Ukraine has almost as many people as France, Italy, or the United Kingdom, but neighboring Russia has three times as many people! During the days of the tsars and the subsequent Soviet era, government policies of land development and "Russification" drastically changed the ethnic make-up of Ukraine. Ukrainians traveled east to "homestead" in Far East Russia, and ethnic Russians were moved into Ukraine in order to weaken Ukrainian nationalist feeling. Today ethnic Ukrainians make up about 73 percent of Ukraine's population.

About 22 percent of the people are ethnic Russians. Other ethnic groups include Jews, Belarusians, Moldovans, Bulgarians, Poles, Hungarians, and Romanians. When Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union, Russian was the country's official language. After independence, Ukrainian regained its place as the official language of Ukraine. The Ukrainian alphabet is Cyrillic and similar to, though not identical to, the Russian alphabet. Ukrainian speakers can often understand Russian speakers, and vice versa. Other languages spoken in Ukraine include Polish, Romanian, and Hungarian.

<< top of page

Country of Traditions

Perhaps the most familiar ambassadors of Ukrainian culture are pysanky, or Ukrainian Easter eggs. This indigenous art form dates back a thousand years. Each symbol and color on a genuine pysanka has a meaning rooted in Christian, and even pre-Christian, tradition.

For more on pysanky, go to www.cs.unc.edu/~yakowenk/pysanky

The national instrument of Ukraine is the bandura, a descendant of the lute. The bandura resembles its ancestor in general form, but is slightly asymmetrical, fretless, and is often as large as a small harp. The bandura comes in different sizes and styles, however, and the number of strings (which are plucked rather than strummed) varies from 20 to 65. The sound of the bandura most closely resembles that of the harpsichord. During the Soviet era the bandura was outlawed and its players persecuted--even executed--because its music aroused such strong nationalistic feeling. For more on the bandura, go to www.bandura.org

Ukrainian national costume varies from region to region, but most traditional Ukrainian dress is characterized by intricate, colorful embroidery. Shirts for both men and women have full sleeves and usually reach well past the hips. Men's clothing is often more richly ornamented than women's wear, but the beautiful, elaborate headdresses belong to the women. For more on Ukrainian traditional costume, go to pages.prodigy.net/l.hodges/ukraine.htm, and select Folk and Fine Arts.

Ritual songs, songs telling of heroic exploits, and songs relating the history of Ukraine formed the early base of Ukrainian literature. With the Christian era, a written literature began to develop. But the evolution of a true Ukrainian literature suffered during the decades of Mongol domination, and the suppression of the Ukrainian language under foreign rule also hampered literary development. Only within the last two hundred years has a modern Ukrainian literature begun to emerge.

<< top of page

History

Ukraine in general, and Kiev in particular, served as the matrix for the entire Russian empire. The civilization known as Kievan-Rus attained its height during the 9th century, when its position along east-west trade routes allowed it to prosper. Throughout Ukraine's long history, its fertile farmland has attracted invaders. In ancient times these included Scythians, Greeks, and the Tatar-Mongols under the leadership of a descendant of Genghis Khan. Kiev's culture and prosperity diminished during decades of Mongol control in the 13th century. Modern rulers included a Polish-Lithuanian alliance, the country of Russia, and the USSR. As part of the Soviet Union from 1922 to 1991, Ukraine was known as the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. During the Soviet era, Josef Stalin purposely engineered a tragedy in Ukraine known as "the Great Famine," during which almost ten million people starved to death. For more on the Great Famine, go to  www.ukrweekly.com/Archive/Great_Famine

Ukraine declared sovereignty in 1990 and independence in 1991, becoming part of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). Ukraine is a republic. The current president is Leonid Danylovych Kuchma and the prime minister is Viktor Yushchenko.

Send International is a proud member of the
Gospelcom.net
alliance.
Report comments or problems to the webmaster.