King of the Ukraine border

As I remember, in the mid ‘90s, in the middle of Europe, on the border between West and East, everybody, really everybody, was doing it. In Hungary, in the close neighbourhood of Ukraine, most of my friends and fellows were making a living from the opportunities offered by the nearby of the border, mainly from illegal activities. There were those who smuggled stolen cars out of the country in wigs, and there were those who dealt in gas pistols, but there were also those who were much more daring. I know a man who is now a real hotshot, who has built up a huge business out of the capital he raised in the 1990s from all sorts of outlaw businesses. At that time it was perfectly acceptable throughout the country, and it was no different in Kisvárda, near the border. There was an expression for it, we used to say that „We were fishing in troubled water”. Anyway, I count myself among the braver ones, I was interested in almost anything that could make money. I did more hazardous things and I enjoyed it, because I saw it as a game. All I really wanted to do was play and make a lot of money and even more and more.