We walk past Renat Ahkmetov’s home/hotel every time we walk to and from the bus stop. It feels like we are in a different world. According to Money magazine, at a net worth of 2.6 billion USD, he is the sixth richest man in Europe. He owns a lot of land, mines, factories, hotels, soccer teams, etc in the area.
Yesterday evening, as we were walking home we were forced to cross the road to avoid a huge amount of pipes, welded to aim upright and at slight angles. We noticed a lot of wires and technology around the pipes that we weren’t accustomed to. We assumed it was some sort of fireworks fusing set-up, but it was nothing like what we have been used to with our small family fireworks displays at home.
Later in the evening, we heard some loud bangs as we were sitting in the living room. We ran outside and saw about half the faculty and their families standing outside the building watching a very impressive fireworks show. I overheard the rector say, jokingly, to one of the professors, “that was half-a-year’s salary for someone at DCU.” Personally, I don’t think that all of the $2,000 annual salary of a professor would have put on half of the show.
I read (on the Internet) that Ahkmatov’s birthday was on Wednesday and I suppose this was part of the celebration. Not that there are a lot of people like him in the area, but still the chasm between those with and those without is quite wide here in Ukraine.
Dave
