Armed soldiers guard the barbed-wire compound. Helicopters buzz around the parameter, drifting above families on tandem bicycles. Groups of giggling bridal parties flirt with camouflaged guards. They watch on, careful to spot the light-fingered.
This is Mezhyhirya, the former playground of exiled Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych. The estate has been open to the public since the former communist fled to Russia in 2014 after a pro-western revolution. Adverts peddle the autocrat’s theme park as a pleasant family day out: a museum, wedding venue, water park and zoo.
It’s as though a group of terrified architects asked Yanukovych, ‘What style would you like? Classical? Alpine? Baroque?’ and the reply had simply been, ‘Yes’
Top of the bill is the main house, a bizarre building. In the words of a Ukrainian friend, ‘It’s as though a group of terrified architects asked Yanukovych, “What style would you like? Classical? Alpine? Baroque?” and the reply had simply been, “Yes”.’
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