Miller Student From Ukraine is Watching Situation Back Home

While Ukraine and Russia may seem to be on the other side of the world to most folks in the Ozarks, for at least one area student, talk of war between the two former Soviet states hits close to home – literally.

Daniil Rakov is a Ukrainian student attending Miller High School this year through a foreign exchange program. Rakov is from the city of Zaporizhzhia, which he said is about 200 km (roughly 120 miles) from the breakaway region in eastern Ukraine that has been trying to join the Russian Federation since the annexation of the Crimean peninsula by the larger state a number of years ago.

Rakov said that at this point in time, he’s not concerned that Russia may invade its neighbor to the west, though he acknowledges it is a possibility, however remote.

“I’m 99 percent sure that right now it’s politicians on both sides just making noises,” said Rakov.

The two former member states of the old Soviet Union have had complicated relations over the last few years as a number of Ukrainian governments began to cultivate closer ties to Western Europe and NATO, rather than other former Soviet states. Many citizens of Ukraine, particularly in the east, have close ties to Russia, and primarily speak the Russian language, a legacy of Soviet-era policies and the many centuries the region was part of the Russian Empire. Western portions of the country have a stronger Ukrainian or regional identity, owing to centuries spent under the dominance of other powers prior to World War II.

Like many people in Ukraine, Rakov’s own family has some Russian ancestry, and he is fluent in both Russian and Ukrainian. He explained some of this to Miller students during the Veterans Day assembly last month, when he described his father’s service, first in the Soviet armed forces and later in those of Ukraine.

Rakov said that a bigger concern than Russia is the state of the Ukrainian economy, which is in rough shape, despite its longtime reputation as a breadbasket region.

“Ukraine needs more foreign investment, better management, and more support for people like farmers,” said Rakov. “Our agriculture sector has gone downhill, but it is still the largest sector of our economy.”

This extended stay in the United States is the first time Rakov has traveled outside Ukraine, courtesy of a program sponsored by the U.S. Department of State and the ASSE agency. Though his hometown has about 750,000 residents, he says rural Missouri isn’t so different from home, as he isn’t unfamiliar with rural or small town life, having often visited his grandmother’s country home.

“I feel that the biggest difference, for me, is just being in a different country,” said Rakov. “Learning new things and experiencing new things is my goal while I’m here.”

In addition to his parents, he has a brother back in Ukraine; his host parents while in the U.S. are Jeff and Christina Hadlock. Among the differences he’s noticed are that faith practices are different – many Ukrainians follow an Orthodox Christian tradition, as compared to American Protestantism as is most common in the Ozarks.

Rakov said that he wants people to know that Ukraine is a beautiful country with good people – although they do have a tendency to speak in a more direct way than that which most Americans may be comfortable.

“Ukraine is a magnificent place for nature, with kind people always willing to help out,” said Rakov. “I feel that it’s one of the best as far as having guaranteed rights and freedoms, and it has a lot of unique customs and traditions.”

“It’s just kind of hard to talk about without people being able to see it themselves.”