FRIDAY AT THE FLEAS / POPULAR UKRAINE STREET MARKETS HELPS KEEP A SENSE OF NORMALCY

Kyiv's Stolychny Produce Market

The neighborhoods in the Ukrainian capital come alive every weekend as hundreds of people flock to its famous flea market, looking for finds. The markets have survived the Russia-Ukraine war, even with the disappearance of tourists and the decreasing purchasing power of most Ukrainians. 

Despite more and more buyers having to tighten their belts, the market still offers a large and eclectic variety of goods to those with any money to spend. Vendors may sell items including almost-vintage VHS tapes, World War II dishware, manicure scissors, brand-name sneaker knockoffs, decades-old lingerie, broken multimedia players and cracked guitars. 

Antique hunters, collectors and many others look over seemingly endless rows of trinkets and time-worn wares. It’s a dizzying array that includes Soviet-era relics such as decorative medals, ceramics with communist leaders’ portraits, Cold War-era gas masks and military uniform items. 

Despite Ukraine’s ban on Soviet and Nazi symbols adopted in 2015 as a part of the country’s effort to distance itself from its totalitarian past, vendors, buyers and law enforcement all seem undisturbed by such historic relics being openly sold. “It’s purely business, there are no (USSR) sympathizers around here. Items like this are in high demand,” says Kristian Zander, a 49-year-old market vendor, pointing at the “Buying USSR relics” sign at his stand. Also on display are kitchenware and utensils, hunting knives, Soviet badges and bottle openers.—The Associated Press from Kiev, Ukraine.