Kyiv: end of 19th, beginning of 20th century

Out of what we see on these postcards, I would say 60% is destroyed. A lot is still there, as you can see by my neighbouring thread of city aerials. As to French language, all of my relatives from early 20th century spoke it fluently. I found letters which they wrote to each other in French. Many of them emigrated to Paris after the october revolution.