This article was written and published on Facebook on July 23, 2021. The translation has been adapted for English-speaking readers unfamiliar with the nuances of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict that began in 2014. The original text is here: https://www.facebook.com/igryprestolovdonbass/posts/pfbid0YdzZHb6yAYMNnadgocTUPKT9RNbiynMjxX1ADBvJ1ND8hmK1gzFdzSSu5B2RdPf3l

Golf in Luhansk

What golf? What does golf have to do with Ukraine’s 2014 «sacred» revolution of «dignity» and «holy» war?

Let me explain: the presence of golf courses in any country is an indicator of the country’s civilization and a favorable business climate for attracting potential investors.

Numbers: The US has 9,500 golf courses for a population of 350 million. Our «Normandy brothers» in Europe, where we, Ukrainians, have been following for seven years, are: Germany has 750 courses for 70 million people. France has 700 courses for 65 million people.

Ukraine has three golf courses for 35 million people. But there were four. And the very first golf course was built in Luhansk. It was called the «First Luhansk Golf Club.» It opened in 2008. Subsequently, golf clubs opened in Kharkiv and Kyiv.

A reader from Ukraine might say, «We have nothing to eat, and here he is talking about the games of ‘rich idiots’ who chase a ball across fields. We only know about the fields in Poland, where we crawl on our knees while picking strawberries for 3 euros an hour.»

Excuse me, but when the revolution in Ukraine was underway in 2014, future Prime Minister Yatsenyuk and his allies promised you a life like in Europe. And in Europe, people can play golf for 20 euros on a good course. A yearly membership costs 600-900 euros—you can play every day on their salaries. So let some people calculate how much money they waste on drink and squander in restaurants each year, instead of spending that money on healthy outdoor sports. And the leaders of the 2014 Ukrainian revolution promised that in a couple of years, the salary of every Ukrainian would be no less than 1,500 euros a month, right?

Yes, I agree. Those who brought you to the Maidan, those thirty people at most, the people who sang to you that war was sacred, have become fabulously rich during their six years of absolute power, and now they’ll be enjoying life somewhere abroad, remembering how cleverly they pulled off that little scheme, deceiving the entire country and earning billions. They’ll play golf, sail on yachts, and fly their own planes.

Luhansk has always been a depressing city compared to neighboring Donetsk. There’s zero entertainment, except for going to a restaurant, a movie, or a barbecue—zero entertainment.

So one man, Luhansk businessman Alexander, and a couple of partners lease 80 hectares of land, 16 kilometers from Luhansk, toward the town of Shchastya. Instead of farming (growing, selling, and counting the profits), they build a magnificent nine-hole golf club in a couple of years, knowing in advance that it won’t break even anytime soon, if at all. The first golf club in Ukraine. And where? In depressed Luhansk. 2008.

Why is it magnificent? Not because I’m biased. I personally, at different times, brought three foreign businessmen I know to this club: an Estonian, a Frenchman, and an Englishman, who were visiting Luhansk on business. But they were amazed when, after the depressing Luhansk, they saw this oasis. Everything was world-class. These foreign investors were golfers themselves and had played in various countries, so there was little to surprise them with.

Was the Luhansk Golf Club profitable? No. Just like all golf clubs in Ukraine, they’re unprofitable. There were relatively few actual players (fans from Luhansk and Donetsk), although the club was open to everyone. The only conditions were: don’t get drunk on the golf course or barbecue there. Just take 10 lessons and go. But alas, Ukrainians aren’t Americans. Golf wasn’t popular. But many people came to sit in the «delicious» restaurant, whose outdoor terrace offered a wonderful view of the golf course. It was also probably amusing for the restaurant’s patrons to watch us, the players, walk 5-10 kilometers around the course, hitting balls with our clubs. Apparently, we presented ourselves to the public as these «funny, half-crazy little animals,» complementing the good food and whiskey. Clowns were part of the entertainment.

Many Luhansk residents were afraid to learn golf. The businessmen who owned the club had some long-standing conflict with the then-all-powerful «owner» of the Luhansk region, A. Yefremov, and so they didn’t want to show up at the golf club, lest they displease the «master of the region.» People from Donetsk didn’t care, and several regularly made the 140-kilometer journey from their city to the golf course.

Is Alexander the madman who created this magnificence? We sing a song to the madness of the brave!

The oasis existed for six years, until… The fact is, the club was located in the middle of the Luhansk-Shchastya highway, where, in early June 2014, our «dear» President Petro Poroshenko decided to wage war. Luhansk «rebels» launched their own counterattack. And so, along the entire highway between the town of Shchastya and the village of Metalist, which is located at the entrance to Luhansk, armed clashes broke out between Ukrainian volunteer battalions and Luhansk rebels. Naturally, neither side ignored the oasis in the open field—the golf club, located 200 meters from the road. First there was looting. Then fighting. Then all at once.

Nadiya Savchenko is an officer in the Ukrainian army. Her life was changed by a golf course in Luhansk. Perhaps Nadiya Savchenko was driven by the inherent female desire to experience the glamorous life, or perhaps she decided that a golf course was the most comfortable place for an observation post—who knows? Evil tongues even claimed that when Nadiya entered the golf club grounds on June 17, 2014, she even threw a couple of grenades, opening the restaurant door «to clear» any rebels who might be there. But at that hectic time, the golf club grounds were deserted except for the frogs in the pond and the club’s adder -Fedya, who had become accustomed to lying comfortably on the lakeshore and who probably watched the glamorous Nadiya’s actions with great surprise.

That’s where Nadya was arrested by the rebels. From there, her ordeal began, including two years in a Russian prison, followed by her release, the title of Hero of Ukraine, and a seat in the Ukrainian parliament. I personally have great respect for this young woman, who went from being a Maidan-fueled fanatic, followed by a stint in prison in Russia, to someone who realized how much we had all been manipulated and is convinced that the war must be ended through negotiations, not by throwing grenades. For this, she was sent to yet another prison, this time a Ukrainian one. She has always been and remains honest and true to herself. She has conducted herself with dignity in all situations.

And remember how in July and August 2014, TV channels were abuzz with stories about Russian-Czech and Russian-Polish phrasebooks being discovered on the grounds of a Luhansk golf club, proving:

— Russian propagandists’ version: Czech and Polish mercenaries are fighting on the side of the Ukrainian battalions.

Ukrainian television’s version: Polish and Czech mercenary bandits who escaped from prisons in their own countries are fighting on the side of the separatists.

Seven years later, in 2021, I’m revealing a secret:

The First Luhansk Golf Club was so high-quality that the greenkeeper, responsible for grass and plant care, was Martin, a Czech, and the head coach and teacher for the season was Pavel, a Pole. That’s all there is to it with the phrasebooks.

There’s nothing left of the Luhansk Golf Club. The cursed war of 2014. All the buildings are destroyed, the course, which requires watering and careful maintenance, is dry and mined. The Luhansk-Shchastye road is a «neutral gray zone.»

We won’t even begin to describe how difficult this was for the club’s owner, Alexander… his brainchild. So much work, so much money…

All recent events demonstrate that we are moving more confidently and quickly toward the end of this seven-year madness. Let’s hope that within the next year, the Minsk agreements will be implemented and Ukraine will become the Ukraine it once was, or at least something resembling it. International organizations will allocate funds to restore the infrastructure of Luhansk and Donetsk, and we will certainly initiate the construction of an equally magnificent golf club on the same site and hand it over to its former owners. We hope that the leadership of Ukraine and the autonomous Luhansk Oblast will support this initiative.