On the eve of the April Fools Day, RFE/RL interviewed the man who made many Ukrainian people smiling and laughing – Les Podervyanskiy. Famous Ukrainian writer and poet told a funny story from his life.
“It was fantastic. A person may be this happy only once a lifetime. It was very simple. In the evening, the political department chief rushed in to me shouting and terribly cursing, and grabbed me without explaining anything. We went to a training center, there was also situated a pig farm. Me, and my assistant, we were tasked to paint all the pigs till the morning, so we did that.
-But why?
- Actually I could not ask such questions to the chief of the division’s political department, because I knew the answer in advance. As I do not want to here once again that answer, I do not ask such questions. I say: “Yes, comrade colonel. I serve to the Soviet Union!”. Thus, all the pigs were painted, besides, into a very beautiful silver color.
When we finished, and the pigs went outdoors to graze at a green meadow in the morning, imagine, the iron pigs were moving in the morning mist. It was a splendid view.
Much later I got to know about the aim of the action. Some general from the regional headquarters was to fly by a helicopter over our training center. Aesthetes from our division thought that his bossy eye would be desecrated if it saw the pigs as they are. I do share their opinion because, probably, it was really pleasant to see the pigs, into which I put my heart and soul”.
