What do foreigners think of the history of modern Kiev?

I live in Memphis, TN. and I don’t think anyone around me thinks of Kiev at all.

I think of it as a Baltic or North Eastern European sociopolitical culture.

I associate it with the ancient Scytheans (sp?) and the Vikings that migrated westward towards the Black Sea through a system of rivers. I think of Onion Domed churches and a culture that is like us but—NOT like us. Kind of exotic. I think of a refreshingly cooler climate than what I am enduring here.

It might be a nice place to live, but I’d feel VERY insecure about moving or settling because the political situation, which I admittedly know very little about, still seems very unstable and there could be war, terrorism, or political oppression.

I like the region and the people as I know them, but really have not kept up with the political scene. I fear the Russia / Ukraine conflicts even though I know little about them. Would feel safer in the Baltic countries of Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, or Poland.

I think about Kiev probably about as often as you might think of Sao Paulo. A few years ago when the Russia/Crimea situation was at a boil and that commercial plane was shot down, it was near the forefront of my mind. Since then, I honestly don’t think of it much, and hope the situation will get resolved peacefully by the people that live in the area without intervention by other parties, including the United States.

My understanding of the politics is that the Ukrainians basically want to become more western and join the rest of Europe, there are groups who are more loyal to Russia that are being supported by Russia. Russia itself needs the access to the deep water port for strategic reasons, and doesn’t like seeing the borders of the former soviet block shrinking for obvious reasons. I have no idea how accurate that summary is.

I think of Kiev in the context of the Babi Yar massacre during WW2 in which 33,000 Jews were marched into the forest and killed by Nazis and Ukrainians.

I doubt if even one in ten Americans ever heard of Kiev. The word itself brings up 2 references for me: the Great Gate from one of Mussorgski’s “Pictures” and the flavors of Chicken Kiev.

I forgot about the horrific battles and destruction of the city during the Second World War.