Boris. The Official Hat of Winter. Note: The article below contains the occasional disparaging comment about Ukraine. But the Ukraine I write about is a 1990s version of the modern Ukraine of today that I love (where there is no gas, the banks are closed so you can’t get a check cashed, and the doctors haven’t been paid in three months.). Any resemblance is coincidental So: No offense intended. Of Course. When a man starts to name his hats, it is possible that, as they say in Canada, there are Labatts in la belfry (note the obscure beer reference). Or maybe the snow in March has gone to the head. Which is, fortunately, covered by a hat. But Boris isn’t just any hat. Boris joined the family on my first trip to Dnepropretrovsk, Ukraine, many years ago. And therein lies a story. Dnepropretrovsk (pronounced…well, let’s just call it Dnep) is a city of about 1,000,000 people in central Ukraine. You may be surprised, that, having pulled out your pre-1992 Ukraine atlas (I keep mine in my Sunday pajamas) to find no mention of such a city, 1,000,000 brave souls or not. This ...