🧵Thread about my experience growing up in Ukraine:

I spent two days in my hometown in western Ukraine and thought a lot about what my childhood was like here.

In short, it wasn't fun.

I grew up in a small, ugly town and was raised by poor and unhappy parents who lived in a rented one-room apartment with old, shabby furniture and paper-thin walls.

Our food was never good enough and the wine was always cheap and too sweet.

There were many churches and second-hand shops in my town, but few good cafes and bookstores (fortunately, this has changed).

Growing up, I was not surrounded by happy and successful people – most were just tired and wanted to make ends meet.

And I have many such friends – from small ugly towns, from poor families.

Somehow we managed to break this vicious circle, build a career, earn money and now we travel the world, drink expensive wine, buy books on Amazon and watch Broadway musicals on HBO.

And every time I think what would have happened if I and my friends had chosen to follow Russia, its Soviet past, and not Western democratic values.

We would probably be like our parents who didn't have much choice.

Probably, we would not defend so zealously our country, built by generations of people who also refused to follow Russia.

We probably wouldn't be able to get the support of the whole world, because the world simply wouldn't understand us.

When I was born, Ukraine was gray and a little sad.

Ukraine in which I live now and for which I fight is digitized, stylish and ambitious – with modern museums, hipster bars and incredible parks.

I like this Ukraine better. And every day I try to make such choices so that future generations never live in small ugly cities, in poor and unhappy families.