Through: John Gordon Sennett
Picture 1
Picture 2
June 26, 2023 was once a quiet cool day in Kyiv, Ukraine. No Air Raid sirens woke us in the midst of the evening. Simply two nights earlier than, missile particles had struck a development killing 4 other folks within the Solom’yanskyi District. The very district we used to are living in and must trip thru for our first ever seek advice from to the Ukraine Nationwide Beekeeping Museum (Picture 1). My spouse’s (Natasha) maiden title is Prokopovych on her Ukrainian aspect. Petro Prokopovych (1775-1850) is well known as the primary ever clothier of business beehives along with his movable body hive (see Picture 2). Natasha was once excited even supposing the Soviets had destroyed maximum beginning data and he or she has no thought if she is an immediate relation of this well-known Ukrainian beekeeper. I used to be excited as a result of I had sought after to seek advice from ever since we moved to Ukraine in November 2020 after which the struggle stopped all essence of ordinary dwelling. We’ve got simply discovered to are living with the struggle and these days’s day out was once extremely expected. Plus, we might be assembly our pals who’re taking into consideration their very own apiary within the south of Kyiv Oblast.
Picture A
Our Uber motive force professionally wove thru site visitors and shortly sufficient we arrived on the gates. A worn signal recognized the grounds of the museum because the “Prokopovych Institute of Beekeeping” (Picture A). Our pals have been operating in the back of and as we entered the gate, the guard knowledgeable us the museum was once closed. My spouse rattled off her fluent Russian and shortly sufficient, a telephone name was once made, the gates opened. If you step within the gates, the city setting totally disappears. We first encountered a unmarried apitherapy space at the side of wood-carved gnomes the scale of small logs. Meandering down the lane, an older lady was once pulling weeds close to the statue of Petro Prokopovych. Natasha spoke together with her in short and we persisted on. Quickly, we discovered all other kinds of beehives from the outdated log hives to Ukrainian-style lengthy hives to a couple Slovenian and others. All this on show within the open air. Extra whimsical log gnomes greeted us alongside the best way (Picture 3).
Picture 3
Quickly sufficient, we encountered a person who greeted us and requested us our industry. We knowledgeable him we would have liked to look the museum. He needed to take a look at upper up the ladder and advised us to wander a little whilst he did so. Additional down the lane, we got here throughout an Orthodox Christian chapel with more than a few saints who have been referred to as beekeepers. The interior was once closed however the external was once neatly embellished. We persisted on, our pals knowledgeable us they have been operating overdue and fixed in Kyiv site visitors. On the finish of the lane, we got here throughout a number of lively Langstroth hives in a small beeyard. I may inform that two of the hives have been sturdy however a 3rd was once susceptible in line with the job out and in of the hives. Quickly sufficient, our information was once inquiring if our pals have been coming and he was once starting to glance impatient. A couple of moments later, we noticed them making their approach down the lane.
Our information by no means gave us his title or possibly I neglected it when he did. After we have been all in combination, he turned into very enthusiastic. Since my spouse is a Russian speaker, he selected that language as an alternative of Ukrainian. Our pals also are fluent in each languages and I am getting via a little bit in each. The primary room we input holds outdated farming tools from the 1800’s at the side of a loom to turn the custom of Cossack self-sufficiency. Petro Prokopovych got here from a circle of relatives of clergymen of Cossack foundation. More than a few implements for shearing sheep and brushing the wool lie round, an outdated horn tool and a number of other clothes with the signature embroidery genre of Ukraine.
Subsequent, we input a complete room of preserved hives and different beekeeping tools. Right here, there’s a completely preserved Prokopovych Hive (See Picture 2). There are outdated Slavic log hives on one aspect of the room. Ukrainian-style lengthy hives in more than a few paperwork, some painted with elaborate Cossack scenes and different hives from Poland, the Baltics and Slovakia line the partitions. Our information displays us queen nucs with wax nonetheless within the frames. Additionally, an overly fascinating field that I assumed was once a nuc field became out to be an apitherapy field {that a} healer carried with them when the use of bee stings. A big portray of priests tending beehives embellishes one wall of the entire room as neatly. We most likely can have stayed there every other hour however being the museum wasn’t “formally” open, we didn’t wish to press our success.
Our information courteously confirmed us into the following room the place there sat a type of “The Swallow’s Nest” which is a well-known citadel at the coast of Crimea, now occupied via the Russians. Essentially the most superb factor is that our information opened it to show that it was once as soon as an ornamental, functioning beehive with custom designed movable frames.
Simply off that room, stood one of the most nice treasures of the entire museum. A room filled with merchandise constituted of beekeeping. There have been two complete cupboards of apothecary pieces from a century in the past to fashionable occasions. An apitherapy inhaler sat lonely subsequent to them. A complete cupboard of more than a few beekeeping gear from wax scrapers, framing implements, hive gear and different sundry pieces identified to maximum beekeepers stood to the left. 3 cupboards with more than a few pieces constituted of beeswax from the sensible to the creative stored us all mesmerized for slightly some time. There was once even a duplicate of Da Vinci’s “Closing Supper” solid solely of beeswax. My buddy Kostya and I have been intrigued maximum via the ultimate cupboard. It contained a whole selection of more than a few alcoholic spirits constituted of now not most effective honey however propolis and a bottle of sake mentioned to be constituted of the stays of lifeless bees. We didn’t wish to depart this room and there was once rarely sufficient time to inspect each and every unmarried merchandise.
Picture 4
Our information were given very excited as he led us into the ultimate room. The electrical energy flickered off and on because it steadily does within the struggle. He was once downcast and all of us stood there for a minute discussing one of the most shows we had observed. A whir within the background and the lighting got here on and our information smiled as he lit a complete diorama of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra (Picture 4). This monastery is essentially the most well-known in Kyiv as a result of it’s the basis of Orthodox Christianity in lots of the Northern Slavic lands based in 1051. In 2013, the World Beekeeping Congress (Apimondia) was once held in Kyiv and a excursion of the monastery’s apiary was once a part of this system. Orthodox priests produce honey, beeswax candles and different merchandise to this present day. Now, all the way through the struggle, the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra is every other battleground for Moscow’s keep an eye on of Ukraine. But, the monastic beekeepers, we suppose, nonetheless take care of the apiary.
Simply as we have been about to wrap up our excursion, every other guy entered and offered himself as a Director of the Museum, Genadiy Bodnarchuk. He defined all the complicated and museum have been discovered via his father, L.I. Bodnarchuk (1938-2015) and the museum itself is now named the L.I. Bodnarchuk Beekeeping Museum. We had a excellent snigger when he advised us he’s allergic to bees (a trait we proportion in not unusual). Our buddy who sought after to start out an apiary had some questions and Gendaiy gladly spoke to them concerning the two several types of Apis mellifera used for beekeeping in Ukraine. There may be what he referred to as the “Steppe Bees” that are extra tailored to hotter climates and are living within the south of the rustic. Sadly, that is the place lots of the lively struggle zone is and plenty of beekeepers have misplaced their apiaries thru loss of life, destruction and robbery via the invading military. The opposite form of honey bee used he referred to as “Carpathian Bees” which he were given very desirous about. It sounds as if, those are very illness/pest resistant, delicate and he turned into animated as he defined that they forage in reasonably chilly temperatures in comparison to many others.
Genadiy is an overly sort guy who exudes a love for what he does however he couldn’t keep away from being downcast as he defined that because of the struggle, nearly all their investment has dried up. He slightly scratched sufficient cash in combination to mend a roof that collapsed all the way through the Iciness, just about destroying one of the most museum’s shows and archives. Formally, they might now not generate earnings from guests as a result of there’s no bomb safe haven at the grounds so that they can not legally be open to the general public. Genadiy nonetheless maintained a twinkle in his eye and a glimmer of hope like all of us do who’ve persevered this struggle thus far. All people chatted for almost an hour as he confirmed us some experimental hives that they have been additionally looking for investment for. Genadiy smiled as he advised us that the Apimondia Congress had mentioned that their museum “Featured a suite that no different museum on the planet comes as regards to.” (https://www.apimondia2013.com.ua/technical-tours).
Picture 5 (Artwork via Alexandr Chekmenev)
The ones occasions are lengthy long past now and possibly they’ve all been forgotten. The unfastened internet hosting of the museum’s site is lengthy since expired. Grass and shrubs are overgrown in lots of spaces of the grounds. No guests can come. Many beekeepers all over Ukraine were killed as squaddies in addition to being hit via Russian missiles and artillery. An image of a Langstorth hive painted within the blue and yellow of the Ukrainian flag, floating in water from the detonation of the Nova Kakhovka Dam and its ensuing floodwaters because the honey bees so desperately clung as a swarm at the out of doors nonetheless haunts me. The tale from a Ukrainian Telegram Channel (https://t.me/pravdaGerashchenko_en/27050) of a sixty-eight 12 months outdated beekeeper named Serhiy (Picture 5 via Alexandr Chekmenev) who controlled to snatch some honeycombs earlier than operating into an underground safe haven with 9 youngsters and 9 adults who made candles from the beeswax to supply gentle for the scared youngsters. Seven of the adults have been performed via the Russians and ten others died because of the prerequisites within the cellar. Serhiy survived however most effective two out of his forty-two hives survived. The longing and ache of the picture of a beekeeper who misplaced such a lot nonetheless circulates amongst the entire different horrors of this struggle.
Natasha (now a U.S. citizen) all the time speaks fondly of her years within the U.S. and the way she loves the kindness and generosity of American citizens. We drove away and made up our minds that regardless of being busy, coping with our personal struggle problems, that possibly we must get started a Fb web page for the Petro Prokopovych Nationwide Beekeeping Museum. Right here is that this treasure of Ukraine and of global beekeeping historical past that can be misplaced or fall into severe disrepair on account of the movements of a murderous enemy that is making an attempt to break Ukrainian historical past, tradition and other folks. In accordance to a couple resources, Ukraine is the highest honey manufacturer in Europe and within the best 5 nations international. But, there’s no mechanism past this small operation to behavior experiments, catalogue beekeepers, pests, sicknesses and advertise beekeeping in Ukraine. Right here, within the position the place the primary industrial beehive was once invented, there’s little hope some of the team of workers that any one will assist. The worth by myself for beekeepers in North The united states associated with the Carpathian and Steppes variant bees is sufficient for anyone to come back to the rescue. Then, I assumed, neatly, possibly if other folks there in fact knew the tale, the ones values that Natasha cherishes such a lot would right away come into play.
Creator Bio
John Gordon Sennett is a U.S. citizen dwelling in Ukraine since November 2020 along with his spouse Natasha (Prokopvych). Natasha’s circle of relatives in Ukraine has a protracted historical past of beekeeping. She purchased John a hive for his fiftieth birthday and he was once hooked. John was once an city hobbyist beekeeper in Lakeland, Florida for 4 years the place he was once an lively member of the Ridge Beekeeper’s Affiliation in Polk County and stored 3 changed Langstroth Lengthy Hives with feral bees.
Paypal to donate to the Nationwide Beekeeping Museum: [email protected]