Best in Kyiv

Kyiv's best place to buy Ukrainian music: Maidan

Post photo by Viktor Suvorov
Music-stand vendor Yaroslav Melnyk displays his wealth of Ukrainian music.

Don’t laugh. This week’s question is not nearly as absurd as it might sound to the uninitiated or to hardcore diaspora who haven’t visited the old country in a while.

Like anyone who’s spent time in the Ukrainian capital, the Best Of team knows that Russia still rules the roost when it comes to pop culture. Ukraine’s eastern neighbor pumps megatons of cheap Russian-language books, videos, CDs and tapes into the country.

Of course, the West has made its mark by infusing the market with a fair amount of trips .

So when looking for local music in Kyiv, it’s far more common to come across Russian diva Alla Pugachova, classic Deep Purple or schmaltzy Modern Talking than to find a legitimate Ukrainian band.

Fear not, for the answer to this conundrum is right in front of your nose – in the city center on Maidan Nezalezhnosti. There amid the construction on the lane between the main post office and McDonald’s is an innocuous outdoor music stand that sells ONLY Ukrainian-language music and videos.

Yaroslav Melnyk, who runs the stand with his partner and brother, Ihor, said that since independence in 1991, this strip of downtown Kyiv has been reserved exclusively for vendors of Ukrainian-language products.

Yaroslav is an enthusiastic young man who hails from Kalush in western Ukraine and who knows his music.

Looking for the latest alternative Ukrainian rock by groups like Plach Yeremei, Vopli Vidoplyasova, Vi or Mertvy Piven? They’re here. How about something by Sad – a Kyiv-based band of upstarts who once had the nerve to rock Dnipropetrovsk with their own brand of Ukrainian heavy metal? The stand stocks some 200 CDs, 300 cassettes and 25 movie videos, with new orders coming in weekly.

But something else that sets Ukrainian Music apart from its competitors is quality. In their search for Ukrainian music, the Melnyk brothers have had to look outside Ukraine – and have established contacts with record companies and dealers in both Europe and North America. This means a legitimate (imported) disc by a group like Okean Elzy might go for as much as Hr 120, complete with a Ukrainian-language booklet, while the pirated version standing beside it goes for Hr 18 and the cassette for Hr 6.

Classic and folk music CDs work the same way. A UK-produced disc by Anatoly Solobenenko costs Hr 70, and one by Nina Matryenko for Hr 60, while the cassettes go for Hr 10 and Hr 6, respectively. In another genre, albums by blues rockers Bratii Blues from Ivano Frankivsk or Lviv’s Terner Blues are priced at Hr 20 each.

But that’s not all. The Best Of investigative unit discovered that Ihor and Yaroslav also operate the DI-KSI music store within the neighboring Kozatsky Hotel – where a whole international range of music is available. Lastly, the brothers are also willing to order whatever the Ukrainian-music lover can’t find at the stand. Now that’s the kind of Ukrainian hospitality the Best Of team loves.