18:50of 100 wooden buildings,
0:18:50 > 0:18:53is populated by fierce-looking Cossacks...
0:18:58 > 0:19:00..whom I'm joining.
0:19:03 > 0:19:05- Hello.- Hello.
0:19:05 > 0:19:07So...
0:19:07 > 0:19:10Oh, thank you. What is it you do, now, with this sword?
0:19:10 > 0:19:12LUDMILA TRANSLATES
0:19:12 > 0:19:15You need to wave your hand.
0:19:15 > 0:19:17Like that.
0:19:17 > 0:19:19And then like that, OK.
0:19:21 > 0:19:24- OK, let's try that.- You know, you need to hold it firmly
0:19:24 > 0:19:27but tenderly like a woman.
0:19:34 > 0:19:36I'm not sure I'm getting the hang of this, Ludmila.
0:19:36 > 0:19:39Like a good start, at least.
0:19:39 > 0:19:41What I don't have that all is the wrist action.
0:19:41 > 0:19:45I don't know how they turn the sword around and bring it through.
0:19:49 > 0:19:51Whoa!
0:19:51 > 0:19:56Wisely, they've taken away my sword and given me...a twig.
0:19:56 > 0:19:58- In my mouth?- Yes.
0:19:58 > 0:20:00Put it in your mouth.
0:20:07 > 0:20:10I don't think my dentist is going to like that.
0:20:11 > 0:20:15So, Ludmila, who were the Cossacks, originally?
0:20:15 > 0:20:18They were defenders of Ukrainian land.
0:20:18 > 0:20:23In the 12th century, Mongolian Tatars destroyed everything here.
0:20:23 > 0:20:26And Turkish, like Ottoman Empire,
0:20:26 > 0:20:29Crimean Tatars, Polish invaders,
0:20:29 > 0:20:33they lived here and Cossacks didn't want to be slaves.
0:20:33 > 0:20:37They took a weapon and they started protecting our lands
0:20:37 > 0:20:39from any invader.
0:20:39 > 0:20:42So they were a military group, they were warriors?
0:20:42 > 0:20:45Yeah, for sure.
0:20:45 > 0:20:49Refusing to submit to the rule of Russia, or of their western
0:20:49 > 0:20:53neighbour Poland, the Cossacks established free communities on the
0:20:53 > 0:20:55rich plains of the Steppe,
0:20:55 > 0:20:58where they survived independently, hunting and fishing.
0:21:00 > 0:21:04Only after the appearance of Cossacks at the end
0:21:04 > 0:21:09of the 16th century, we could feel ourselves people.
0:21:09 > 0:21:12We could feel free, we could feel ourselves Ukrainians.
0:21:12 > 0:21:17It seems that Ukrainians look to the Cossacks to establish their national
0:21:17 > 0:21:19- identity, their heritage. - Yeah, for sure.
0:21:19 > 0:21:23Like, everyone has this Cossack blood. I am a Cossack.
0:21:23 > 0:21:28I have it in my veins for sure and actually I believe that it's
0:21:28 > 0:21:33important to know about our national heroes, to know about our history
0:21:33 > 0:21:37and to tell it to our future generations, to our kids,
0:21:37 > 0:21:41to our grandchildren, just not to let them forget who we are.
0:21:54 > 0:21:59From the 17th century, the lands of the Cossacks were absorbed into the
0:21:59 > 0:22:03expanding Russian Empire and their church was subordinated to Moscow.
0:22:03 > 0:22:07Russians designated Ukraine "Little Russia".
0:22:09 > 0:22:13I've come to meet historian Yaroslav Hrytsak
0:22:13 > 0:22:17to find out why that history has so much resonance today.
0:22:19 > 0:22:22Jaroslav, what is the special relationship
0:22:22 > 0:22:24between Ukraine and Russia?
0:22:24 > 0:22:28In many senses, Russia used to define itself and still defines to
0:22:28 > 0:22:30a large extent in religious terms.
0:22:30 > 0:22:32And this means the orthodoxy.
0:22:32 > 0:22:36And this place is the cradle of the orthodoxy itself.
0:22:36 > 0:22:40So Russia sees this place as the start of its own history.
0:22:40 > 0:22:43Apart of the symbolic meaning, there is a very pragmatic reasons.
0:22:43 > 0:22:46First of all, whoever has control of this region has strategical advantage.
0:22:46 > 0:22:49You have to feed the Army and the grain is here.
0:22:49 > 0:22:51Natural resources.
0:22:51 > 0:22:52By the end of the century,
0:22:52 > 0:22:55Eastern Ukraine has the largest industrial centre
0:22:55 > 0:22:58of the Russian Empire which produced steel and mine,
0:22:58 > 0:22:59also strategically important.
0:22:59 > 0:23:01And last but not least, access to the Black Sea.
0:23:01 > 0:23:04Everyone knows about the conflict between Russia and Ukraine
0:23:04 > 0:23:09in the 21st-century. Is it partly a conflict about who owns the history?
0:23:09 > 0:23:11I would not say partly. It's very much so.
0:23:11 > 0:23:13It's very much so, because the main issue
0:23:13 > 0:23:16is who claims historical legitimacy of this territory.
0:23:22 > 0:23:25I've arrived at a monument constructed in 1982
0:23:25 > 0:23:30when Kiev was still an integral part of the Soviet Union.
0:23:30 > 0:23:33It was built to celebrate Russian-Ukrainian friendship.
0:23:35 > 0:23:39With so much shared history, it was inevitable that Ukrainian
0:23:39 > 0:23:42independence would provoke a mixed response.
0:23:42 > 0:23:44- Excuse me.- Hello.- Are you Ukrainian?
0:23:44 > 0:23:47- Yes.- I was just looking at the statue here.
0:23:47 > 0:23:50Was it important to you that Ukraine is now independent?
0:23:50 > 0:23:51Yes, of course.
0:23:51 > 0:23:55It's very important for me because I was born in 1981
0:23:55 > 0:23:59and I feel that I'm more Ukrainian, not Russian any more.
0:23:59 > 0:24:00You are a child of independence,
0:24:00 > 0:24:03you were born in the year of independence?
0:24:03 > 0:24:04Yes, I am. Yeah.
0:24:04 > 0:24:08I don't like when our countries separate, I don't like it,
0:24:08 > 0:24:13because I have friends in the Russian country,
0:24:13 > 0:24:17I have a lot of friends and I like Russian people.
0:24:19 > 0:24:23On my rail journeys, I encounter history and I sometimes make
0:24:23 > 0:24:26the mistake of believing that it's done and dusted,
0:24:26 > 0:24:28as though history had come to an end.
0:24:28 > 0:24:32But with Russia and Ukraine locked in conflict
0:24:32 > 0:24:35over territory and historical memory,
0:24:35 > 0:24:38here in Kiev, I feel my journey is about the future.
0:24:38 > 0:24:41We don't know how this story ends.
0:25:03 > 0:25:07A political map of Europe, 1913, the year of my Bradshaw's Guide
0:25:07 > 0:25:12and the first thing that strikes you is the enormity of Russia.
0:25:12 > 0:25:14This tells you how important is Ukraine.
0:25:14 > 0:25:16This is the bread basket for Russia,
0:25:16 > 0:25:22but also the access for so much of Mother Russia to the outer world is
0:25:22 > 0:25:25through the Black Sea and through Ukraine.
0:25:25 > 0:25:30My journey will take me now from Kiev to Lemberg,
0:25:30 > 0:25:33now known as Lviv, in those days across the border
0:25:33 > 0:25:35in the Austro-Hungarian Empire
0:25:35 > 0:25:38and then I will travel back into what was the Russian sector
0:25:38 > 0:25:41at Odessa on the Black Sea.
0:25:44 > 0:25:48- Are you travelling to Lviv? - Yes.- What's Lviv like?
0:25:48 > 0:25:51I have come from Kiev, is it different from Kiev?
0:25:51 > 0:25:53Yes, it actually is.
0:25:53 > 0:25:56Because Kiev is like a busy Ukrainian city, like,
0:25:56 > 0:26:01more making money and live your own life and Lviv it's more like
0:26:01 > 0:26:05culture, it's more about soul and people think more about tradition.
0:26:15 > 0:26:19The rail journey from Kiev to Lviv is five and a half hours
0:26:19 > 0:26:22on a nonstop fast train.
0:26:27 > 0:26:31Without changing country, it feels as though I'm moving from
0:26:31 > 0:26:34eastern to western Europe.
0:26:34 > 0:26:38Bradshaw's tells me that Lemberg, as it was then known,
0:26:38 > 0:26:42already had a population of more than 200,000.
0:26:42 > 0:26:47Surely, such a sizeable city deserves to be better known.
0:27:03 > 0:27:05Arriving in Lviv,
0:27:05 > 0:27:08I'm plunged into its old world charm
0:27:08 > 0:27:11of classical buildings and cobbled streets.
0:27:11 > 0:27:14But, for now, I'll leave architecture aside
0:27:14 > 0:27:16as I'm on a secret mission.
0:27:16 > 0:27:20I'm headed for a bar which is called Kryivka, which means bunker.
0:27:20 > 0:27:27It celebrates the activities of the Ukraine insurgent army which fought
0:27:27 > 0:27:29successively against the Nazis, the Soviets,
0:27:29 > 0:27:31the Poles and the Czechoslovaks.
0:27:31 > 0:27:34And they are still worried about enemies,
0:27:34 > 0:27:36so to get in I need a password,
0:27:36 > 0:27:39and the password is "glory to Ukraine".
0:28:17 > 0:28:20A secret door.
0:28:20 > 0:28:21Slava Ukrayini!
0:28:34 > 0:28:38Never before have I had to swear not to be a communist or a
0:28:38 > 0:28:40Moscowvite in order to get a drink,
0:28:40 > 0:28:44but, whatever it takes, I seem to have arrived at the very
0:28:44 > 0:28:46heartland of Ukrainian patriotism.
0:29:00 > 0:29:04Elegant and cultured, the city of Lviv
0:29:04 > 0:29:07exudes a kind of battered charm.
0:29:07 > 0:29:11Everything here stands in stark contrast to the capital -
0:29:11 > 0:29:13starting with the churches.
0:29:13 > 0:29:18Behind me, the enormous dome of the Roman Catholic Dominican Cathedral.
0:29:18 > 0:29:23That train ride from Kiev carried me away from Russian Orthodoxy.
0:29:33 > 0:29:36Lviv is certainly challenging my preconceptions about the former
0:29:36 > 0:29:40Soviet Union, and the buildings described in my Bradshaw's
0:29:40 > 0:29:43have Austrian names, like Rathaus.
0:29:43 > 0:29:47This feels much more like the city of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
0:29:47 > 0:29:50than of Joseph Stalin.
0:29:50 > 0:29:54And my early impression is that people here are fervently
0:29:54 > 0:29:58Ukrainian, perhaps even more so than they were in Kiev.
0:30:15 > 0:30:18Free from the crushing rule of the Russian tsars,
0:30:18 > 0:30:23Ukrainian nationalism flourished in Lviv under the more benign rule
0:30:23 > 0:30:25of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
0:30:25 > 0:30:27CHOIR SINGS UKRANIAN NATIONAL ANTHEM
0:30:37 > 0:30:41The very title of the song, Ukraine Has Not Died Yet,
0:30:41 > 0:30:45reflects the country's perilous journey towards statehood.
0:30:45 > 0:30:49Suppressed by the Soviets, the anthem was officially adopted
0:30:49 > 0:30:51only in 1992.
0:30:58 > 0:31:00APPLAUSE
0:31:02 > 0:31:05Dmitro, that was fantastic. Thank you very much, indeed.
0:31:05 > 0:31:08- Do you mind if I speak to the choir for a moment?- Of course.
0:31:08 > 0:31:09Hello, choir!
0:31:09 > 0:31:11Hello.
0:31:11 > 0:31:12Anyone speak English?
0:31:12 > 0:31:14Yes!
0:31:14 > 0:31:18Those of you that speak English, how did you feel today, singing your national anthem?
0:31:18 > 0:31:20Very nice.
0:31:20 > 0:31:22- Do you feel good?- Yes!
0:31:22 > 0:31:24And what was the song about?
0:31:24 > 0:31:26- Glory!- What else?
0:31:26 > 0:31:28Peace and prosperity.
0:31:28 > 0:31:30Any mention of the Cossacks?
0:31:30 > 0:31:32- Yes!- What do you say about the Cossacks?
0:31:32 > 0:31:36We will show everyone that we are Cossacks, very strong men.
0:31:36 > 0:31:38Thank you, choir. Wonderful performance.
0:31:48 > 0:31:52Such patriotic fervour owes its strength to one man
0:31:52 > 0:31:56who single-handedly stoked a new wave of national feeling.
0:31:58 > 0:32:03Taras Shevchenko, leading figure in a Ukrainian national revival,
0:32:03 > 0:32:08this one in the 19th century, but, unlike the Kievan Rus' or the Cossacks,
0:32:08 > 0:32:11his weapons were not the sword and the whip
0:32:11 > 0:32:14but rather the pen and the paintbrush.
0:32:17 > 0:32:21There are more statues of Shevchenko in Ukraine than any other
0:32:21 > 0:32:23secular figure.
0:32:29 > 0:32:33I've come to the Ivan Franko National University to talk
0:32:33 > 0:32:36to Professor Iryna Starovoyt, an expert on the poet.
0:32:40 > 0:32:42Libraries are one of my favourite things
0:32:42 > 0:32:46in the world and this one has the musty smell of dust,
0:32:46 > 0:32:49and ancient books and human wisdom.
0:32:51 > 0:32:55Iryna, tell me about the poet, Shevchenko.
0:32:55 > 0:33:00Well, he was born in 1814 as a second-generation serf
0:33:00 > 0:33:05in the Russian Empire but he was actually bought out of serfdom
0:33:05 > 0:33:09because of his artistic gift and he's managed to become
0:33:09 > 0:33:16an academician, painter and a very important poet.
0:33:16 > 0:33:20So, what was it that he was writing, what was political?
0:33:20 > 0:33:26He was very ironic about Russian imperialist regimes and he was,
0:33:26 > 0:33:30we would say in contemporary speech, deconstructing them.
0:33:30 > 0:33:34Shevchenko was arrested for criticising the Tsar
0:33:34 > 0:33:37and sentenced to a form of penal servitude,
0:33:37 > 0:33:4125 years as a private in an army battalion.
0:33:41 > 0:33:47And Tsar Nicholas II himself added a devastating rider.
0:33:47 > 0:33:51Taras was to be completely prohibited from writing and painting.
0:33:51 > 0:33:54That would have been the worst part of the sentence for him.
0:33:54 > 0:33:56Absolutely, yes.
0:33:56 > 0:34:00Because that was sentencing not only your body but also your soul and
0:34:00 > 0:34:01your mind.
0:34:01 > 0:34:06Shevchenko put that in his diary later on, saying that even if he
0:34:06 > 0:34:09would be a monster, a vampire,
0:34:09 > 0:34:13such a sentence would be the cruellest torture ever.
0:34:13 > 0:34:14Appalling.
0:34:26 > 0:34:29Iryna, what a very beautiful library this is.
0:34:29 > 0:34:31Absolutely exquisite.
0:34:31 > 0:34:34Indeed, and it contains some exquisite books as well.
0:34:34 > 0:34:36One of them is Shevchenko's volume of poetry
0:34:36 > 0:34:39printed during his lifetime.
0:34:39 > 0:34:44Tell me about the circumstances of the poem that you are going to read?
0:34:44 > 0:34:48He, at that time 33 years old, was sitting
0:34:48 > 0:34:51in Novopetrovskoe Fortress, thinking
0:34:51 > 0:34:55he will never see his beloved fatherland again.
0:34:57 > 0:35:00IRYNA READS IN THE FORTRESS
0:35:03 > 0:35:05"It does not touch me, not a whit
0:35:05 > 0:35:07"If I live in Ukraine, or no
0:35:07 > 0:35:10"If men recall me, or forget,
0:35:10 > 0:35:13"Lost as I am in foreign snow -
0:35:13 > 0:35:15"Touches me not the slightest whit.
0:35:15 > 0:35:18"But it does touch me deep if knaves,
0:35:18 > 0:35:22"Evil rogues lull our Ukraine asleep
0:35:22 > 0:35:27"And only in the flames let her all plundered, wake again.
0:35:27 > 0:35:30"That touches me with deepest pain."
0:35:33 > 0:35:37I'm curious to see whether Shevchenko's words mean as
0:35:37 > 0:35:39much to the younger generation.
0:35:39 > 0:35:42Are you great fans of the poet Shevchenko?
0:35:42 > 0:35:45He's like a prophet to us, because he was living back
0:35:45 > 0:35:48in the 19th century, but all of his words are topical even now
0:35:48 > 0:35:50in the 21st century.
0:35:50 > 0:35:54Independence of Ukraine was the most important thing in his life,
0:35:54 > 0:35:58and his words are filled with this feeling that he loves Ukraine,
0:35:58 > 0:36:03that he was proud to be Ukrainian and he could see the bright future of our country.
0:36:12 > 0:36:15Perhaps there's only one thing that draws us close to the
0:36:15 > 0:36:18Ukrainian soul as Shevchenko's poetry,
0:36:18 > 0:36:20that's the national cuisine.
0:36:22 > 0:36:26I'm told that the very best Ukrainian food is served not in
0:36:26 > 0:36:28restaurants, but in the home.
0:36:28 > 0:36:31Ivana, Katerina?
0:36:31 > 0:36:34- Hello.- Hi.- Are you Ivana? - Yes, I am.
0:36:34 > 0:36:36- I'm Michael.- This is Katerina.
0:36:36 > 0:36:39Thank you so much for inviting me to your home, Katerina.
0:36:39 > 0:36:41Katerina is known as the best cook in the neighbourhood
0:36:41 > 0:36:43and Ivana's here to help.
0:36:43 > 0:36:46My goodness, there's food everywhere.
0:36:46 > 0:36:50Now, I've heard about this thing called Vareniki.
0:36:50 > 0:36:53Yes, Vareniki, you're perfectly correct.
0:36:53 > 0:36:57That's the most favourite dish of Ukrainian cuisine,
0:36:57 > 0:37:02and now you'll have a chance to try and make it because it's not that
0:37:02 > 0:37:04hard, but very tasty, though.
0:37:04 > 0:37:06Oh, thank you, thank you.
0:37:06 > 0:37:08What do you think, Katerina?
0:37:08 > 0:37:09Beautiful.
0:37:12 > 0:37:16So, we have a dough over here and, out of this one,
0:37:16 > 0:37:18Vareniki is usually made.
0:37:18 > 0:37:21Vareniki are a type of filled pasta.
0:37:21 > 0:37:24- So, now we cut them out.- Yeah.
0:37:27 > 0:37:28What is this filling?
0:37:28 > 0:37:32This is a sour cheese filling.
0:37:32 > 0:37:33Oh, thank you.
0:37:34 > 0:37:39In Ukraine we say that Vareniki have to be small,
0:37:39 > 0:37:42otherwise if they are too big to swallow in one bite
0:37:42 > 0:37:44then it means that the wife is lazy.
0:37:47 > 0:37:50I'm just dying to lick my finger, because this looks
0:37:50 > 0:37:52absolutely delicious.
0:37:52 > 0:37:56Vareniki are so important in the life of Ukrainians that we even how
0:37:56 > 0:37:59whole love stories and the tragedies devoted to Vareniki.
0:37:59 > 0:38:05One of the most popular is when the young man loves the girl
0:38:05 > 0:38:07and Vareniki that she makes.
0:38:07 > 0:38:11Then the enemies come and stole the girl and Vareniki.
0:38:11 > 0:38:16He goes to his friends and together they fight back to liberate the girl
0:38:16 > 0:38:18and Vareniki, of course.
0:38:18 > 0:38:21So, Vareniki are the way to a man's heart.
0:38:21 > 0:38:25- Oh, for sure. - Now, in the...
0:38:25 > 0:38:27- In the water.- In the water.
0:38:27 > 0:38:29The water has to be boiling, one and then...
0:38:29 > 0:38:31The water is boiling.
0:38:31 > 0:38:32In they pop.
0:38:37 > 0:38:39They are cooked incredibly quickly.
0:38:45 > 0:38:47Ah, they look very good.
0:38:47 > 0:38:50- That's how it should be. - A little sour cream like that.
0:38:50 > 0:38:56In Ukrainian cuisine, we have another thing than just bon appetit,
0:38:56 > 0:38:58we have a smachno.
0:38:58 > 0:39:00Let you to have a tasty food.
0:39:00 > 0:39:03- Smachno.- Smachno.
0:39:06 > 0:39:08Mm, that is good.
0:39:08 > 0:39:12- It's very cheesy, a little bit sweet and a very lovely dough.- Michael.
0:39:12 > 0:39:14- IVANA TRANSLATES: - That was a good job.
0:39:14 > 0:39:15Oh, thank you.
0:39:32 > 0:39:37The romance of the night express carrying me to the Black Sea.
0:39:40 > 0:39:43Travelling in Ukraine is very affordable.
0:39:43 > 0:39:48For less than £20 you can sleep in comfort through the 12-hour journey.
0:39:48 > 0:39:52Ah, I have a private compartment all to myself
0:39:52 > 0:39:57with homely touches like a pillow printed to look
0:39:57 > 0:40:01like a sort of folk costume,
0:40:01 > 0:40:04and curtains made to look like silk.
0:40:06 > 0:40:09And now, if you'll excuse me, I'm feeling very tired.
0:40:09 > 0:40:11Goodnight.
0:40:24 > 0:40:26Good morning.
0:40:32 > 0:40:37Ah, a little chai, black tea in the morning.
0:40:49 > 0:40:51I shall shortly arrive in Odessa.
0:40:51 > 0:40:55Bradshaw's tells me it's the most important commercial place
0:40:55 > 0:40:56on the Black Sea.
0:40:56 > 0:40:58"Regarded as the fourth town of Russia."
0:40:58 > 0:41:02I know this city only from its legends,
0:41:02 > 0:41:06having passed into history as the creation of Catherine the Great.
0:41:06 > 0:41:12Into literature as the home to an enormous dynamic Jewish population,
0:41:12 > 0:41:15and into mythology because of Eisenstein's film,
0:41:15 > 0:41:17the Battleship Potemkin.
0:41:17 > 0:41:22In coming here today I fulfil a personal lifelong ambition.
0:41:29 > 0:41:32This station, with its shiny dome,
0:41:32 > 0:41:37immediately makes me feel that I've arrived at a seaside pavilion.
0:41:39 > 0:41:43Odessa Station dates from the birth of the railway itself in the
0:41:43 > 0:41:45latter half of the 19th century.
0:41:45 > 0:41:50In bygone days, stations were often referred to as cathedrals of steam
0:41:50 > 0:41:52and this one has a dome, and pillars,
0:41:52 > 0:41:55and a balustrade and chandeliers.
0:41:55 > 0:41:57What a welcome to a great city.
0:42:01 > 0:42:04Empress of Russia, Catherine the Great,
0:42:04 > 0:42:07imagined Odessa as a St Petersburg of the south.
0:42:09 > 0:42:13It seems that peeling back the Soviet layer,
0:42:13 > 0:42:15the city is rediscovering its cosmopolitan side,
0:42:15 > 0:42:19with the sunny climate and the sandy beaches that have made it a populous
0:42:19 > 0:42:23seaside resort since the 19th century.
0:42:23 > 0:42:26Looking like pink and white icing sugar,
0:42:26 > 0:42:29and mentioned in my Bradshaw's Guide,
0:42:29 > 0:42:32the Hotel Bristol had a name that would have made of the early
0:42:32 > 0:42:3620th century British traveller feel reassuringly at home.
0:42:42 > 0:42:45In 1905, shortly after the Bristol Hotel opened its doors,
0:42:45 > 0:42:50the London newspapers carried the story of a mutiny at Odessa.
0:42:50 > 0:42:52The crew of the battleship Potemkin
0:42:52 > 0:42:55had murdered the captain and thrown his body overboard.
0:42:57 > 0:43:01The ruthless response of the Tsar's forces was reimagined
0:43:01 > 0:43:05for cinema on the monumental stone steps at the gateway
0:43:05 > 0:43:06to Odessa's port.
0:43:09 > 0:43:14In Eisenstein's 1925 film the Battleship Potemkin,
0:43:14 > 0:43:19the Russian soldiers were stationed at the top and gunned down men,
0:43:19 > 0:43:22women and children on these steps.
0:43:22 > 0:43:28It was commissioned by the Soviet authorities to mark the 20th anniversary of the mutiny.
0:43:28 > 0:43:33It's absolutely correct that more than 1,000 citizens were massacred,
0:43:33 > 0:43:39but the events did not unfold in the spectacular way depicted in the
0:43:39 > 0:43:42movie, but set against such cinematic drama
0:43:42 > 0:43:45the truth has stood no chance ever since.
0:44:12 > 0:44:15Privoz Market started in 1827
0:44:15 > 0:44:17as a handful of horse-drawn carts,
0:44:17 > 0:44:20and has grown to be the largest food market in Odessa,
0:44:20 > 0:44:22and indeed Ukraine,
0:44:22 > 0:44:25or, according to some locals, in the entire world.
0:44:25 > 0:44:28Dobre?
0:44:28 > 0:44:29Erm...
0:44:29 > 0:44:31Cherries.
0:44:31 > 0:44:33Vyshnya.
0:44:40 > 0:44:41Dyakuyu.
0:44:41 > 0:44:43- Do pobachennya. - Do pobachennya.
0:44:45 > 0:44:48By comparison with the rest of Ukraine,
0:44:48 > 0:44:53here in Odessa I'm seeing a greater variety of faces.
0:44:53 > 0:44:54Different ethnic types.
0:44:54 > 0:44:57The place is more cosmopolitan,
0:44:57 > 0:44:58a kind of human fruit salad.
0:45:03 > 0:45:08I want to find out what lies behind the cultural and ethnic mix of the
0:45:08 > 0:45:11city from an historian.
0:45:11 > 0:45:14Olga, we meet in this absolutely beautiful square
0:45:14 > 0:45:16with a view over the Black Sea.
0:45:16 > 0:45:20But also, this immense statue of Catherine the Great.
0:45:20 > 0:45:22Why is she commemorated in Odessa?
0:45:22 > 0:45:25Well, she was instrumental in the city's foundation.
0:45:25 > 0:45:29In the 1760s, '70s and then '80s
0:45:29 > 0:45:31she carried out a series of military operations.
0:45:31 > 0:45:34The Ottomans were pushed back and the Russian Empire gained
0:45:34 > 0:45:39territories along the Black Sea including this piece of land.
0:45:39 > 0:45:42And the city was founded in 1794.
0:45:43 > 0:45:47Catherine started to plan the city with broad, straight avenues
0:45:47 > 0:45:48and classical buildings.
0:45:50 > 0:45:55But only after her death did it really blossom.
0:45:55 > 0:45:58And to whom do we owe the city as it is with its very Western-style?
0:45:58 > 0:46:03To a large extent, to a French aristocrat, Richelieu,
0:46:03 > 0:46:09who was appointed the city governor in 1803 by the Russian Tsar.
0:46:09 > 0:46:11This land initially didn't have many people,
0:46:11 > 0:46:14so the Russian Empire needed to attract people here,
0:46:14 > 0:46:16so the first brochures,
0:46:16 > 0:46:18the first articles about Odessa in European languages,
0:46:18 > 0:46:20this was his initiative.
0:46:20 > 0:46:22And that attracted the European merchants here.
0:46:22 > 0:46:24How brilliant.
0:46:24 > 0:46:25My guidebook is from 1913,
0:46:25 > 0:46:30and it tells me that by then it's the fourth largest Russian city.
0:46:30 > 0:46:31Who was living here?
0:46:31 > 0:46:35The population was very multinational since its foundation.
0:46:35 > 0:46:39A French aristocrat visited Odessa during Richelieu times
0:46:39 > 0:46:43and he left a note which said that through the beautiful squares
0:46:43 > 0:46:48strolled the Greek, the Turk, the Jew, the Moldavian, and the Russian.
0:46:48 > 0:46:51The Englishman, and the French, and the German.
0:46:51 > 0:46:54Many of them wearing the costumes proper to each
0:46:54 > 0:46:56and speaking different tongues.
0:46:56 > 0:46:58And the Jews were a big part of this?
0:46:58 > 0:47:02Yeah, the Jews started coming here from the city's inception.
0:47:02 > 0:47:08By late 1800s they made about 30% of local population.
0:47:08 > 0:47:13The rich Jewish culture of Odessa was recorded by its many writers and artists.
0:47:13 > 0:47:17Most famously in the short stories of Isaac Babel.
0:47:17 > 0:47:21Today, Jews make up just under 5% of the population,
0:47:21 > 0:47:25but the fact that they're here at all is a small miracle.
0:47:27 > 0:47:30I've come to the city's great synagogue
0:47:30 > 0:47:33which is at the heart of the community.
0:47:42 > 0:47:46Given that the Jewish population of Odessa was wiped out
0:47:46 > 0:47:47during the Second World War,
0:47:47 > 0:47:50it's a pleasant surprise to find the faith
0:47:50 > 0:47:51so fervently practised here today.
0:47:53 > 0:47:56London-born Refael Kruskal is the senior rabbi here.
0:47:56 > 0:47:58It's very, very good to see you.
0:47:58 > 0:48:00Nice to see you.
0:48:00 > 0:48:02Today, are you a sizeable Jewish community in Odessa?
0:48:02 > 0:48:04We are one of the largest Jewish communities, I would say,
0:48:04 > 0:48:08in the former Soviet Union and the most vibrant, for sure.
0:48:08 > 0:48:12Even bigger than cities like Moscow and Kiev
0:48:12 > 0:48:16because of the fact that Odessa was always a Jewish city.
0:48:19 > 0:48:21Jews came to Odessa because they found a welcome here.
0:48:23 > 0:48:27During the 18th century, Catherine the Great reserved an area
0:48:27 > 0:48:31of 1 million square kilometres, known as the Pale of Settlement,
0:48:31 > 0:48:35in which Jews were required to reside.
0:48:35 > 0:48:37But the liberal minded tolerant Duc De Richelieu
0:48:37 > 0:48:43arriving to govern Odessa saw what the Jews could offer.
0:48:43 > 0:48:45The Mayor of Odessa Richelieu
0:48:45 > 0:48:48decided he wanted to let as many Jews in as possible.
0:48:48 > 0:48:52He wanted to go out and tell them how important their involvement
0:48:52 > 0:48:56for building Odessa was and they built up the banking industry,
0:48:56 > 0:48:57the export and import,
0:48:57 > 0:49:01and they became very, very important in Odessa.
0:49:02 > 0:49:05But anti-Semitism was never far from the surface in this part of Eastern Europe.
0:49:05 > 0:49:12Violent attacks on Jews, known as pogroms, occurred sporadically in Odessa.
0:49:12 > 0:49:15And at the time of my guidebook were seared into the memory.
0:49:17 > 0:49:201905 is the worst of the pogroms.
0:49:20 > 0:49:24Does that really mark the high water point of the Jewish population?
0:49:24 > 0:49:28There were about 300 people killed during the pogroms of 1905,
0:49:28 > 0:49:33and lots of people you'll meet around the world from Odessan descent
0:49:33 > 0:49:36will tell you that their grandparents left after 1905.
0:49:37 > 0:49:40Among those who fled Odessa after the pogrom
0:49:40 > 0:49:43were the grandparents of both singer Bob Dylan
0:49:43 > 0:49:46and film director Steven Spielberg.
0:49:47 > 0:49:50For those remained, life returned to normal,
0:49:50 > 0:49:53but in the decades ahead worse was to come.
0:49:54 > 0:49:58The Jewish population was eliminated in 1941.
0:49:58 > 0:50:02How is it that there could be any kind of a revival after that?
0:50:03 > 0:50:05People felt comfortable to come back,
0:50:05 > 0:50:09they didn't blame, as such, the Ukrainians,
0:50:09 > 0:50:12and the local people knew their culture, so they welcomed them back.
0:50:12 > 0:50:16Rabbi, are you optimistic about the future of the Jewish community of Odessa?
0:50:16 > 0:50:18There's lots and lots of Jews who want to stay here,
0:50:18 > 0:50:20they feel very connected to their roots in Ukraine.
0:50:20 > 0:50:23Though Ukraine is going through a difficult period,
0:50:23 > 0:50:26I think that the Jews of Odessa and the Jews of Ukraine will survive it
0:50:26 > 0:50:32with the Ukrainians and get to a much better period
0:50:32 > 0:50:34where they'll be, well, where they will be able to flourish.
0:50:53 > 0:50:57This little train is taking me to Kuyalnik Lyman,
0:50:57 > 0:51:00which Bradshaw's tells me is a bathing resort
0:51:00 > 0:51:02five miles east of Odessa
0:51:02 > 0:51:04with a town hydropathic establishment.
0:51:04 > 0:51:10I'm informed that Lyman means wet sand or mud bath.
0:51:12 > 0:51:16For over 200 years, people have been travelling to the Kuyalnik Estuary
0:51:16 > 0:51:20to seek relief for all sorts of ailments.
0:51:20 > 0:51:22And at the time of my guidebook,
0:51:22 > 0:51:24it would have been at the height of its popularity.
0:51:26 > 0:51:29After being separated from the Black Sea during the Middle Ages,
0:51:29 > 0:51:33the estuary was converted into a huge salt lake
0:51:33 > 0:51:35by the scorching southern sun.
0:51:35 > 0:51:40Its mineral rich mud is reputed to have medicinal properties.
0:51:40 > 0:51:42- Zdravstvuyte.- Zdravstvuyte.
0:51:42 > 0:51:45Kuyalnik Lyman... Good?
0:51:49 > 0:51:51You look very, very healthy on it.
0:51:54 > 0:51:55Why don't I have the mud as well?
0:52:00 > 0:52:03The clinic which opened on the banks of this estuary
0:52:03 > 0:52:06became the largest and most modern in the whole of the Russian Empire,
0:52:06 > 0:52:08growing even more under communism.
0:52:10 > 0:52:14Much of the vast complex has now fallen derelict.
0:52:14 > 0:52:17Faded glory.
0:52:17 > 0:52:18Past grandeur.
0:52:22 > 0:52:27I'm really attracted to this place with its picturesque shabbiness.
0:52:27 > 0:52:29It may seem crass to say so,
0:52:29 > 0:52:32but the tourist almost misses the Soviet Union
0:52:32 > 0:52:35now that everywhere you go is so much the same.
0:52:35 > 0:52:38Glass towers and fast food outlets.
0:52:41 > 0:52:45Historian Vladimir has been delving into the archives.
0:52:45 > 0:52:48What an amazingly historic and charming place.
0:52:48 > 0:52:52When did this hydropathic establishment first open?
0:52:52 > 0:52:53It was 1843.
0:52:53 > 0:52:56Erast Andriyevsky, you can see his statue here,
0:52:56 > 0:52:59he was a doctor in the Russian army.
0:52:59 > 0:53:03So he founded the first special resort.
0:53:03 > 0:53:05What is special about the mud?
0:53:05 > 0:53:10This mud is unique for all skin problems
0:53:10 > 0:53:13and with some venereal diseases, it was this kind of stories.
0:53:13 > 0:53:15It was obviously extremely popular.
0:53:15 > 0:53:19Was it, like other spas, also a place for the rich and for the famous?
0:53:19 > 0:53:22It was very popular and in the Russian Empire it was unique.
0:53:22 > 0:53:24And Nicholas II,
0:53:24 > 0:53:29he visited here and inside this complex a special residence
0:53:29 > 0:53:34was constructed for the tsar and for the family.
0:53:35 > 0:53:36The Tsar was not alone.
0:53:36 > 0:53:40So popular was this clinic with the upper echelons of society
0:53:40 > 0:53:43that a special train service was laid on from Moscow.
0:53:44 > 0:53:46The spa is still open for business.
0:53:46 > 0:53:49And what's good enough for the emperor and autocrat
0:53:49 > 0:53:53of all the Russias is good enough for me.
0:53:53 > 0:53:57The place feels like a cross between a monastery and a hospital.
0:53:57 > 0:54:01None of the luxury or pampering that you might expect at a spa.
0:54:06 > 0:54:08Oh. OK. Shorts off.
0:54:08 > 0:54:11And the attendants are strict disciplinarians.
0:54:22 > 0:54:24THEY SPEAK UKRANIAN
0:54:26 > 0:54:28I'm telling her that it's very, very good
0:54:28 > 0:54:32and actually there is a fearful smell of rotten eggs and...
0:54:33 > 0:54:36..underneath me there's all this really...
0:54:36 > 0:54:38sticky, muddy stuff.
0:54:38 > 0:54:40Look at that.
0:54:40 > 0:54:47But it feels soft and, oh, it's meant to do you lots of good.
0:54:48 > 0:54:51Good for the skin, good for the bones, good for the joints.
0:54:51 > 0:54:53I'm really pleased I'm here.
0:55:06 > 0:55:09A lady wearing rubber boots and rubber gloves.
0:55:09 > 0:55:11This does not look like good news.
0:55:20 > 0:55:23I'm now lying in very warm mud
0:55:23 > 0:55:25and the lady with the rubber gloves
0:55:25 > 0:55:28has begun a fairly intimate massage,
0:55:28 > 0:55:30using warm mud.
0:55:37 > 0:55:41And, as they say in the movie business, it's a wrap!
0:55:51 > 0:55:55I really can't leave town without visiting the opera house.
0:55:57 > 0:56:01The Duc De Richelieu believed that placing the arts at the heart of the city
0:56:01 > 0:56:04would attract the right kind of people to Odessa.
0:56:06 > 0:56:10"The theatre, west side of Pushkin Street," says Bradshaw's,
0:56:10 > 0:56:12"is one of the finest in Russia."
0:56:12 > 0:56:14Surely an understatement.
0:56:14 > 0:56:19Is not this one of the loveliest opera houses in the world?
0:56:32 > 0:56:35The interior is one of the most stunning I've ever seen.
0:56:35 > 0:56:40And on the stage they're preparing to rehearse Sleeping Beauty.
0:56:40 > 0:56:41What a privilege.
0:56:45 > 0:56:48MUSIC: The Sleeping Beauty by Tchaikovsky
0:57:02 > 0:57:07The theatre's resident opera and ballet companies are world-class.
0:57:09 > 0:57:12A fairy tale ending to my tour of Ukraine.
0:57:30 > 0:57:33The Sleeping Beauty, music by Pyotr Tchaikovsky,
0:57:33 > 0:57:36a Russian composer.
0:57:36 > 0:57:39When I was in Kiev I felt that I was at the origin of Ukraine,
0:57:39 > 0:57:42but also arguably of Russia, too.
0:57:42 > 0:57:46And certainly at the heart of Russian orthodoxy.
0:57:46 > 0:57:51Lviv feels like the product of Austrian and Polish Catholicism,
0:57:51 > 0:57:54whilst Odessa was the conception of a Frenchman
0:57:54 > 0:57:59and its history is that of the Jews, as much as anyone.
0:57:59 > 0:58:02Despite this diverse heritage,
0:58:02 > 0:58:06people everywhere feel enthusiastically Ukrainian.
0:58:06 > 0:58:09Defiant that their nation should be free
0:58:09 > 0:58:12to choose to span east and west.
0:58:16 > 0:58:21Next, my borderland adventure takes me to Georgia and Azerbaijan,
0:58:21 > 0:58:24home to medieval monasteries and magnificent mountains.
0:58:24 > 0:58:31Peeking through the clouds now, 5047 metres up, we skim the top.
0:58:31 > 0:58:34There I'll taste the Georgian soul.
0:58:34 > 0:58:37You're drinking, now, my family's heart
0:58:37 > 0:58:40and my family's energy inside of the glass.
0:58:40 > 0:58:43And discover a source of great riches.
0:58:43 > 0:58:47A view of the terminal from up here is absolutely extraordinary.
0:58:47 > 0:58:49It is immense.