Once, taking a walk with my son who has reached the age of whys and what fors, I noticed a sign remarkably characteristic of the times in the following dialogue:
“Mom, I want you to buy me a car like that one.”
“It costs a lot of money.”
“So how can we get that much money all at once?” the boy was all ears now.
Our children do not regard monetary problems in an abstract way like people now aged between 30 and 50 used to treat them in their childhood. At a time when the words “financial crisis” are heard almost everywhere asking young and teenage Kyivans about their attitude to the problem seemed not only proper, but also informative.
The first question was, “How do you understand financial crisis?”
“Crisis is like a disease and financial crisis hurts everybody. Mom is always very nervous, shouting that I'll never see candies, toys or go to the zoo again. Daddy always has a headache and no longer plays with me. He watches TV and smokes a lot. Granny drinks her medicine instead of eating.” (Arseny Maksymov, 5, from a businessman’s family.)
“Crisis is like craziness. A financial crisis is when everybody talks about money. Nothing else. About how to make more money. Soon everyone will wear old and cheap clothes, not what they buy at expensive stores. And we’ll be eating less to save money.” (Zoya Beliashenko, fourth grade, secondary school in Shuliavka residential district.)
“Most likely it is yet another fraud, maybe a conspiracy, and no one seems to know a way out. In general, I understand crisis as humiliation, chastening people’s pride, making them aware of their utter helplessness and wait for some miracle to come save them. Now the President. I would never wish to be in his shoes, for this would mean either telling endless lies or becoming the people’s rescuer, forgetting all about yourself, about all your little joys, including money.” (Mykyta Savin, 14, student at an art school.)
“I think crisis means that people must go to live in another country. England or even further. Things are not too bad here, but we could go to another country where they pay better wages and where I will get a lot of presents.” (Semen Kipnys, 4.)
“Everyone wants to have a lot of money to have a lot of fun and be happy knowing that he can buy things. Now is the time to tighten our belts because of the crisis. I think that I will soon feel embarrassed in class, because my parents won’t be able to buy new clothes and things, and our boys will curse when window shopping. And there will be more people in the streetcars with bottles that stink so much.” (Snizhana Hranovska, Grade 6, Lyceum in Pechersk.)
“I think it’s nothing but fear. Everyone is afraid of hunger, winter, and death. For me, the financial crisis means being at school, with steaming breath and freezing hands. The library is closed. And I see interesting computer games at the store and can’t buy any. And forget about trips to other cities, let alone countries.” (Anton Kostiuk, 15, ordinary school in Lukianivka.)
Crisis is Latin for judgment and finance means the result of economic management. God forbid if after such judgment of the economic results most of us will consider a loaf of bread the best present like this Russian child in the photo.







