The revolution in Ukraine… and on my site
Did you notice there is a person in hiding on the Quistic team page? He won’t let me show you his picture or give you his real name because he’s scared people will find out he works for an American company and they will come to his house to take his money.
“What? Who would do that?” I ask.
“The mob. Or the police. In Ukraine it’s the same thing.”
So I used this site that picks Russian names to find one for our team page. I suggested some and we settled on Dmitry Petrov.
This happened six months ago. Before the revolution. It was when I was confirming a job offer and solidifying the terms of his employment. We had a Russian translator on the phone, but Dmitry’s English is good enough that he didn’t need one.
Until I said, “What else can we do to make your job good? What are your personal goals for your career?”
He was silent.
I said, “Did you hear me?”
The translator said, “There is not really those words in his language. He doesn’t know what you mean.”
I said, “Well, tell him I want to make sure the job helps him in his life. I want him to feel like this job is good for him and his family. Ask him what we can do to help him grow?”
Then I hear only Russian. A lot, back and forth.
I ask, “What is happening?”
The translator says, “He is crying. He has never heard any business person talk this way. I had to tell him that you really mean it.”
“Okay. So ask him what I can do to make the job good for him.”
Russian back and forth.
“He says that he wants to be paid on time. If you tell him you’ll pay him it’s really important to him that you pay him.”
“What? This is all he wants? That is ridiculous.”
“You have to understand, people don’t stick to agreements in Ukraine. And a lot of Ukrainians work for Russians in the US and the Russians know the Ukrainians aren’t used to getting paid reliably, so the Russians don’t pay them.”
“Okay,” I say. “Tell him we’ll pay him regularly.” And then I add, “Tell him we’ll pay for health insurance, too.”
“He understands you. He is crying again.”
We wait.
The translator says, “He really appreciates that you care. But there is no way to pay for medical care in Ukraine. It’s all free and it’s all terrible. If you get sick you treat it at home. The hospitals are too dangerous unless it’s an emergency.”
That was six months ago. Now I talk directly with Dmitry. We are comfortable with each other.
He gives reports from the revolution.
I say, “Is it in your town? Are you okay?”
He says he’s okay. He will let me know if his Internet will be down. Then he says that his town is far away from Kiev, but there is a schedule for protesters. His town makes sure to have enough protesters on the street to keep the police busy so that the police stay away from Kiev.
I tell him don’t worry about missing days of work. He misses two because the Internet is down. Or it’s his turn on the protest schedule. It’s unclear which it is, but I’m happy to pay him on those days.
And then last week, when the president left, Dmitry disappeared for a day.
We worry when he disappears.
Also, I had plans this week to change the name of my homeschool blog to education. It makes more sense because I really think everyone should homeschool kids, and I really think college is a complete waste of time for someone’s career. So I need a place to do all my educational rants.
Also, I feel like my life is coming together because I can rename my main blog my career blog and my homeschool blog will become my education blog and then my life will have perfect synergy because I think careers are about lifelong learning and education should be about discovering one’s passion and how one fits into the world.
But I have to wait a week because we have lost our developer in the revolution. And then his son is sick and when his son is sick, it’s always a crisis: imagine not being able to go to the drugstore to get Tylenol.
I offer to send Tylenol but you can only send money to Ukraine. To get a computer to Dmitry, we sent money for him to bribe the postal service. I don’t even know if I’m saying this right because it’s hard to understand a world where there is nothing but there is everything if you are with the right people.
He reappears. I try not to rush right into how I need a new menu bar.
He says he is full of hope from the revolution.
“Are you scared?” I say.
“Sure. Who wouldn’t be scared?”
“Yes. I see,” I say. I pause to think of something else good to say.
“Okay. So can we work on the new menu bar now?”
And look. Here we are. A new menu bar. Via Ukraine. And for Dmitry, it’s just another day in the Ukrainian revolution.
I asked my translator what I could do to help.
He said, “He has a job that he likes. He has regular hours. He gets paid a good salary on time. He is really really happy.”
And I think that actually, all Dmitry is hoping is that the revolution can give this type of opportunity to everyone. Well, and that he can put his real name and picture on Quistic’s team page.
Gorgeous Penelope. I love how you can’t help but try to make people’s lives better. Not just the people who work for you … everyone you come across xx
Wonderful.
Thanks for sharing your story and I’m glad to hear that Dmitry is doing well.
On a personal note, I had the opportunity to spend 3 weeks in Ukraine a few years ago. It ranks as my favorite country to visit. The people are truly amazing. I regularly had complete strangers go out of their way to help me.
Obviously now isn’t the best time to visit, but if you or any of your readers ever get the chance to go, I highly encourage it! Hopefully Ukraine will emerge from this crisis as a stronger, more democratic country and more Ukranians can have the opportunity you’ve given to Dmitry.
I really appreciate hearing this story. Thank you.
Yay! The new menu finally has the word ENTREPRENEURSHIP written correctly. It annoyed me to no end that it used to read ENTREPENEURSHIP, but I never remembered to write to ask P. to fix it :-).
I’m from the Balkans. It’s funny how Dmitry and I have the exact same expectation from work. Regular pay is like a unicorn. We’ve all heard of it, some think they saw it, and mostly we don’t have it.
Thank you for chiming in, Maria. It’s so hard to get my head around what Dmitry faces in his day-to-day life. I confess to having cognitive-dissonance sometimes. Hearing the reality a second time, from you makes it sink in better for me.
Penelope
PT: Cognitive dissonance? Hmmmm…not sure you’re using that term right. In what sense are you experiencing stress from holding two contradictory beliefs?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_dissonance
(This is what college is for!!! If nobody goes to college, who will make pedantic comments on blogs?)
The extremes of two very different cultures can cause cognitive dissonance.
http://www.mediate.com/articles/stuart.cfm
And I really don’t see the necessity of college for anyone to contribute intelligently to this conversation – it may hinder it with such condescending prejudice and superiority making it difficult, if not impossible to learn.
1 – Growing up in a third world country, I really appreciate this story. Having been here for a over 30 years though, I try not to forget how blessed I am to be an American now. Although, I am lucky to be here, I do not forget where I came from which pushes me to work hard.
2 – How wonderful a world we live in now that the internet makes it possible for a Ukrainian to work for an American company, no matter how hard it is.
3- I am really touched that you care for your employees so much, a company can only be successful if they care for their employees in all aspects of their lives.
I don’t even know why I’m commenting, I feel the urge to warn you that what is happening in the Ukraine is one symptom of a much larger illness. I am praying for Dimitri, please let him know that.
My faith aside something tremendous is happening. If you have your to the ground in the states you know it to. The entire system is rotting from the inside out, and its systemic.
If I said this started over hundred and 50 years ago you might not believe me. If I said this started about the time of the Revolutionary war you still might not believe me.
Your blog and your openness have helped me understand my life at a point when I needed it.
It’s tough seeing clearly and not being able to tell anyone because they don’t understand and they have their heads in the sand and that’s what’s normal to them.
Stay on the farm and appreciate a simple life and the blessings God has given you.
If you want to know more or talk, you know where to find me.
Are you a prepper? If so i want to hear more.
100% correct! Western civilization is in decline, the cost of oil has quadrupled because the low hanging fruit is gone, and fiat currencies are approaching the end of their lifespan. And yet, there is only one person I know who I can talk with about it (he saw it coming decades ago) as everyone else does not connect the dots.
I’m prepping with one year food supply and water treatment capability. Hoping to buy land in Canada and some silver coins. Trying to teach my boys practical skills in addition to college for the hopefully big income job.
Ukraine is likely a glimpse of our future here in the USA. The next 40 years will look nothing like the last 40 years.
Excelente!
I love the spirit.
Oh… Thank you for sharing this with us, Penelope. And please send Dimitri my best regards. I wish the best for his country, people and himself. We are so fortunate to live on free lands.
No wonder. Ukraine is a poor country. Now this Dmitry is making revolution, ruining his government, being happy that he got so lucky to be regularly paid by a U.S. company. Unlike other Ukrainians, who won’t be able to find job now, who won’t be paid at all, I cannot imagine how poor pensioners are going to survive now, because the country will go bankrupt in a minute. Penelope, you are such a wonderful woman. Please, don’t write about politics. People of Ukraine chose its government themselves 3 years ago, now they changed their mind and decided to make things even worse.
we hosted a Ukrainian foreign exchange student 11 years ago and kept contact. She participated in the Orange Revolution on the Maidan and has been participating in her local protests outside Kyiv. As she told me, “I can’t stay inside while people are being slaughtered.”
Apparently you could though.
I love you, and especially for posts like this. Someone asked me recently if I knew of bloggers who could make fun of themselves and your name was one that came to mind – but I said: I am not sure, I have to go look if it’s fun or something else.
Then I read: ‘He reappears. I try not to rush right into how I need a new menu bar.’ and I realize that yes, your posts are full of it.
FYI, the copyright date on quistic.com is outdated.
Wow! Thank you for sharing a little about “Dmitry”. It’s easy to forget just how spoiled we are here in the US. Best wishes to Dmitry and his family, and I hope that this revolution really does help improve the state of things in Ukraine soon.
In the field of web development, we have a saying, “Fast, Cheap and Good: Pick Two”
I think such a saying could apply to the governance of a country, and many people are beginning to realize this.
A country can have some combination of liberty, ethical leadership, world-power, wealth, and universal health and human services (maybe something else that I am missing) but not all 5.
I think that only liberty mitigates the awfulness of lacking in some of the other arenas because at least with liberty you have hope that you can change your personal life if not the life of a nation.
I sincerely hope that the people who are seeking a better life succeed. However, today’s revolutions have a lower probability of success relative to the American Revolution because the internet forces revolutionaries to be honest about their weaknesses. During the American Revolution the revolutionaries were somewhat isolated thought leaders.
Penelope-i love your writing, your voice, your authenticity. This is first post that compelled me to comment. It really captured what the revolution is about in that quirky way of yours. Thank you for doing what you do so well. JW
I’m from Turkey and Ukraine looks similar to Turkey when it comes to employment. Here in Turkey the employers can legally ask your gender, marital status, illnesses and even whether you smoke or not in job applications and interviews. Some of them actually state which gender they prefer on job descriptions. Jobs pay peanuts and most people do unpaid internships for at least 1-2 years until they get a paid position. Most young people live with their families for that reason. When I was looking for a design job here I got only got unpaid internship offers although I have a degree from a US college and worked a lot on my own to improve my technical skills. People didn’t even bother to invite me to an interview to assess my skills, they just said “we don’t have any openings but you can work as intern”. Eff that. Now I started freelancing, I’m going after US clients who pay better and since I have US citizenship I’m looking to go back to the US as soon as possible. If someone from the US offered me a job with steady pay I’d cry too. With all the recent government scandals and corruption, brown stuff will hit the fan here soon.
Paris,
Not to burst your bubble but the abuse of unpaid internships is not confined to the developing world. The practice is rampant in France, for instance, and (AFAIK) is also spreading in the so-called creative sector in the US. It’s a race to the bottom. Turkey, Ukraine and so on are already there (and will stay there); the rest of us are coming. Welcome to “les lendemains qui chantent”, as the French say.
Well you can’t probably “burst my bubble” because as a person who lived and worked both in the US and in Turkey I already know the similarities and differences. Nowhere in my post I stated that unpaid internships were confined to the developing world. While the unpaid internships are also an epidemic in the US (especially in architecture the field I studied in college) at least there are laws against unpaid internships and sometimes people sue and win and people are increasingly getting vocal about the these “internships”. In Turkey you’re just expected to shut your moth and deal with it. There are absolutely no worker protections in Turkey. See, there is a bad and there is a worse. The US is still doing better in terms of employment opportunities.
Penelope,
If you really want to buy medical insurance to Dmitry you could buy him expat-style insurance from a company like IHI (look it up) that specializes in that. Then if he has a serious condition yet not an emergency he can go abroad to get treated and the insurer will still pick up the tab. That would need to be confirmed with the company, though.
In a different line of thought, are programmers in the US hinterland really so expensive and hard to find that you need to offshore your web site to Ukraine? I doubt it.
Yes, the difference in pay is incredible. And most of my friends who are in very early stage startups that are not tech plays are using developers in other countries.
If you need to collaborate with a developer, or you need to be in the same room with the developer, then being in radically different time zones won’t work. But for a company like mine, technology is not our core business, so it makes sense to use a developer in another country.
It simply is not cost effective to have US developers for a company that is not a tech-focused company.
There are lots of things that people in the US do that are worth paying US salaries for. Make sure you do one of those things if you want long-term career stability!
Penelope
I see. Thanks for taking the time to answer.
There are definitely good developers in Eastern Europe and Russia and the cultural mismatch is far less than with, say, India. That said, have you really tried to price developers in flyover land, really far from any hip town or so-called tech hub? Just like income inequality is growing and for the same reasons, regional contrasts within the US are becoming pretty stark.
Totally agree. Here is an analogy: it’s like supporting your local supermarket. We had one down the street and I shopped there often. Too many people in the neighborhood shopped at Walmart because it’s supposedly more cost effective. Well our local grocery store is long gone and now we are forced to drive to Walmart for a pint of milk. Same thing with service providers. Why are we encouraging young people to learn STEM & programming when we will continue to outsource to the lowest bidders in India and Eastern Europe? Very soon almost EVERY job will be outsource able. Even seeing a doctor over Skype. Even, in fact, taking a career coaching course over the internet. Other than barbers and tattoo artists, almost all jobs can be outsourced to the lowest bidder. It’s a Slippery slope. That said, having been born in Eastern Europe I of course feel for Dmitri. I also feel for the millions of hard working unemployed people in our own back yard. Read some of the job forum comments from young people on Indeed.com. It will break your heart.
I really love this post. It’s hard to understand what’s happening from reading news stories, but the personal impact makes it so real.
That’s what I feel like, too! I love getting my news from Dmitry. Also, he is funny. He sees the humor in ways I think the press would be wary to write about.
Penelope
Very cool story. I also agree with you about college. It’s bordering on the idea that it’s a big scam.
P, Thanks for sharing this touching story.
Keep the faith, Dmitriy : please stay safe.
Impressive blog! Couldn’t be better on a dull saturday morning in the Netherlands, but safe, no war, no revolution, enough to eat. Just what I needed to realise how lucky I am to live in a steady country. Thanks!
please blog more about dmitri! echoing some of the comments above that it helped make the reality of what’s occurring more clear. dmitri – if you read this – wishing you and your family well – maybe penelope will let you do a guest blog post?
you are a truly compassionate human being
This story was really touching. Thanks for being such a caring employer.
Maybe ask Dmitry if he want to be paid in bitcoin. It is the most secure and instant payment method in these war zones.
Hello everyone,
I don’t want to patronise but this looks like a hero-story. USA saving a Ukraine and giving an opportunity to have paid jobs. Correct me if I am wrong.
I’m half Ukrainian half Russian, was born in Russia (1985)and grow up in Ukraine (2002), back to Russia (2003)and now living in UK( since 2008). I haven’t born with silver spoon in my mouth and my parents wasn’t rich, I was relay on myself and what I archived in my life only thanks to myself.
Anyway, my point is I have known differences of the many words, goring up in Ukraine , sometimes we had no money to buy a bread and had to relay what we grow on our land during the summer, that we consume during the winter. We all helped each other and be honest it was the same situation since Ukraine was separated from USSR, and unfortunately there is historical belongings of Ukrainian people to USSR and won’t forget the rest of the republics. We been strong wealth nation who no one could control and yes our parents had a REGIME but everyone was equal and everyone had a jobs, and security for the future. People wasn’t rich ( like in American Dream) but had all necessary to live happily, they knew the future. The done all the best what they could to live with high standard morals and do for “good of the country”.
But one thing” Powerful” country like USSR always was a target of American politics, and where is plan to “Break” USSR was come from. If USSR could be break apart -then it is easily to control the people! As a output we have so Far stringers player-Russia, who no one could control and good for all!
And then we have , as an example Ukraine, who soooo easy to control! People for last 50-60 years been struggling to select right candidate as a president and many politicians took it as an advantage and played with hopes and trust of people. And it is sad story, because we all have families and we all want to have bright future for our kids. But country so much corrupted that is so hard to change so much. In addition, there is outside interference from USA and Europe, so it is much harder to think clear for people of Ukraine.
I would put my opinion forward, I think it would be much help if other countries won’t interfere with situation in Ukraine and let people to decide what they want for their nation. They so blinded by wonderful live in the West. But we forgetting we have our own KARMA and we need get through certain cycles of development to archive enlightenment.
Everything what happening in MEDIA it is solo far from the reality in Ukraine. I think the WORLD won’t know the real story, only what they want to hear.
And it is sad, because we all brothers and sisters no matter where we are live in Ukraine, Russia or Kazakhstan, or Georgia etc.
We all Russian speaking nation with different variety of cultures, I have half family in Russia, other half in Ukraine and Kazakhstan. And it is hurting to see literally brothers and sisters to kill each other, I couldn’t describe it in any other way.
As a conclusion, historically Ukraine contain two different nations west and east, west part for many centuries was belong to Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and East and South always was more Russian belonging territorially therefore there is Russian influenza. And of course it is so hard to find happy medium to choose RIGHT leader, when with in the country is two nations fighting between themselves. But they are so dependant of each other too!
Wish we still live happily in USSR, where is no rassism, no difference, no murder, NO WAR!
Peace. Love. Rock n’Roll.
Thank you for your attention.
Katrina
Please google ‘antisemitism, Russia, Ukraine’. You will see there is rampant racism in a Eastern Europe. If interested you could google ‘brain drain, eastern Europe’ to find out why this part of the world continues to lose it’s intellectual Capital.
When googling “antisemitism in Russia and Ukraine”, please be mindful to include the time period you are interested in. You will be surprised. While growing up in Ukraine I have never experienced the antisemitism or racism of any kind in a day to day communications of simple people. Government sponsored prejudices were well known and talked about widely, jokingly yet with suppressed tears. After the fall of USSR, government prejudices changed from “divide and conquer” racists strategies to a “dividing & conquering” economic resources based on pure dumb brute force. Thus rotten corrupt power structures created by people who literally stole economic and later political power from people.
I was trying to read about Ukraine earlier today, and it just wasn’t registering with me. Thank you for telling us a person’s story, Penelope. This post helped me engage with what’s going on there.
And now for a different view (the information in the blog post was surprising for me, so I’ve sent it to one colleague from work that is Ukrainian. He left Ukraine about one year ago and he’s been up to speed to what has been happening there recently so I trust his opinion).
Not saying that Dmitry is an exception, not saying that my colleague is the exception:
“I think this is a total crap.
The translator said, “There is not really those words in his language. He doesn’t know what you mean.” – bullshit, there are plenty of words.
The translator says, “He is crying. He has never heard any business person talk this way. I had to tell him that you really mean it.” – total bullshit, maybe business is less socially-oriented then here but people still care about other people.
“ But there is no way to pay for medical care in Ukraine.” – here I laughed and closed the page. I had a perfect insurance (paid by employer) back in Ukraine.
Basically I don’t think Ukraine is that much poor and struggling. But of course people were glad to turn down that corrupted and spoiled government.”
I would be curious who is part of the majority…
As a professional translator/linguist, I was initially skeptical about the words to express such concepts not existing in Dmitry’s language. Then I read something my brother (a street photographer) wrote after an encounter with a homeless man in India:
http://web.stagram.com/p/669676819607965474_715754
When my brother asked the man what he would do if he could do anything he wanted, the person had trouble processing the question. Finally he gets what my brother is asking and says:
“I don’t dream like that, I simply would do anything to take care of my family.”
So, maybe it is not really a matter of the words existing in that language…it is that the person has conditioned himself not to think in such terms.
Others may think and frame their experiences differently, depending on their own situations.
I just read my brother’s anecdote this morning and felt that it helped me understand this post a bit more.
So true. I am American citizen who left Ukraine a little over 11 years ago. Side note my reason for immigrating had little to do with political or economic realities of the country. Dmitriy seems to offer a twisted view of Ukrainian reality because he is either gaining something out of it or by design possesses more than usually distorted view. I have sent many packages to Ukraine in 11 years and not even one time my family had to bribe anyone to receive them. And they leave in a small provincial town. There is a real fear of theft of the packages or simple loss due to negligence. So, I would prefer to send money for big ticket items. Although it is so much cheaper to buy electronics in USA. Now thinking about what Dmitriy said, I suspect he used widely accepted Ukrainian method of making a “bonus” : took the money, bought a very inexpensive second hand machine instead of negotiating for a higher pay upfront. Medical system in Unkraine is in no way “dangerous”. I find it so much better that the one we have in USA. My daughter was lucky (if I can say that in this sad context) to have a serious injury in Ukraine and not in America. The cost of the care in America would have driven us into bankrupcy and the outcome of medical care would have been poorer. How I know? She had a sport-induced flair up of the injury last year and Drs here could/cared less to do anything. Thanks to internet I had 2 specialists looking at her X-rays in Ukraine and giving the right course of treatment. She also had a chronic fungal infection from overly prescribed antibiotics in USA which was showing as chronic sinus issues. We were able get rid of it after correct diagnosis done in Ukraine for free within 3 weeks of our visit. If i listened to and paid American doctors, she would still be on inhaler slowly developing asthma.
On another note, if anyone wants to have more direct information about Ukraine feel free to ask and with Penelope’s permission I will post a few links.
Not being able to get Tylenol at the store in the Ukraine. I tell you what, I’m often critical of things here in the U.S., but as “bad” as things can get here, it’s not that bad. I think we’re a bit spoiled here.
BARBIE
I oil the pan. I pour everything into
the water, into the pan. I mix oil and
water. Get it? Oil and water don’t
mix. But I have to mix oil and water.
I have to make it work. I have no
choice.
PRINCESS
You can’t do that. You just
can’t. It’s not done. Oil and water don’t mix. There are boundaries you
know. Lines you just don’t cross.
BARBIE
I have to Princess. I have to make it
work. You’d be surprised at what you
can do when you have no choice.
I had the chance to spend some time in Ukraine a few years ago, and it’s really a wonderful country with very kind and helpful people. Too bad things like these are going on right now, but I pray for them and hope that all of this, in some mysterious way, is for the better.
When all this hustle is over, I will definitely go visit Ukraine again.
You are a very caring and kind person, Penelope. Thank you for sharing this. Hope you’re having a good week.
These are the stories I want to hear on the nightly news, not the fluff they put on now. Great article, keep them coming, and for all the negative aspects of technology today, one positive note on it is anybody can get their story out to the world now to make sure that whatever injustice is taking place, it won’t take place for long…..
Thanks for writing.
I read the post twice to see if I’m missing something but I can’t figure out if his ethnicity is Ukrainian or Russian. He lives in the Ukraine, but you gave him a Russian name and he speaks Russian in his conversations with you and the translator?
It is really not that difficult. He is Ukrainian because he leaves and pays taxes to Ukraine, his kids go to Ukrainian schools and so on. Just like we are all Americans with different ethnic roots, he is also Ukrainian with Russian (most likely mixed with others) ethnicity. Many people in Ukraine speak Russian freely and are not persecuted or discriminated against. In some regions, Russian is preferred language for employment.
Please forgive me for typos. I should have read what I typed before clicking the button.
Meant “he lives”
This post has really driven home for me that the revolution is real, it’s personal, it’s a huge thing on a personal level for so many people, and so needed. For all that I’ve been reading news articles and watching updates on it, nothing else has really driven that home for me. I didn’t expect to find this here. Thank you, Penelope and Dmitry.
I loved your blog about Demitri P. We don’t realize how good we have it in the U.S. The mere kindness of paying a man for his work makes him cry. How moving and sad! A expected act (getting paid) is felt deeply as an ultra kind act by a man in a country like Ukraine.
This blog brings how good I have it home to me. Right here, right now!
Where do I connect with someone like Dimitri? I have given up on local web developers….the higher pay is only the beginning of the issues we’ve faced with local web developers. I’m beginning to think no one in my town needs work.
https://www.freelancer.com/freelancers/Ukraine/all/
Thanks.
Great story…I want to hire a Ukrainian too.