Ukraine, A Young European Country

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Demographic Setting

Ukraine has the 5th largest population in Europe (after Germany, Italy, UK, France) and is the 21st most populous country in the world. It accounts for 7.3% of European and 1% of the global population.
For centuries, Ukraine had been divided between its neighboring countries, each of them pursuing a policy of denationalization and complete assimilation. However, with the establishment of independence in 1991, a basis was created for the consolidation of the Ukrainian people, the development of their ethnical self-consciousness, and the union of the Ukrainian nation around its historic motherland.
Demographic dynamics
The systematic population census, carried out during the XXth century allows us to accurately track the changes in population number.
In 1913, 35.2 million people lived on the territory of modern Ukraine.
However, about 20 million people from Ukraine were killed in World War I & II, Civil War, the collectivization of agriculture, repressions, the artificial Famine of 1932-1933.
After the war, Ukraine experienced a massive inflow of population from other republics of the former USSR, though it was smaller than the concurrent mass migration of Ukrainians to build constructions in Siberia, Far East, virgin lands of Kazakhstan. The population reached the pre-war level of 40.6 million people only in 1956.
The population gradually rose in the second half of the XXth century due to the increase in birth rate. The population increase peaked at the beginning of 1993, when it reached 52.2 million people.
The crisis of 1990s negatively influenced the demographic situation in Ukraine. Massive migration, stimulated by the opportunities for free travel inside and outside the country, the decrease in the birth rate and increase in the death rate, caused by economic and sociopsychological factors, resulted in dramatic decline in Ukrainian population. Only in 2003 due to stabilization processes and steady economic growth, certain positive trends have developed, that could in time reverse the situation.
Ukrainian national population census
The first Ukrainian national population census was held on December, 5th, 2001 (the previous one took place in 1989 when Ukraine was part of the USSR).
According to the data of that census, the population of Ukraine amounted to 48.457 million people - substantially lower compared to 1989.
Density and allocation of the population on the territory of Ukraine
Like most European countries, Ukraine has a high density of population – 80 persons per sq. km. The lowest ratio is in the North, in Chernihiv region – 39 persons per sq. km. while the highest – in Donetsk region – 183 persons per sq. km. Eastern regions are populated comparatively densely – 90 persons per sq. km.
Ukraine is a predominately urban country, with an urban population of 32 million. The lowest rate of rural population is in such regions as Donetsk (10%), Luhansk (14%), Dnipropetrovsk (17%), Kharkiv (21%), Zaporizhzhya (24%). The rural regions are Ternopil and Zakarpattya (59% countryside), Ivano-Frankivsk and Chernivsti – 58%, Vinnytsia – 56% and Rivne – 55%. At the same time the most urbanized regions are Donetsk (90%), Luhansk (86%) and Dnipropetrovsk (83%).
There are 454 cities in Ukraine, 37 of these have a population between 100 and 500 thousand. There are nine cities with populations of over 500 thousand, and there are 5 with over 1 milion people.
Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, has over 2.6 million inhabitants.
Gender composition of the population
In Ukraine the female population outnumbers the male: 25, 16 000 women (53.7%) against 22, 441 000 men (46.3%). Although, compared to the 1989 census, the disproportion between the two sexes has decreased due to the certain balance in rural sector; in cities, though, the number of women has risen (however, it’s characteristic for mostly older age groups, while the correlation in the younger age is almost the same). The highest percentage of women (55%) is in Chernihiv region, the lowest (52%) in Zakarpattya, the rest of the territory has a ration of between 53-54%.
Age composition
At the time of 2001 census Ukraine was “aging”. The number of people of pension age (23.9%) was increasing while the number of children (18.1%) was decreasing. The average life term is 68 years - 73 for females and 63 for males. The aging of the general population is a process typical for all European states.
Citizenship, ethnical composition of the population
Ukrainian citizens amount 47, 950 000 of the population, 168 000 inhabitants are foreigners, of which 151, 000 are citizens of CIS).
The highest concentration of foreigners is in Sevastopol (3.4%). The two largest ethnic communities are Ukrainians (37.5 million or 77.8%) and Russians (8.3 million or 17.3%). During the period between the censuses, the percentage of Ukrainians has grown, while the number of ethnical Russians has dropped 25%.
For the first time since WWII, the share of people who speak has Ukrainian increased. Only 4 out of 27 regions of the country are predominantly Russian-speaking (Sevastopol, Crimea, Donets and Luhansk), in three other regions the share of people speaking Ukrainian or Russian is more-less the same, and over 2/3 inhabitants of 20 regions name Ukrainian as their mother tongue.
Today, Ukrainians recognize their native ethnicity in an independent Ukraine.
Education
The Ukrainian National Census revealed the number of people with higher and general education is growing (28.9 million people, which is 17.6% more than at the time of 1989 census). The level of education in Ukraine is viewed as one of the best in Central Europe. Only the Baltic states and Hungary have a higher number of students among 15-18 year-olds.
The number of college graduates has also risen at 26%, a positive sign for the future. The urban sector has a slightly higher educational level, and the migration of young people from rural areas during or after the studies also adds to this tendency.
Modern trends
According to the Ministry of labor and social policy, on March 1, 2004 approximately 47.5 million people reside in Ukraine on March 1, 2004. Although the tendency for decrease of population still continues, certain positive trends have appeared.
Since 2001, the average life span in Ukraine has increased. Compared to 2003, the rate of the natural population reduction has slowed down at 7.1% due to both increase of birth rate and decrease of death rate.
During January – February 2004, the number of newborn increased by 2.5 thousand (3.8%), and the number of deceased decreased by 3.1 thousand (2.2%) compared with the corresponding period of the previous year. The death rate among the newborn children is also dropping.
The migration rate is also dropping. Its level in January – February, 2004 turned out to be 3 times lower than at the same period in 2003 – decreasing from 9,300 to 6, 000. Although it’s considered that labor emigrants are mostly representatives of the poorest groups of the population, research proves that 58% of those traveling abroad have a job in Ukraine. This means that the migration processes in Ukraine do not differ from other Central European countries, where people go to work in Western Europe because they can get better pay

National Structure
Ukraine is a multinational country with over 130 nationalities, national groups and ethnic associations residing on its territory. Ethnic Ukrainians make up 77.8 percent (over 37 million) of the population.
Forming of national composition (History)
The ancestors of the Ukrainians were the Trypilia tribe that populated the region between the rivers Dnistro, Southern Buh and Dnipro from 3500 to 2000 BC and of early Slavs that inhabited the territory and pre-Carpathian region afterward. The Slavonic tribes (i.e., Duliby, Poliany, Drevliany, Siveriany, Tyvertsi, Ukichi) made the basis of the Ukrainian people. During the centuries, in spite of incessant raids by nomads and the adoption of other cultures traits, Ukrainians managed to preserve their identity as shown in their language, mentality and behavior as well as material and spiritual heritage.
Concurrently, due to powerful migratory movements, many different peoples settled on the territory of modern Ukraine. A substantial portion of the land was peopled during the so-called “resettlement colonization” during the 16th to 19th centuries that in addition to ethnic Ukrainians also involved Russians, Germans, Armenian, Jews, Greeks, Bulgarians, etc. Polish, and partial Hungarian and Romanian colonization of Ukrainian lands also considerably affected the polyethnic composition of the present-day nation. Thus, virtually all the ethnic groups of Ukraine naturally consider this region as their homeland.
The number of Ukrainians in Ukraine was continuously influenced not only by natural factors but also by the politics of the Czarist government and later continued by the Soviet state, and which manifested in the deliberate restricting of social and cultural development of the Ukrainian people. Also, the migratory policy sharply increased the number and share of Russians within the national composition of population. Under the Soviets, during the industrialization of Ukraine and especially the post-war decades the number of Russians increased thrice.
After Ukraine gained independence, changes occurred in its population’s national composition. The remigration of Ukrainians from the member-countries of the former USSR, repatriation of Crimean Tartars and Germans deported during the War lead to the increase of their number. Conversely, the population of Jews decreased as many left for Israel, Europe and the USA.
Ukrainians and the national minorities
According to the results of the all-Ukrainian population census of 2001 Ukrainians are the largest population with 37,541,700 or 77.8 percent of the total. During the years that passed the previous census of 1989 the number of Ukrainians increased by 0.3 percent with their proportion among the inhabitants of Ukraine by 5.1 percent.
Russians are the largest minority in Ukraine, and, compared with the census report data of 1989, their number had decreased by 26.6 percent, making up 8,334,100 persons at the time of the 2001 census. The portion of Russians in the total of the population had declined by 4.8 percent and amounts to 17.3 percent.
Every other ethnic minority makes less than 1% of the total population; standing put among them are Byelorussians (0.6 %), Moldovians (0.5 %), Crimean Tatars (0.5 %), Bulgarians (0.4 %), Hungarians (0.3 %), Romanians (0.3 %), Poles (0.3 %), Jews (0.2 %), Armenians (0.2 %), Greeks (0.2 %), Romas (Gypsies) (0.1 %), Georgians (0.1%), Gagauz (0.1%) and so on.
In Ukraine, the settlement of ethnic groups is distinctively regional. The Central and North-Western Ukraine is historically the basic regions of ethnic Ukrainians settlement the least ethnically diluted. The largest share of Ukrainians in the population is in Ternopil (6.8 %) and Volyn (94.6 %) regions, while the lowest shows in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea (25.8 %), Lugansk (51.9 %), Donetsk (50.9 %), and Odessa (54.6 %) oblasts.
Most of all Russians reside in the Donetsk, Lugansk, and Kharkov regions, as well as in the South of Ukraine. Moreover, they make up absolute majority in Crimea.
Practically all the Crimean Tatars repatriated have settled in Crimea in their historical homeland. Their increase in the number is being accompanied by the population growth of other turkiphonic peoples.
Protecting Rights of National Minorities
According to its ethnic and national policy, the Ukrainian government guarantees respect and equal participation of persons belonging to different ethnic associations in all spheres of life of Ukrainian society, and assists them in removal obstacles that may be encountered on their way.
The Ukrainian legislation and Constitution of Ukraine allows for the all basic rights and freedoms of all national minorities. The rights of existence, of applying their cultural achievements and of using their language, including the right to obtain education, are guaranteed by the Articles 10, 11, 22, 53 and 119 of the Constitution, the Laws “On the Languages” and “On the National Minorities”. The right of Representation is guaranteed in part by the Article 14 of the Law “On the National Minorities” and Article 22 of the Constitution concerning prevention of narrowing of the form and extent of the existing rights and freedoms.
The Verkhovna Rada ratified the framework on the protection of national minorities in December 1997 and in accordance with the Constitution of Ukraine it became part of the national legislation. The next step towards the introduction of international standards in the sphere of protection of the minorities’ rights should be the ratification of the European Charter on the regional languages or languages of minorities’, which draft have been submitted to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine for consideration.
Articles concerning protection of minorities’ rights have become integral part of all the treaties on good neighborhood, friendly relations and cooperation signed by Ukraine with the neighbor-countries.
Ethnic and National Policy
The national minorities participate actively in the state building process in Ukraine. Ethnic Russians occupy over 20 percent of top positions in the Ukrainian political life and in government; this meets the percentage of the Russian population in the country. To reinforce interaction of the minorities’ public organizations with the central executive organs and that of the local self-government the Rada (Council) of the minorities’ public organizations was set with the President of Ukraine.
The Ukrainian state is actively instrumental in satisfying ethno-cultural needs of national minorities: revival of their customs and traditions, all-round development of language and education, amateur and professional art, protection and preservation of historical and cultural monuments, foundation of periodicals, etc.
Two million children study in the languages of national minorities in Ukraine. This country is one of the few that provide opportunity for minorities to obtain full secondary education in all the subjects in their native tongue (as a rule, national minorities in European countries are taught only the native speech, history and humanities). Currently being considered is the issue of introducing mother-tongue preschool education. According to the Ministry of Education and Science, there are 1880 schools teaching in Russian, 94 in Romanian, 69 in Hungarian, 12 in the language of Crimean Tatars, 4 in Polish, and 9 in Moldavian, as well as 2242 schools with two or more languages of instruction. For cases of non-compact residence of minorities, special classes are allowed to be set for five or more children at ordinary schools.
169 publications are published in the languages of national minorities with 46 of them nationally distributed. As supplements to parliamentary paper Holos Ukrayiny (The Voice of Ukraine) Roden Krai for Bulgarians, Dzennil Kiyovsky for Poles, Conkordia for Romanians, Aragats for Armenians, Yevreiski Visti for Jews and Golos Kryma for Crimean Tatars are released. The national and cultural associations are also founders of the joint periodicals Nasha Batkivschyna (Our Fatherland) and Forum Natsiy (Forum of Nations).
Today, close to 600 public national minorities associations are operating with thirty of them on the national scale. Some of these are: The Association of the National and Cultural Unions of Ukraine; The Ukrainian Association of Russian Culture Rus’; The Jewish Council of Ukraine; The Association of Koreans of Ukraine; The Association of Jewish Organizations and Societies of Ukraine; The Union of Poles of Ukraine; The Democratic Union of Hungarians of Ukraine; The all-Ukrainian National Cultural and Educational Association Russkoye Sobraniye; The Federation of Greek Organizations in Ukraine; The Union of Bulgarian National-Cultural Associations.
The State organizationally and financially assists in marking Culture Days of national minorities, remembrance dates, religious and ritual holidays. Such cultural-artistic actions are held annually: The forum of national cultures “We are all your children, Ukraine”; the all-Ukrainian festival “We are of Ukraine”; International Roma festival Akmala; and numerous regional festivals of Romanian, Hungarian, Polish, Korean, Moldavian and Greek culture that gained recognition in Ukraine and beyond its borders.
National minorities together with the Ukrainians are building the independent and democratic state

Mentality
Mentality of the Ukrainian people had been formed affected by complex historical circumstances with the principal role played by the fact of the country’s ‘bordering’, that is, due to its territory located on the intersection of historical routes from the East to the West and from the North to the South. This reality stipulated a phantasmal interlacing in the worldview of a Ukrainian of the Western mentality (that is, active and rationalistic, individualistic and mundane) with that of the East (in other words, passively contemplative and directed at abstract matters). Thus, for instance, as a westerner, the present-day Ukrainian values highly the achievements of science and technology, but he believes strongly that they are used for humanitarian purposes.
Without stopping to think rationally, Ukrainian gives great priority to showing emotions and feelings, sometimes even seen as sentimental or even too lyrical. In particular, the phenomenon is reflected in the folk vocabulary where endearment forms are often present even for negative characters (e.g., vorizhenky (pretty foes)).
Side by side with lyricism, there is certain Ukrainian ‘detachment’ from the world and orientation at some truth of higher order. Thus, if forced to emigrate, it is often hard for Ukrainian to adjust to a new environment.
Ukrainian is tied very much to his family where he attempts to build strong and very close relationship. To care is characteristic for his mentality. As a rule, Ukrainians surround their kin with care of the motherhood sort giving support to their children until they reach maturity, and often also from then on. To some extent, such amicable relationship is also defined by the historical past: wars virtually never ceased on the territory located on the crossroads of the Western and Eastern worlds. The land suffered from predatory raids, and it was dangerous to live here: those in power changed often, and to survive intact was only possible within the circle of close relations.
For quite a long time the society was divided into those who fed (peasantry) this land and those who defended it (Cossacks). This entailed two almost opposite forms of consciousness. The first is of a defender and fighter reckless, irrepressible and adventurous that is easily overcome by strong feeling and emotion resulted from a youth’s brawl and capable of affective, rash and heroic actions. It is as such they appear in the Shevchenko’s Kobzar and are depicted by the Ukrainian and Polish romanticists.
The other type of consciousness was marked by moderateness and peaceableness that permitted “to wait through” the numerous adversities and misfortunes of the historical fate. Such type of consciousness was the cause of insularity and defensive position against the world around, circumspection and directing mental powers inward upon oneself. The countryside habit of replying with a question is one of the traits of the style that allows avoiding contact.
The exclusive advantage of the class country folk during certain periods of the Ukrainian history affected the nationals’ mentality, however positively too: ruralism that makes one more dependent on the nature than on other people stirs up deep empathy with the nature and makes for restraint, elegiac, tender and introversive moods. These features also favored preservation of family and clan groups, goodwill and friendliness.
At the same time, such positive features as diligence, hospitality, yearning for education, sound optimism, manliness, universalism, and development of strong family ties are peculiar to Ukrainians.
For a Ukrainian family the dominating role of a woman, especially of a mother, is traditionally intrinsic. When husband dies, the wife advances to the forefront to become the head of a family even if remarried. The image of a widowing mother – sober-minded, kind, and at the same time rigorous, is depicted in classic literature. Ukrainian woman used to participate in all the family issues not only after her husband expired but during his life as well. “Husband holds the household by one corner with the remaining three left for his wife,” the popular saying goes. In ancient times, during the patriarchal society in Europe admissible was for a girl to seek marriage with a boy.
In formation of the Ukrainian mentality, the Church played pronouncedly great role. Historically, the popular worldview of the Ukrainians is made up of the following three basic layers: demonological, mythological, and Christian. The Christian religion that came to Ukrainian terrain at the end of the 10th century monopolized the pre-Christian hierarchic system of beliefs, trying at the same time as much as possible not to destroy but to adapt the old form to its needs. This opposition of ideas resulted in religious dualism (ditheism) which elements makes itself felt even nowadays in the form of customs and rituals.
With introductions of Christianity, the constituent of supernatural grew in the beliefs and pieties. Simultaneously, the fantastic and supernatural not linked to the official trust in God was forced out to the sphere of folklore tradition (that is, poetry, fairy tales, legends, etc.).

Ukrainian Language
The official language of Ukraine is Ukrainian. The Ukrainian language is also the mother tongue of Ukrainians residing in Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Poland, Slovakia, Romania, Canada, the USA, Australia and other countries. Approximately 45 million people speak Ukrainian placing it among the twenty most widespread languages in world.
In accord with the all-Ukrainian census of 2001, 67 percent of the country’s population believes Ukrainian to be their native tongue. This figure is 2.8 percent higher than that recorded in the census of 1989. The largest minority language is Russian, with 29.6 percent of the population taking it as their first language: this figure turned out to be 3.2 percent lower than the previous count. The portion of remaining languages was 2.9 percent.
The Language Origin
Ukrainian belongs to the Indo-European linguistic family tree and forms, jointly with Russian and Belarusian, the East-Slavic group of the Slavic sub-family. While the West-Slavic group includes Slovak, Czech, Polish, Kashubian, High and Low Lusatian (Germany) and correspondingly the South-Slavic branch Slovenian, Macedonian, Bulgarian, Serbo-Croatian (or Croato-Serbian) languages as well as Old Slavonic.
The history of the Ukrainian language starts with the pre-Slavic (common Slavonic) language that was shaped out of the Proto-Indo-European language around the third millennium B.C. The pre-Slavonic period lasted for close to two thousand years.
It is traditionally believed, due to czarist and then Soviet ideological directives that in the 11th to 12th centuries during the feudal fragmentation of Kyivan Rus, the so-called Old Russian language common for the entire East Slavs formed, which served as the basis for the three East-Slavic languages- Ukrainian, Russian and Byelorussian. The present-day linguistic, archeological and historical knowledge allows substantial amendments to this idea.
Today, researchers mark out the Ukrainian language immediately from the pre-Slavic and discard the intermediate links. Under this approach, Ukrainian, Byelorussian and Russian developed independently from each other.
Ukrainian inherited from the pre-Slavic the tangible lexical fund and numerous phonetic and grammatical (mainly morphologic) features that in other Slavic languages were substituted by new forms, leaving the Ukrainian language with the oldest still exisiting linguistic peculiarities.
Together with the Orthodox Christian faith, the Old Slavic (or Old Church Slavic) language, created by Cyril and Methodius, the first Slavonic culture figures in the field and based on old Bulgarian dialects arrived in Kyivan Rus. Religious and official texts were inscribed in Old Slavic.
During the 14th to 18th centuries, the old-Ukrainian vernacular was used. The 19th century marked the emergence of the modern Ukrainian as a literary language. Based on the system of parlance of the Poltava-Dnipro region, Ivan Kotliarevsky is believed to be its originator while Taras Shevchenko realized its artistic possibilities.
The Written Language
After adoption of Christianity in 988 two types of writing the language were known in Kyivan Rus: Cyrillic alphabet (named after Constantine Filosof, Cyril in monastic life), and Glagolitic letters (from old-Slavic word glagol meaning “a word”).
The Glagolitic is viewed as the older writing system, however no consensus exists as to its origin. Its alphabet consisted of 39 letters with highly complex inscription in the form of interconnected circles and loops. Despite this complexity, it was in use for quite long time in some South Slavonic countries.
The Cyrillic alphabet is the original Slavic writing system that resulted from a creative remake of the Greek alphabet that consisted of 43 letters including 24 Greek and 19 original Slavic letters with a script very close to that of Greek and Byzantium characters. From those times on such lettering became the graphic basis for modern Ukrainian, Russian, Byelorussian, Bulgarian, Serbian and Macedonian writing language systems.
The modern Ukrainian alphabet consists of 33 letters to denote 38 phonemes with 21 letters б, в, г, ґ, д, ж, з, к, л, м, н, п, р, с, т, ф, х, ц, ч, ш, щ indicating consonants sounds while 10 of them stand for vowels. Of the latter, the letters а, е, и, і, о, у represent a single sound each, while the symbols є, ю, я only if they follow soft consonant [e.g., синє (blue), люди (people), ряд (row)], and are diphthongal at the beginning of a word, followed by vowels or after apostrophe (’), that is, [y + е], [y + u], [y + a] as in має (has), юнак (a youth), в’янути (to fade); the letter ї always denotes diphthong [y + і] as in їжа (food), з’їзд (convention); the letter й reproduces consonant [y] before о as in його (his) and non-syllabic [i] in other positions, for instance, йду (I’m going), гай (wood); the letter ь indicates no sound but serves as a softening symbol as in кінь (horse), льон (flax). The letter г denotes pharyngeal [h] in голова (head), while ґ – velar plosive [g] in ґава(crow), ґрунт (soil), ґудзик (button), while the letter щ indicates combination of consonants [sch] as in щука (pike). Characters of the Ukrainian alphabet are used upper- and lower-cased in shape; the symbols may be represented as block letters as well as handwritten.
Modern Ukrainian Language
Modern Ukrainian language is inflectional; in other words, grammatical features are indicated by alternation of the word by adding affixes. The function of suffixes and prefixes is to specify the meaning of the root having the principal lexical value.
Seven cases characterize a noun; one is vocative distinguishing the Ukrainian conjugation from similar systems of other East Slavic languages. The Ukrainian verb has four tenses: in addition to the habitual past, present and future tenses, there is pluperfect, a verb tense used to express action completed before a specified or implied past time.
The principal Ukrainian vocabulary has four layers of words of Slavonic origin: common Indo-European stock of words [батько(father), матір (mother), сестра (sister), дім (house), вовк (wolf), бути (to be), жити (to live), їсти (to eat), etc]; pre-Slavic words [коса (scythe), сніп ( sheaf, жито (rye), віл (bullock), корова (cow), ловити (to catch), etc.]; properly Ukrainian words present only in this language [кисень (oxygen), водень (hydrogen), мрія (a dream), зволікати (to delay), зайвий (superfluous), байдуже (indifferently), примхи (whims), перекотиполе (tumbleweed), etc]; borrowing from other Slavic languages [розкішний (luxurious), набридати (to be bored with), нащадок (a descendant) from Byelorussian; перешкода (obstacle), недолугий (good for nothing), дощенту (utterly), обіцяти (to promise), цікавий (interesting), гасло (slogan), міць (power), шлюб (marriage), раптом (suddenly), принаймні (at least), etc. from Polish; брама (gates), огида (disgust), ярка (young sheep), паркан (fence), карк (neck), etc. from Czech; хлопець (boy) from Serbian; храм (temple), глава (chapter), владика (ruler), сотворити (to create), etc. from Bulgarian]. The rest of the vocabulary comprises the later borrowings mostly from the dead classic languages-Greek, Latin and Old Slavic. During the Soviet period, the vocabulary absorbed quite a few borrowings from Russian that were often introduced even without adaptation to the grammar rules’ requirements. Lately, the lexical composition of the language is being vigorously supplied by borrowings from English, although general development of the language occurs at the account of internal resources of it-the new words are created on the use of the basis already existing.

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Sportsmen are now among the most famous Ukrainians in the world. The forward Andriy Shevchenko has become a real symbol of Ukraine on the soccer field playing for the Italian club, AC “Milan”. An idol for numerous fans is called “An Eastern Devil” in Italy, where a book about him has been published under the same title. For tiffosi (fans) he’s just Sheva, an object of criticism and adoration. The “Dynamo” (Kyiv) soccer team, 13 times the USSR champion, also won the European Cup Holder’s Cup twice (in 1975 and 1986), and in 1975 also won the Euro Supercup. Its members – first Oleg Blokhin and then Igor Byelanov - were voted the Europe’s best soccer players and received the “Golden Ball” award; a member of the Dnipropetrovsk “Dnipro” team Oleg Protasov was awarded the “Silver football boot” as the best bombardier of the European championships. Yana Klochkova, who is the fastest swimmer in the world and brings home medals from every competition, is called “the Golden Fish”. And the brothers Volodymyr and Vitali Klitschko are world famous boxers. Volodymyr Klitschko during his 6.5 year long professional career had been awarded the titles of: • WBC intercontinental champion (14.02.1998 - 05.12.1998, 18.03.2000 - 14.10.2000); • WBA intercontinental champion (17.07.1999 - 14.10.2000, з 30.08.2003); • European champion (25.09.1999 - 14.10.2000); • WBO world champion (14.10.2000 - 08.03.2003). During his 6.5 years of professional fighting Vitali Klitschko won the following titles: • WВО intercontinental champion (2.05.1998 - 24.10.1998); • European champion (24.10.1998 - 26.06.1999, 25.11.2000 - 29.09.2002); • WBA intercontinental champion (27.01.2001 - 21.06.2003); • WBO world champion (26.06.1999 - 01.04.2000). From the beginning of the 20th century, Ukraine has excelled at sport. The Ukrainian Greco Roman wrestler Ivan Piddubny (1871-1949), was known throughout Europe and did not lose a single championship for 40 years until he retired undefeated. One of the most prominent events in Kyiv at that time was the 1st All-Russian Olympics, held in 1913 and dedicated to the opening of the All-Russian industrial exhibition celebrating 300 years of the rule of Romanoff family. A stadium was built in Kyiv especially for the competitions – with race-tracks, a cycle-track as well as stands for 5 000 seats. The program of the Olympics included such kinds of sports as track and field, marathon, soccer, wrestling, weight-lifting, fencing, swimming, gymnastics, horseback riding, cycle and motorcycle racing along the Kyiv – Chernigiv – Kyiv route. A new impetus for development had been given to Ukrainian sports and physical culture after the 1917. After 1921, All-Ukrainian sports days, Olympics and other sports events were held regularly. Later departments and institutes of physical education were opened. Different types of cycle runs, cycle and hiking tours gained huge popularity during the 1930s. In 1936-1937 Ukrainian sportsmen participated in cycle runs including the Odessa – Vladivostok (14 317 km long) and the “Along the borders of the USSR” (30 872 km). One of the most heroic events in the history of Ukrainian sports during the World War II was “The Death Match”, which later originated many legends. During the Nazi occupation of Kyiv former “Dynamo” players organized a new team “Start” and held a number of triumphant games with the German soldiers. Some of them later were put into concentration camps and executed. After the war the development of the sports in Ukraine continued, many impressive sports events were organized, every 4 years Ukrainian sports days and Sports days of the USSR people were held, and Ukrainian team always won different medals. Many Ukrainian sports people gained worldwide fame while participating in the USSR national teams. Representatives of Ukrainian school of rhythmic gymnastics Iryna Deryugina, Oleksandra Tymoshenko, Oksana Skaldina and others more than once won the word and European championships. Larysa Latynina had won 18 Olympic medals – the record of the entire history of the games. The “Spartak” female handball team from Kyiv, led by Senior Coach Ihor Turchyn has won 13 European Champion’s Cups. Team members Zinaida Turchyna and Larysa Karlova were named best players in the World and European Championships several times. Multiple world champion in pole-vault, Olympic champion, a 6 time world champion, Sergey Bubka has set 35 world records, repeatedly won the “Grand-prix” series competition and was named the “world’s best sportsman”. After finishing his sports career he founded the “Zepter – pole stars” tournament, which has become very popular in the world. At the XVII Olympics of 1994 in Lillehammer, Ukraine was represented by its own national team. The first “gold” Olympic medal for the independent country was won by the figure skater Oksana Baiul – silver European medalist in 1993, world champion and Olympic champion in 1994. The performance of Ukrainian team at the XXVI summer Olympics in Atlanta placed Ukraine among the 10 best sports countries in the world, with Ukrainian sportsmen ascending the Olympic pedestal nine times. Their names have become well-known around the world: Greco Roman wrestler Vyacheslav Oleynyk, gymnast Lilia Podkopayeva, weightlifter Timur Taimazov, rhythmic gymnast Yekaterina Serebryanskaya, boxer Wladimir Klitschko, jumper Inessa Kravets, archer Rustam Sharipov, yahtmen Yevhen Braslavets and Ihor Matviyenko and others. Andriy Shevchenko (born 1976) – 5 times champion of Ukraine, member of the national team and the best forward of the Champions League of the end of the 1990-s, the best player of the Champions League of 1998-1999 (awarded by UEFA special commission in August 1999); the best bombardier of the Italian championship (A series) in 1999-2000 (24 goals), 2nd among the bombardiers in 2000-2001, Italian champion in 2004. Yana Klochkova (born 1982) – 11 times European, 3 times world and 4 times Olympic champion (Sydney – 2000, Athens – 20004) in 200, 400 and 800 m, holder of the World cups. She’s also the world and Olympic record-setter in 400m Individual Medley (4 min. 33,59 sec.). A Ukrainian chess-player Ruslan Ponomariov at 14 has become the world’s youngest grand master, world champion among men under 18. Another Ukrainian star in sports is Kateryna Lahno, who at 12 has become the world’s youngest female grand master. Now she’s among the 10 best players in FIDE women’s rating list. Ukrainian rhythmic gymnast Anna Bessonova, athlete Ivan Heshko continue to win medals at different competitions; Our fencers Natalia Konrad Hаталія Конрад і Volodymir Lukashenko, who for the first time in the history of independent Ukraine won the gold medals at the world championship. Ukrainian shooter Mikola Milchev also has added Olympic medals to his achievements. One of the world’s best mountain-climbers is Vladyslav Terziul, who conquered almost all 14 mountains over 8 000 m without oxygen and repeated the record of Reinhold Messner. Ukrainian sportsmen also keep winning medals at international competitions in close fight, rock-climbing and unarmed self-defense (Ukraine is rated 2nd among 52 countries developing this kind of sport) . Ukraine is developing such national kinds of sport as Cossacks’ combat wrestling, “combat hopak”, “spas” (national type of wrestling). They embody Ukrainian fighting traditions and attract mostly young people interested in the nation’s history. Since Independence, the Ukrainian national team has won 23 Olympic medals: first in 1996 in Atlanta, then in 2000 in Sydney and now in 2004 in Athens. In Athens Ukraine was placed 12 among 202 participating countries in the unofficial team rating with its 9 gold, 5 silver and 9 bronze medals. The gold winners were Yana Klochkova (200m and 400m Individual Medley – second Olympics in a row), Nataliya Skakun (weightlifting), Irini Merleni (wrestling), Olena Kostevych (shooting), Yuriy Bilonog (shot put), Yuri Nikitin (trampoline), Valeri Goncharov (gymnastics, parallel bars), Elbrus Tedeyev (wrestling).

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The monetary unit of the present-day Ukraine is hryvnia.

Even before the present era began arrowheads were originally used as money equivalent in the Northern Black Sea coastal region. The first coins that our ancestors encountered were of ancient Greece origin found in hoards or individually on the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov coasts. At the end of the 10th century in Kyivan Rus Prince Volodymyr took to minting coins of silver and gold called “sribnyk”and “zlatnyk’. Later, in ancient Rus they issued a cast silver piece hryvnia that became the principle monetary unit of the country.

The things did come around so that the territory of Ukraine was part of other countries with the correspondent use of monies. Situation started changing only after the Ukrainian People’s Republic (UPR) was created. Under the UPR, Hetmanat, and Dyrectoria existing from 1917 to 1920, twenty-four types of legal tender were being issued.
Conditions for introducing full-fledged national currency have formed after independence of Ukraine was declared. To follow the traditions of the Kyivan Rus and liberation efforts of 1917 to 1920 hryvnia and its small change kopeck were put into circulation.
Founded in 1991, the National Bank of Ukraine is granted prerogative rights to put into circulation (emit) banknotes and coins. The NBU designs the bills and defines their face-value, assigns protective system and payment marks. To print and coin money the Country’s own Mint and Banknote factory was set up with the state-of-the-art equipment provided.
The letter code of the currency is UAH, with numerical code 980, abbreviated form as “грн” in Cyrillic.

Hryvnia is forgery protected through the following:
· Watermarks.
· Protective strip.
· Relief elements.
· Combined image.
· Iridescent printing.
· Anti-scan gauze.
· Encoded latent image.
· Microtext.
· Visible protective fibers.
· Invisible protective fibers.
· Fluorescent number.
· Magnetic number.
· Hidden face-value designation.
· Fluorescent printing.
· Letterpress.
· “Orlovsky” printing.

Banknotes and coins in circulation:
· Paper bills of nominal value of 1 hryvnia (issue of 1992, 1994, and 1995); 2 hryvnias (1992, 1995, and 2001); 5 hryvnias (1992, 1994, 1997, and 2001); 10 hryvnias (1992, 1994, 2000 and 2004); 20 hryvnias (1992, 1995, 2000 and 2003); 50 hryvnias (1994 and 2004), 100 hryvnias (1994); and 200 hryvnias (2001);
· Small change coins denominated 1 kopeck (coinage of 1992, 1994, 1996, 2000, and 2001); 2 kopecks (1992, 1993, 1994, 1996, and 2001); 5 copecks (1992, 1996, 2001); 10 kopecks (1992, 1994, 1996, 2001); 25 (1992, 1994, 1996, 2001), and 50 kopecks (1992, 1994, 1995, 1996 and 2001) kopeck.
· Current coin of one hryvnia of 1995, 1996, and 2002 coinage

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Landscape

Mountains
Although 95 percent of the country is flat, Ukraine has two famous mountain ranges: The chain of Ukrainian Carpathian Mountains rises in the west, while in the extreme south of the country the range of the Crimean Mountains is prominent.
The Ukrainian, or Eastern, Carpathians are part of the great Alpine-Carpathian mountain range. These are young mountains of medial height varying from 1200 to 1600 m, formed during the epoch of Alpine folding, and comprised of several parallel ridges extending from the northwest to the southeast for 270 km. The Mountain ridges of the east are called the Outer Carpathians. The highest area of the Ukrainian Carpathian Mountains is the Chornohora massif that has several alps of over 2000 m high; it is here that the highest peak of Ukraine, the Hoverla Mountain 2 061 m high, is located.
The Carpathian mountain system is remarkable due to its unique Central Europe ancestral forest that still flourishes. As for the mountains themselves, they are “soft”, high pasturelands covered with alpine meadows without rocky ledges. At close to 2000 meters, one may encounter pine tree growing on the Pip Ivan Mountain, 54 meters high larch near Rakhov, the highest Carpathian tree, as well as the smallest one, an obtusifolious willow (shorter than 15 cm) on the sides of Blyznytsia mountain. In spring, not far from Khust one may observe the Narcissi valley in bloom. Many thousand years ago, karstic caves and rock-salt deposits have formed in the mountain ranges; the salt lakes located over the salt deposits are very much similar in their healing power to the one of the Dead Sea in Israel.
Having acquired the present day shape during the epoch of Alpine folding, the Crimean Mountains occupy the farthest south of the Crimean peninsula and are part of the Crimean Caucasian mountain range. They extend from west to east for 180 km with three ridges standing out: the Central ridge with heights of from 1200 to 1500 m, Inner ridge of 400 to 600 m high, and Outer ridge going up from 250 to 350 m. The Central ridge is the highest of the Crimean Mountains and represents a chain of woodless massifs called yails. The highest point of the Crimean Mountains, the Roman-Kosh Mountain 1 545 m, is located on the Babuhan-Yail. The southern slopes of the Central ridge end with the Southern Coast of Crimea.
Seas
The Black Sea area is 422 000 sq. kilometers. The Kerch Strait links it with the Sea of Azov and the Bosporus with the Sea of Marmara. The length of the Black Sea coastline within Ukraine is over 1500 km. with the beaches predominantly sloping (except in the region of the Crimean Mountains). In the northeastern part of the coast, numerous estuaries and lakes had formed separated from the sea by narrow sandy strips. The Black Sea is over 2000 meters deep in the center, but within the zone adjoining Ukraine the depth of 100 to 120 meters prevails. Considerable deepth is found only in the region of the Southern Coast of Crimea. Water temperature in the northwestern part of the Sea fluctuates in winter within the range of from 0 to 8? С ( 32? F to 46.4?F) . The surface water temperature in summer reaches 23? to 25? С (73,4? F to 77? F).
The salinity of water is from 13% to 14% in the northwestern part of the Sea, reaching 16% near the Southern Coast of Crimea. At the depth of 150 to 200 m water is saturated with hydrogen sulphide; hence, organic life is concentrated predominantly in the upper layers.
The area of the Sea of Azov is 39 thousand sq. kilometers. Its beaches are low-lying, straight, and characterized by tongues of sand (in Berdiansk, Obitochna, etc.). The biggest, Arbatska Strelka, is 112 km long, separating the Sivash Sea, the system of small bays with mineralized water. With the maximum depth of 15 m, the Sea of Azov freezes at its shores in winter. In summer, the surface water temperature reaches 25? or 30? С(77? F…86? F). On average, the salinity is from 10‰ to 11‰, with its maximum of 25‰ in the Sivash Sea.

Rivers
Overall, there are more than 73 thousand rivers in Ukraine with over a hundred of them longer than 100 kilometers. The rivers of Ukraine predominantly belong to the basins of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov with the exception of Southern Buh and other left bank tributaries of Vistula that are part the Baltic Sea basin.
The Dnipro River is the third in length in Europe after the Volga and the Danube. It springs in the Valdai Hills in Russia, flows into Dnipro estuary on the Black Sea. It divides the territory of Ukraine from north to south into its right bank and left bank, covering almost half of the country with its basin. It is a horizontally flowing river with a wide flood bed. Its right bank steeplp rises up from 50 to 150 meters over the water level, while the left bank is low-lying and mildly sloping. The largest tributaries, Prypiat and Desna, are navigable.
The Danube River passes through the territory of Ukraine in its lower flow and pours into the Black Sea creating large delta of three branches. The River is the major trade water route that connects Ukraine with many countries of Europe. The most important tributaries of the Danube in Ukraine are Tisa and Prut.
Lakes
There are over 20 thousand water reservoirs in Ukraine. Three thousand of the number are lakes located predominantly in Polissia region, Coastal Black Sea lowland and steppe region of Crimea. The biggest fresh water lakes are the Yalpuh in the flooded area of Danube and Svitiazke in the Polissia region.
Lakes of the Coastal Black Sea lowland and of the steppe region of Crimea had formed mainly because of flooding of the river plains and gorges by the sea. Some of them are called estuaries (for instance, Dnister, Tylihulsk, Kuialnyk, and Molochny estuaries).

Flora And Fauna
Geographical location of Ukraine, especial geological development, relief, climate, a great number of rivers stipulated a numerous varieties of plant and wild life.

The plant life of Ukraine numbers close to 30,000 species, over four hundred of which are registered on the endangered-species list. Natural vegetation covers over 19 million hectares or close to one third of the country’s territory.
Most of the endemic, rare or declining species are located in the Crimean and Carpathian mountains. Almost half of the endemic and 30 percent of the rare and declining plants are concentrated there.
Affected by the human commercial activity, the plant life of Ukraine has undergone considerable change: during the 16th to 19 centuries forest in the forest-steppe zone has been reduced more than five times, while the area with the most valuable oak and beech shrunk by quarter in the 19th century alone. Great damage had been inflicted to forests after the WWII during the reconstruction of the national economy.
As of today, fourteen percent of the Ukrainian territory is covered by forests, which composition of wood species is changing being influenced by the commercial activity. Plantations of fine wood are being expanded while that of the less valuable forest trees (hornbeam and aspen) reduced. Approximately half of the wood stock of Ukraine is conifers: pine, spruce and silver fir.
The forests of Ukraine are rich in berries, mushrooms, fruits of wild growing plants and medicinal plants, which 250 species are used in Ukraine for medical purposes including 150 in medical science. Regions most abundant with medicinal plants are Polissia (marshy woodlands), forest-steppe zone, and Carpathians.
The portrayal of plants is an important element of Ukrainian folk symbolism. In the national tradition symbolic meaning and representation attributed to trees and plants is very similar to that of the all European. Thus, an oak personifies power and endurance, a pine incarnates vital energy and prolificacy, a willow is believed to be a “fore tree” of life and is associated with the alchemy of spring. The guelder rose incarnating sun, fire, perpetuity of life, maiden beauty and eternal love is the traditional symbol of Ukraine.

The wildlife of Ukraine is distinguished by a large variety of species with almost 45 thousand kinds of animals. There are many unique natural localities in Ukraine where one can encounter rare surviving animals.
Elk, roe deer, wild boar, red deer, squirrel are inhabitants of forest zone; foxes and wolves are numerous, one may meet brown bears and lynx there. Of the avifauna, there is a large number of black cock, hazel grouse, wood grouse, starling, blue titmouse, cranes. The steppe zone is inhabited with ground squirrel, hamster, jerboa, field mouse, and marmot; of birds, there are skylark, quail, pink starling, steppe eagle, and others.
Some fur animals (nutria, mink, silvery-black fox, muskrat) were brought in from afar, and they acclimatized themselves well to the environment.
Wildlife of the coast region of the Back Sea and the Sea of Azov is highly varied; birds are especially numerous: martins, pochards, wild ducks, herons, bittern, pelicans, sea gulls, cormorants, etc. In the above seas, there is sturgeon, mackerel, bullhead, and so on. Rivers, lakes and manmade reservoirs are inhabited with perch, bream, zander, pike, crucian carp, sazan; and trout - in the Carpathians rivers.
The South Coast of Crimea and the mountaineous region of peninsula with climatic conditions similar to the Mediterranean, harbor such creatures as Crimean and rock lizards, leopard snake, southern nightingale, black vulture, red deer, and mouflon.
Hoofed, fir and bird-game are also widespread on the territory of Ukraine. In the game-preserves that may be found in practically all the regions of Ukraine, hunting is arranged for elk, wild boar, hare, fox, wild duck and goose, etc.
Eleven national nature parks, 4 biosphere preserves, 16 nature reserves, numerous dendrological parks are organized in Ukraine; there are also monument sites of landscape architecture there. Among them the most famous are Askania-Nova (late 19th century, Kherson oblast, Shatsky national nature park (Volyn oblast), dendrological parks: Spfiyivka (Cherkassy oblast), Oleksandria (Kyiv oblast), and Trostianetsky (Chernihiv oblast), as well as natural monuments: Dovbush Rocks in Ivano-Frankivsk and Lviv oblasts, Tomb of Stone in Donetsk and Zaporizhia oblasts, the Great Canyon in Crimea

Natural Resources
Ukraine has considerable natural resources, the most valuable are the land and mineral resources.
Land Resources
Experts believe the quarter of the world chernozems (black topsoil) are concentrated on the Ukrainian land, an unequaled amount.
Formed under steppe vegetation in climatic conditions that is the most soft and humid in contrast to the grasslands of Eurasia, the Ukrainian chernozem is deemed as having the best physical, chemical, agrochemical and mineralogical composition. In consideration of the qualitative make up of its soils and productivity of its lands, Ukraine is seen as the richest country in the world. In the structure of the soil cover of Ukraine, chernozem amounts to 60.4 million hectares. Farmlands occupy sixty-nine percent this area, of which 78 percent account for croplands.
Humus content makes up the most reliable criterion to assess soil quality. Research of the soil blanket showed that the average content of humus in tillage is 3.2 percent. Soils with the highest content of humus are concentrated in Kharkiv (4.9 %), Kirovohrad and Dnipropetrovsk (both 4.5 %) oblasts.
High bioproductive properties characterize the supply of land in Ukraine. Using the most favorable structure of land and correspondent level of agriculture the county is capable to feed from 300 to 350 million people.
The Constitution of Ukraine adopted in 1996 defines the land as the principle national wealth that is under the guardianship of the State.

Mineral Products
Ukraine is among the leading countries of the world in supply of mineral primary resources. Occupying only 0.4 percent of mainland, the country is in possession of 5 % of the world reserves of minerals centered in c. 9 thousand deposits valued at over 11 trillion US dollars. Some of the minerals secure Ukraine a leading place among the countries of the CIS, Europe and the world.
The Donets Basin, where the industrial coal production has been carried out since 1795, is the basic source of coal supply in Ukraine. Located in the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, it extends farther to the Rostov oblast of the Russian Federation. With the total area of around 60 thousand square kilometers, its coal deposits are estimated at 109 billion tons.
Oil and natural gas are concentrated at Dnipro-Donets (80 %) and the Black Sea Coast-Crimea oil-and-gas bearing regions. Promising future development are gas and oil deposits on the continental shelves of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. Demand of Ukraine is covered in oil by 10 to 15 percent, and in natural gas by 25 %, while deposits containing up to 3 billion tons of peat and oil shale have been discovered.
The iron-ores are deposited in the Kryvyi Rih (18.7 b. tons), Kremenchuh (4.5 b.), Bilozersk (2.5 b.) and Kerch (1.8 b.) iron-ore basins. The largest manganese-ore fields in the world are found in the Nikopol basin. Ukraine also has substantial fields of nickel, chromite, titanium, mercury (rated second in the world) and complex ores.
Ukraine is placed at the forefront in Europe and the world in the area of nonmetal minerals. Deposits of mineral wax and brimstone are the largest in the world, while that of graphite are the greatest on the European continent. Extraction of rock and potassium salts has been carried out in Ukraine from ancient times.
Also deposits of precious and semiprecious stones (beryl, amethyst, amber, jasper, rock crystal, morion, etc.) were discovered on the territory of the country, and within the recent years over 15 gold fields have been discovered.
The potential of the mineral primary resources of Ukraine is great serving as a basis for the further development of economy, in particular, of the metallurgic and chemical industries, production of ceramic and construction materials

http://www.ukraineconnections.co.uk

Musical Instruments of Ukrainian PeopleSince time immemorial the Ukrainian people were distinguished for musical talent and love for singing. The melodious character of the Ukrainian song and Language gave birth to advanced original musical instruments. Making musical instruments and playing them have always been considered a noble occupation. It is not without reason that our people call a good musical instrument-maker or a musician a sorcerer. People believed musical instruments as well as music could protect them from evil or malicious spirits. Music for this purpose was performed on such instruments as: violin, hudok, sopilka, volynka (bagpipe) and others.
Trumpet, horn, trembita and others were the means of communication between shepherds and hunters, and helped to find the way home in bad weather. Some of these functions are still found today, particularly in the life of the Carpathian dwellers where art has been preserved intact so far.
In Kyivan Rus musical instruments were widely used in the life of Kyivan princes, voivodes and common people. The gusli, horn, tambourines, surmas, and trumpets have been known since those times. The power of an army used to be defined by not only the quantity of soldiers but also by the quantity of trumpets and bubons.
The violin, kolysna lyre, dulcimer, drum, tambourine, reed-pipe, and other instruments were an integral part of various rituals, religion, secular and calendar holidays and ceremonies.
As it is known musical instruments were not used at Orthodox divine services. At the same time, people used kobza, bandura, kolysna lyre, husla, turban to accompany prays outside of church, at home.
Music incessantly accompanied the Ukrainian Cossack’s life. A special place was given to kettle-drums, the sacred symbols of Zaporozhian Sich. Their thunderous blows gathered the Cossacks for meetings; the orders were transmitted to soldiers with the help of conventional signals.
The violins, dulcimers, bagpipes, basolias, pipes, military trumpets, kettle-drums and drums were the basic instruments of Zaporozhian Army orchestra.
The kobza and bandura, the symbols of the national heroic and patriotic epos, have no analogues in world musical culture. They were the instruments of the legendary kobza-players. Maintaining human honour, dignity, and the right to their own art, kobza-players united in kobza-player’s brotherhoods, had a democratic form of government, their own judicial procedure, and even their own language for communicating between themselves. Every kobza-player had his region to serve, and had no right to go to a neighbouring village.
Folk musical instruments developed in close connection with different kinds of art: folk choral, vocal, dancing, and theatrical arts.
Every statum of society had their favourite instruments. Thus, the nobles preffered the table-like gusli and torban; among the Cossack’s chiefs it was considered prestigiouis to play the turban and to accompany on it kobza-player’s repertoire. The famous Cossack’s hetmans Ivan Mazepa and Petro Doroshnko could play the torban.
In the times of Kyivan Rus the collective instrumental performance became widely spread. As of today this tradition has been better preserved in Western Ukrainian regions. The so-called troisti muzyky (orchestra of three musical instruments) are rather popular in Hutsul instrumental ensembles. According to a legend three young musicians fell in love with a beautiful girl who arranged for them a public competition: each of the fellows had to play his own tune. They played so well that it was impossible to select the winner. So she suggested that they should play by turn the same melody. Finally they played together, and their music was so wonderful that neither the girl, nor the public wanted to separate the musicians. The beauty remained alone, and the ensemble of three musicians became the most favourite in Hutsulia. The troisti muzyky, which make different combinations of the violine, sopilka, dulcimer, basolia, tambourine, and some other instruments, is an important factor in creating Hutsul instrumental musical culture.
Ukrainian musicians were often invited to play at Polish royal, and Russian imperial courts. Thus, the names of Ukrainian minstrels were on the list of musicians of the Polish royal choir beginning from 1500. Starting in the early 18th century Ukrainian guslars and bandura players played at Russian imperial court, and at palaces of the nobles. Under the Imperial Ukase of 1838 a musical school was set up in the city of Hlukhov for replenishing the court choir and orchestra.
While researching Russian musical culture of the mid-18th century, the German musicologist Schtelin compared Ukraine with French Province, and noted an exceptional musical talent of the Ukrainians. In the 18th century count and wealthy landlord’s estates had instrumental ensembles and orchestras, which serviced balls and accompanied singers, as well as performed music as such. The nobles such as Polubotko, Potocki, Shyray, and Troschynsky had similar orchestras. Big orchestras belonged to prince Cyril Rozumovsky, and others. In 1789 prince Grigoriy Potiomkin opened musical academy in Yekaterinoslav (today Dnipreoetrovsk), and attached to it an orchestra of 47 musicians. In the latter half of the 18th century municipal orchestras were organized in different cities of Ukraine, which serviced various holidays, celebrations, and ceremonies. The creation of such orchestras was accompanied by the delimitation of professional and amateur music. After abolishing serfdom in Russia in 1861, serf orchestras began to break up, many musicians returned to their native villages, and continued to play folk ensembles in their spare time.
In the 18th-19th century musical guilds, which united musicians and instrument-makers, were created all over the Ukraine. They adopted their own regulations, which protected the interests of their members, regulated service charges, divided the spheres of service, etc.
In the 20th century the growth of musical educational institutions, was accompanied by an intensive process of evolution of folk musical instruments. However paradoxical it is, but the improvement of folk instruments began to threaten with the disappearance of authentic instruments.
In modern Ukraine measures are being taken to revive and preserve the original instruments as a source of national art. In particular, in kobza player’s schools which are being created in Ukraine, young performers study playing the instruments and singing, along with kobza player’s traditions, rites, philosophy, and ethics of their life. The National union of kobza players of Ukraine arranges concerts, competitions, festivals of kobza-players art, jubilee evenings of outstanding kobza players and instrument makers. Ukrainian museums gather and popularize collections of original folk instruments. The biggest one is found at Museum of theatrical, musical, and cinema art of Ukraine in Kyiv.
Today a folk musical instrument is not just an instrument for playing music; it is a memorial of national culture, an object for collecting, which indicates the level of intellect and spirituality of its owner.
Buhay
Let us start the acquaintance with this instrument with a pun: to play this instrument is not serious for serious musician. The point is that everything is ridiculous and unusual in it: its construction, its name, and the way of playing. The buhay, in literal translation “pedigree bull,” has timber, which sounds somewhat like a bull’s roar, hence the name of the instrument.
There is no exact data about the time or place of its origin. It is only known that in the 19th century the buhay, as a ritual instrument, was episodically used as an accompanying ensemble instrument in Hitsulia, where it has a number of synonymous names, depending on the dimension of a barrel of which it is made.
The buhay belongs to cord-friction musical instruments the sound of which is produced by rubbing fingers against a bun of horsehair tied to the center of a leather membrane. The barrel is half a meter or meter high. When playing a big instrument, it is placed on the floor, when a small one – one of the performers holds it, and the other plays, tugging at the horsehair with his hands wetted in kvass, which provides better friction. This instrument became popular in many regions of Ukraine for its exotic kind.
There was a professional band which used to have such a performance when a musician appeared on the stage, holding a small barrel underarm and all of a sudden the other actor came running up to him to tug at the horsehair hanging from the barrel. The first musician continued walking, pretending he didn’t notice that his barrel was playing. The other one, after a masterly performance, to the applause of the audience, disappeared as suddenly as he had appeared.
The buhay is used in many professional bands, filling their performances with folk colouring , humour and jokes.
Kozobas
Many folk instruments are deeply rooted in the hoary past. The kozobas, in contrast, appeared in the late 1960s. The first model of it was made in Hryhoriy Veriovka National Ukrainian Folk Choir. Almost at the same time a similar chimera was contrived in Kyiv orchestra of folk instruments.
The word “kozobas” consists of two words – “goat and “bass”.
There was such a custom in Ivano-frnkivsk province: after musicians left a wedding party, but the guests still wanted to dance, they took a bucket, put a shoulder-yoke in it, fastened a piece of wire to the handle of the bucket and the other end of the yoke, and played it with a stick as a bow. They played such an “instrument” on the 5th-7th day after the wedding party; with this “instrument” they went caroling from door to door on Christmas tide, and led a young bachelor disguised as a dancing goat from house to house on New Year’s Eve. Singing carols was always accompanied with vivid theatrical shows and witty humour. That is how an idea emerged on the Hutsul folklore-ethnographic basis to make an accompanying instrument. The musician plays the kozobas with a short straight bow, or by plucking the strings with the fingers, and striking the plate with a small steel rod.
The kozovas became popular among professional and amateur folk ensembles. The musical workshop in Ternopil region began the production of this instrument, so we became witnesses of the birth of a new kind of folk contrabass.
Ocarina
The name of this instrument is derived from the Italian “ocarina,” which means “gosling”. The Italians, perhaps, saw a similarity in the outward appearance between the ocarina and gosling, or maybe they associated the sound of the ocarina with the cheep of gosling. Anyhow, but the ocarina is known to the whole world under this name. In Ukraine the ocarina also has another, more poetic name – zozulka (young cuckoo), which is obviously called forth by the timber of this instrument – fairy, at times fantastic, which imitates the howl of wild animals and the song of birds so well. By its construction and character of music the ocarina is allied with whistlers. In contrast to whistlers, which are not only musical instruments, but also works of decorative art, the ocarina is a purely musical instrument.
Traditionally ocarinas were made of terra cotta. Technology of making an ocarina is the same as that of whistler. It is shaped like a sweet potato, with finger holes (from 7 to 10) and a mouthpiece.
In the 19th century the ocarina was widely spread throughout the whole Western Europe. In Ukraine it could be acquired at the music shop, together with a manual and note repertoire. These instruments were made of porcelain, decorated with different pictures and floral ornaments, sometimes the finger holes were provided with a system of valves.
Volynka (bagpipe)
The exotic instrument – volynka- was in existence in ancient Greece and Rome; it is rooted in the culture of Ancient China and India, and in the Middle Ages it accompanied folk holidays all over Europe. In Italy the volynka was considered a rural instrument, in Poland it had a derogatory name of koziol (goat). A different attitude to the bagpipe was in Lithuania, where it was a very popular instrument in the early 19th century. The bagpipe is a traditional instrument of Scotland, where big bagpipe ensembles take part in State celebrations. In Britain the bagpipe acquired the image of an original court ceremonial instrument.
It is considered that in Ukraine the volynka appeared in the 16th century in the territory of Volyn (Volhynia), hence the name of the instrument. Later it spread throughout the territory of the former Russian empire. The volynka was used by the Cossacks, and was included in the musical regiment of Zaporoshian Army.
In the 19th – 20th century the volynka was a traditional folk instrument in the Carpathian area.
The volynka is distinguished for its original timber, and ability to combine playing with singing
Horn and Trembita
The horn and trembita are colourful national versions of trumpets, which preserve old traditions. The horn is one of the oldest instruments of mankind. Since the times of Old Testament, made of mountain goat or buffalo horns, it was an indispensable utensil of shepherd and hunter, and only later it turned into a truly musical instrument. In the 14th century wooden, and later copper, instruments often imitated the form of a horn.
The trembita is an old mouthpiece signal instrument of the mountaineers. It looks like a long cone-shaped trumpet. It is from 3 to 4 m long, and its signal can be heard at a distance of 10 km. The trembita performs important functions linked with the everlasting practice of the mountain dwellers, their life and customs.
In old times sentries posted on the Alps could warn the mountain dwellers of an approaching enemy by transmitting conventional signals. By trembita signals the senior shepherd reports shepherd’s boys of the time of milking and watering, in the evening he gathers flocks of sheep scattered in the mountains, helps to find one’s bearings in bad weather. Trembitas announce the spring holiday of the Hutsuls – going out to the mountain meadows. Sometimes trembitas bring bad news, reporting of somebody’s death.
The trembita is made of fir. First the tree is chopped off up to a needed dimension, then it is chopped lengthwise in two, the core being removed, after which both halves are stuck together with resin, pressurized with birch bark, and a wooden mouthpiece is put in the upper opening. The pitch of trembita sound depends on the force of blowing. In Polissia a traditional trembita is shorter; 1 to 2m long, and called lihava.
Now and then the trembita is used in orchestra music. Collapsible metal trembitas participate in modern wedding orchestras. Wooden Architecture
Since the time immemorial, the major part of present-day Ukraine has been covered with impassible woods. Even in the cat steppe expanses of Southern Ukraine, known in the old days as “Dyhke Poleh” (Wild Field), the valleys of winding rivers were green with leafy groves. Wood, as the prevalent material, was used by Ukrainian’s ancestors not only in construction but also in producing furniture, kitchenware, household equipment, agricultural and manufacturing tools as well as different means of transportation. They treat wood with due respect contemplating it as a living and spiritual substance salutary for human beings. As late as until the end of the 18th century, everyone in Ukraine, from a poor peasant to an affluent magnate, was convinced that living in a brick construction was pernicious for human’s health, while a wooden house or palace was the only suitable habitation. Centuries later, the same adamant belief played a mean trick on the nation. Stone mansions, castles and churches were scarce, while wooden constructions, which once had been in abundance, soon deteriorated and collapsed. Thus, Ukraine’s historical and cultural heritage was artificially impoverished. Of how impressive our wooden constructions looked is anyone’s guess. However, their looks can be restored on the grounds of archeological finds, foreign travelers’ rapturous descriptions of Ukrainian wooden architecture and few timber structures, which have miraculously survived through the ages.
Wooden premises construction was put on the mass production in Ukraine. Folk house architecture, which cherished thousand-year-old traditions, was both conservative and open to innovations. Construction techniques applied to folk architecture differed from those of modern building engineering. Unlike their present-day counterparts, which are first carefully designed, accommodation and utility premises were modeled after similar constructions, following the traditions of a particular region or village. These folk construction customs, like folk songs, were passed from generation to generation. Unfortunately, each year more and more samples of folk architecture disappear. Thus, visiting museums of folk architecture and rural life that feature the most accomplished examples of construction art is perhaps the easiest way to get acquainted with this unique phenomenon.
In Ukraine, houses for all-the-year-round habitation were called “khata”, while seasonal or temporary dwellings were known as “kolyba” or “kuren”. Utility premises, which constituted a typical peasant homestead and included a shed for storing valuables, a cellar, a stable, a cart-shed for storing carts and sledges, a cattle-shed, a pig-pen, hen-house, a well with sweep and barn for unhulled wheat, located outside the courtyard, were just as important . A typical farm comprised a so called “clean” and utility yard. An orchard and a kitchen garden were an integral part of each farm. The harsh natural conditions resulted in the development of a unique architectural phenomenon, a walled farm, known in the Carpathians as “hrazhda”. Premises, confining a courtyard, formed a small castle with blank external walls and a gate. The “hrazhda” became a vivid embodiment of the English proverb “My home is my castle”.
A traditional Ukrainian “khata” is an enduring masterpiece of architecture, distinguished by both an efficient construction design and high artistic value. Most “khatas” consisted of one or two living quarters. One-room “khatas” were adjacent to an inner porch and shed, while two-room buildings abutted on various utility premises, and in some cases to workshops. “Khata” was of a rectangular shape covered with a hipped roof. It was easy to put up and maintain such simple and efficiently designed construction, as well as it was easy to warm it up in wintertime. “Khatas” were built of different wooden structural materials, including, logs, timber or blocks. Sometimes a wooden frame was filled up with sawdust, springs or clay mixed up with straw. Linden was considered the best tree for construction purposes. Roofs were covered with thatch, reed or thin wooden planks – shingles or clapboards.
Although elegant and diverse, the interior of Ukrainian wooden constructions was first of all distinguished for its efficient design – only the visible parts of the building were decorated and the method of color, shape, material and style contrast, which allowed achieving the highest artistic effect with the minimum techniques applied, was widely used.
Apart from traditional peasant constructions, the Ukrainian folk architecture is known for some fine examples of public buildings, including churches, schools, village councils, inns and large barns for storing grain. Utility premises – water and wind mills, saw-mills, fulling-mills, oil pressing mills, grits cutters and smithies – constituted an indispensable part of life and economy of a Ukrainian village.
Cheap and environment-friendly constructions that satisfied the needs of a Ukrainian farmer, traditional Ukrainian windmills are among some of the most ingenious inventions of engineering. The earliest mills known in Ukraine were water mills, while wind mills appeared only in the 18th century. All the windmills fall into two main types: pole-like constructions with the whole body of a mill rotated by the wind, and polyhedral or Dutch mills, in which only the upper part of the mill together with the vanes is turned. In the old days, wind and water mills could be found in every village or town, while in larger settlements the amount of mills reached several dozens.
Yes, the highest peak of its development the Ukrainian wooden architecture demonstrated in church constructions. Among the enduring masterpieces of wooden architecture are large cathedrals and small chapels, parish churches and belfries, fences, gates and towers. And it is no wonder why. The church was not only a spiritual sanctuary for worshipping and meditations, but also played a focal part in public life.
First wooden churches had been built long before Christianity was officially introduced on the territory of Ukraine. With time wooden church architecture gained popularity and adopted certain folk features. It was in constructing wooden churches that architects managed to preserve the forms and designs of ancient sacral edifices. Strange as it was, the same cherished old traditions laid foundation for developing new techniques in national architecture.
In building wooden churches, pine-tree, oak, hornbeam squared into four cants was among the most extensively used structural material. Other popular building materials were round logs or logs cut lengthwise. Wooden edifices were erected without a single iron nail or any other iron tools. And what was done not for the lack of iron or our ancestor’s inability to use iron nails. This sophisticated technique was based on the observation that high humidity made iron construction tools, such as nails, rusty. And this very rust deteriorated the wood, thus making the construction rickety and insecure. If need be, iron joining material was substituted with pegs of strong wood (oak or beech).
Churches and belfries were supported by stumps of oak logs vertically dug into the ground under the construction. The tradition of putting up churches on stone or brick foundations originated in the Podillya region and by the end of the 18th century was caught up by the rest of Ukraine.
The durability of any wooden structure depends on the measures taken to protect it from rain and snow. The amount of precipitation in Ukraine and especially in the Carpathians is rather high. Thus, roofs were made high and steep for the rain water and snow to stream down from the hips. Among the most popular roofing material were shingles (thin? Oblong pieces of wood used to cover the roofs and sides of houses, the so-called “wooden tiles”), clapboards and thin planks. The lower parts of the walls were additionally secured from rain or snow by “under-roofs” – a roof circumscribing the building and resting on columns or projecting lower rows of logs, also called corbels or protrusions.
All the architectural masterpieces featured in this album were created with the help of an axe and some other primitive tools. That is why they look more like sculptures, as if retaining the warmth of their creator’s skillful hands.
All the Ukrainian wooden churches fall into two main types: three-compartment and cross-like constructions. The prevailing type is definitely that of a three-compartment construction. Such churches consist of three main chambers – central chamber or nave, eastern chamber or altar and western chamber or narthex. Three-compartment churches are either one-roofed or three-roofed.
Cross-like churches are usually five or nine-compartment structures or have the shape of a Greek cross with arms of equal length. Such constructions are crowned by one, three, five or nine domes.
Whatever the type a wooden church belonged to, the uniting element for all the chambers was the central compartment or nave, which was made one tier higher than the side compartments. The dominating design of three-compartment churches comprised a rectangular or octahedral nave, a polyhedral altar and polyhedral or rectangular narthex. In cross-like churches the central compartment, in most cases, was square with each side equal the width of side compartments. The height of churches differed from region to region.
Among the wide variety of elaborated architectural forms, there are churches of simple outlines, which look more like simple peasant houses or barns. At the same time, there are edifices, among them the famous Trinity church in Novomoskovsk, whose exquisite design and accomplished shapes place them far above the most renowned sacral constructions. Ukrainian wooden church architecture is as diverse as Ukraine’s Landscapes. Tall as popular trees are churches in Boikivschyna region, elegant in the Lemkivchyna region, harmonious in the Podilya region, somewhat heavyset in the Halychyna and Volyn regions, or monuments like lighthouses in eastern regions.
An integral part of a sacral construction complex is a bell tower, which borrowed its architectural outline from ancient watch or fortification towers. One of the remainders of this “kinship” is a corbel gallery on the upper tier of multi-tiered bell towers, which theoretically allowed holding the defense against enemies.
All the wooden bell towers fall into two main types – framed structure constructions and log constructions. The type of the bell tower largely depend on the chiming techniques used, either the whole bell was swung or only its tongue. Swinging the whole bell to chime put additional dynamic load on the construction. Thus, the building had to be stronger, i.e. framed, structure. That is why framed bell towers prevail in western regions (Haluchyna and Volhyn), where bell-swinging is the preferred technique. In other regions, most bell towers are of a log, or log and framed (the lower tier was made of logs, while the upper tier was framed) structure.
Scientists still dispute about the amount of regional wooden church architectural schools in Ukraine. However, a profound study of edifices of multifarious forms and designs made scientists agree that similarities demonstrated by all the crchitectural schools underpin the unity of the Ukrainian nation and the unanimity in architectural and construction approaches.
Wooden constructions are the part of national heritage most susceptible to deterioration. They die of water, fire, bark beetles and shipworms, yet peoples’ carelessness and ignorance remains their most dangerous enemy. Being an acute problem not only for Ukraine but for Europe in general, the issue of preserving wooden architectural monuments of folk architecture became one of the most popular and efficient ways of preserving wooden constructions.
Today, Ukraine boasts several open-museums of folk architecture located in Kyiv, Pereyaslav-Khmelnitsky, Lviv, Chernivtsy, Uzhhorod and the village of Krylos not far from Ivano-Frankivsk. Each museum presents a rich collection of masterpieces, revealing the achievements in folk wooden architecture. These exhibits are valuable “bank deposits”, which cannot be spent but only increased and multiplied.
Yet, no matter how much effort is made to preserve this part of national heritage, the time, and the implacable enemy of art, takes away the best masterpieces. To study, guard and secure them for the following generations is the mission of modern scientists, architects and restorers. Presenting the rigid beauty of Ukraine’s wooden architecture, the authors of this album pursue the same aim.
This fight should go on, until people learn to appreciate beauty, respect works of art and the remains of our once rich heritage.

Ukrainian Cuisine and Folk Traditions

Ukrainian national cuisine, being a part of the European cuisine, it has accommodated some of the culinary traditions of Asian nations. People do not seal themselves off from other nations. Intermingling with neighboring countries, people adopt new dietary habits along with other cultures. In addition to this, similar geographical and climate conditions predetermine similar culinary ingredients. Thus, foods comparable to Ukrainian specialties are found in the cuisines of other nations. Such are Ukrainian varenyky, which are slightly reminiscent of Italian ravioli. Ukrainian ovochevi pecheny (stewed vegetables) might remind one of French sauté. Many similar dishes are cooked in Ukraine and Poland, especially along the frontier regions, where identical festive foods are served on similar occasions. For example, on Christmas Eve the red-beet borsch is served with vushka (“ear” dumplings) etc. Meanwhile, borsch, the masterpiece of Ukrainian culinary traditions, has become part of the world cuisine. Mistakenly, however, the Ukrainian red beet soup is known under other names too – “Russian borsch”, “Moscow borsch” or even “Siberian borsch”.
Each nation boasts original culinary habits. In Ukraine, most of the dishes are either boiled or stewed, while among the diversity of ingredients, vegetables and groats still prevail. Of all the variety of meat, a Ukrainian will definitely choose pork. Yet, culinary traditions amount not only to the ingredients chosen. They include different ways of cooking, spices and seasonings which accompany particular dishes, prohibitions of certain products, preferences and restrictions in food, rules of behavior observed while cooking and consuming food, table etiquette, ritual and customary meals, beliefs and superstitions, etc.
Here is a list of religious holidays celebrated in Ukraine: Christmas Eve, Christmas, New Year, The Epiphany, The Meeting in the Temple, Pancake Week, Great Lent, Forty Martyrs of Sebaste, St. Eudoxia, The Annunciation, Easter, Commemoration of the Dead, The Ascension, Pentecost, St. John the Baptist, Sts Paul and Peter, The Maccabees, The transfiguration, The Blessed Virgin, The Protecting Veil, St. Michael, St. Andrew, St. Nicolas.
In the following articles we will present the Ukrainian dietary customs, which are firmly connected with the folk calendar.
Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve, or “Svjaty Vechir” (Holy Night) in Ukrainian, is a big religious holiday. The last day of Christmas fast is celebrated only with meat-and milk-free food.
The whole family usually woke up at daybreak. The mother would wash non-ground wheat (the wheat what was popular on the Right Bank of Ukraine was substituted for barley on the Left Bank of Ukraine) and set the saucepan with the wheat into the oven. Some families had the tradition of cooking “kutia” (Christmas Eve wheat dish) in a new clay or ceramic pot. Children would crack and chop walnuts and grind poppy seeds in a wooden bowl. The father prepared “syta” (honey dissolved in boiled water). Boiling water, added to honeycombs smashed in a bowl beforehand, melted down the wax, which now floated on the surface. However, if the water was not hot enough, a warmed-up brick was put under the bowl, which brought the water to the boil right in the vessel. Then the liquid was quenched and the wax was skimmed off. The melted honey was added to the kutia.
Christmas
Christmas is one of the greatest religious holidays, which, despite the persecution of the Church during the atheistic Soviet era, has always been celebrated by the majority of Ukrainians. This pious adherence to traditions helped to preserve ancient Christmas rituals, such as carol-singing, in which people praise the born Christ, and perform Nativity scenes or scenes from the life of the Blessed Virgin and the Holy Family.
This day as well as Christmas Eve reflected the people’s idea of well-being, prosperity, welfare and happiness. The head of the family not only made sure that the meal was hearty and sumptuous, but also watched that the atmosphere in the house was festive and peaceful. Even one-day fasts, usually observed on Wednesdays and Fridays, are abated during the Christmas holiday season, which lasts for fourteen days from Christmas (January,7) to Epiphany (January, 19).
New Year
New Year Eve (also known as Schedry Vechir or Lavish Night in Ukrainian) is undoubtedly one of the most popular secular holidays in Ukraine, free from any ecclesiastical influence, except for the fact that on January 1 (13) the Church celebrates the memory of St. Melania and on the next day it commemorates St. Basil the Great.
Great Lent
One of the four fast periods, Great Lent is the longest and lasts for seven weeks. It begins after the Cheese-Fare Week and ends on Easter. The Church year is not all the holidays and feasts. The Orthodox Church has set four fast-periods – the summer fast lasts for about three to six weeks from Whitsunday through St Peter and Paul’s Day (Petrivka), the last two weeks in August are known as Spasivsky Fast or Spasivka, six weeks that precede Christmas are called Pylypivsky Fast or Pylypivka and the longest and strictest of all is Great Lent.

HolidaysOn the national scale, in Ukraine the following days are set apart for observance or commemoration:
New Year’s Day - January 1
Christmas Day - January 7
Unification of Ukraine Day - January 22
Women’s Day - March 8
Velykden’ (Easter) - movable
Labor Day - May 1 and 2
Victory Day - May 9
Triytsia (Pentecost) - movable
Constitution Day - June 28
Independence Day - August 24
Except Easter and Triytsia, which mobility is linked to the religious tradition, all the above holidays are celebrated on a fixed day. Christmas Day and Velykden’ (Easter) are celebrated in accord to the Orthodox Old Calendar.
New Year’s Day is one of the most popular holidays in modern Ukraine. In addition to the traditional celebrations the Old New Year’s Day, a folk symbol of tradition and originality, is marked on January 14.
Religious holidays are distinguished by special traditions and peculiar to exclusively Ukraine coloring combining the Christian Orthodox culture and beliefs rooted deep in the antiquity. Thus, maybe the most full of splendor and beauty is the Christmas celebrations in Ukraine. On the eve of the action, that is, on January 6, the families that keep traditions have their festive supper. In harmony with the old custom twelve fasting dishes are served with sweet kutia, boiled wheat, as the major dish. They sit down at the table when the first star rises and greet each other with the saying “Khrystos rozhdayetsia!” (Christ is being born!). After celebrations within family circle, the festivities reach the streets on January 7 and 8; during these days people exchange visits, share the good news and sing Christmas carols, religious folk songs praising the birth of Christ. On the city and village streets, one may watch verteps, dramatized and fancy-dressed performances dedicated to Christ. On January 8 and 9, the annual vertep contest occurs with amateurish and professional teams of actors participating. Traditional also became the festival of authentic Guzul verteps in the Carpathian town of Kolomyia.
Nowadays, the traditional celebrations of Christmas and New Year’s Day in Ukraine increasingly expand through the Western influence: fur-trees are decorated, street trees and shop windows illuminated, as well as fireworks let off.
Another prominent holiday of the religious cycle in Ukraine is Velykden’ (Easter Holiday). Similar to Christmas, in addition to purely Christian motifs the holiday embraces the traditions associated with the ancient tiller’s calendar combining surprisingly well the celebrations of Christ resurrection with motifs of spring nature awakening. On the holiday eve, that is, Saturday, consecrating of paskha, Easter cake, is held; people bring to the church baskets full with Easter food – special cakes traditionally baked at home, dyed and painted Easter eggs, pysankas, and other eatable attributes of the feast. The priests consecrate this food, and the church heads celebrate holiday service with great many people attending the God’s house. The greeting during the Easter days is “Khrystos voskres!” (Christ has arisen!). The white dress and colorful towels make the atmosphere of the holiday especially pure and elevated. Of special attention deserves such an imperative attribute of the holiday as the sacral art of Ukrainian pysanka that keeps on amazing contemporaries with the beauty and refinement of its symbolism.
Triytsia (Pentacost) is believed to be one of the greatest religious holidays next to Christmas and Easter. In accord with tradition, Ukrainians decorate their homes with branches of basswood, grasses and flowers bringing it another name - Green Holidays.
Victory Day is the major national holiday of Ukrainians that serves a reminder about the great feat of arm and immense losses. It is the day to remember those perished and to honor veterans of the WWII.
Among the holidays connected with the historical past of the Ukrainian people of interest is the Unification Day. On January 22, 1919, a significant event of the Ukrainian history took place in Kyiv’s St. Sophia square – the union of the Ukrainian People and the West Ukrainian People Republics into a single Ukrainian unified state. Historians believe that it was on this day that the existence of Ukraine as a state became a historical fact. Despite the fact that at the start of the 20th century the Ukrainian State failed to assert independence in its struggle with enemy forces, the Union of January 22 remains one of the most ponderable symbolic acts for the national consciousness; it is the reason the date is marked by the Ukrainian nation as a national holiday.
The Decree “On Declaration of Independence of Ukraine” adopted by the Verkhovna Rada of the Ukrainian SSR on August 24, 1991, became the act expressing the will of Ukrainian people and finally establishing the independent Ukrainian state. The day that commemorated the completion of the centuries-old strife of the Ukrainian people for its freedom became the major national holiday – Independence Day.
In addition to the national holidays, traditional holidays of the national minorities are marked locally. In accord to Article 24 of the Law of Ukraine “On the National Minorities” “in their activity the organs of local self-government are to take into the account marking of certain holidays and events of the national minorities on the territories of latter’s compact residence. Additional non-working days may be set to celebrate the traditional national religious holidays.” Traditions, Rites and CeremoniesThe Ukrainian people’s native customs are primarily connected with the traditional way of thought and outlook on life that have been forming throughout the ages, and preserved quite a few features of the pre-Christian beliefs. . Two main types of ceremonies are distinguishable: the domestic (family) and calendar ones. The former were the rites of passage marking a significant transition in a human life, while the latter performed to celebrate achievements or milestones in the lives of individuals or groups of people. Every conventional celebration and every ritual were closely connected with the folk-believes and legends of yore.
The Family Rituals and Rites
Puerperal ceremonies that accompany delivery of a child are part of especially delicate spheres; hence, they are being surrounded by magic actions and charms. While helping deliver babies a midwife was seeking to inculcate and instill in the child the important elements of character. For a child to grow healthy sviachene zillia (consecrated herbs and flowers) were made use of: for girls to be beautiful honey and, sometimes, milk were added to the font or put roots of elecampane there for boys to enjoy good health, or an axe placed to be become proficient in various skills. Everyone who happened to drop in during the ceremony was to drop a lucky penny into the basin holding baptismal water.
Wedding among Ukrainians was indeed a solemn stage play accompanied by music, singing, dancing and games that grew into s folk feast. It all has been starting with wooing and seeking marriage (that is, towel presentation, proposing, towel taking and arrangement) when elders, representatives of the brides-to-be came to an agreement concerning wedding. (Instances happened when the intended bride said no to the marriage seekers. In such cases, she gave back the loaf of bread that seniors brought with them and ‘presented’ the man seeking marriage with either a pumpkin or makohon (a wooden club-shaped, hand-held tool for grinding or mashing poppy seed, cereals, etc. in a mortar).
Soon thereafter, the betrothal was arranged that began with a posad ceremony-the expression of mutual consent by those to be married and consecration of it by both parentages with bread and towel being the symbols of unity. With the betrothed seated at the head of the table, the elders covered the bread with a towel, then placing the girl’s hand there and overlaying it with that of the boy, tied up the both hands with a towel.
This was followed by tying up of the seniors with towels and presentation of all those in attendance with kerchiefs, pieces of cloth or shirts.
In between the betrothing and wedding preparation the celebration continued with a series of rites, of which the principal were the hen and stag parties (or ‘periwinkle’ ceremonies), loaf baking and invitations. The hen and stag nights symbolizing parting with single life were held on the eve of the wedding party separately at places of residence of the affianced. Meanwhile, married and highly honored women were baking the karavai, the principal bread at Ukrainian wedding, as well as varied bridal cookies.
The most dramatic moment of the marriage was the pokryvania (bespreading) ritual that symbolized transfer of the young bride to the category of women and under husband’s authority and after which the general revelry started. The archaic rite is still preserved in Hutsul region. There, close to the end of the dinner party young bride was called to the barn to a sad tune played by musicians. When the groom heard the sound of a violin, he ran into the barn and bit through the ribbon that held metal decorations in the plait of the bride, thus making the entire splendid headdress spread. From this moment on she had to plait two braids, wind them around her head in a circle, and put on ochipok (a kind of a bonnet worm by married women), tying peremitka ( a shawl of fine fabric) or kerchief over it.
An important component of the marriage ceremony is the nuptial service consecrating the marriage by the church.
Funereal Rites and Customs were directed to reversibly transfer the souls of the deceased into the world of ancestors as well as protection of the living from detrimental influence of the spirits of the dead. The rituals comprised the burial and commemoration.
When a person died, all the relations and fellow-villagers were notified. For that purpose white kerchiefs and peremitka were hanged out on the windows of the house where the dead stayed. Among the highlanders it was customary to kindle a big fire before the hut of the deceased or to blow trembita (Hutsul folk music instrument in the form of a long wooden tube without vents).
The soul of the deceased was treated especially delicately. One should not drink water in the room since it was deemed possible to be consumed by the soul of the deceased; those wanting to sit down on a bench had to blow there to avoid crushing the soul of the dead.
The carrying-out of the coffin was marked by special magic since it was connected with protection of the family and the farm from detrimental influence. To bar finding the way back home, the demised was born out feet first predominantly through the back door knocking on the threshold with coffin thrice so that the departed bid farewell to the ancestors and never returned. As soon as the chest was brought out from the room, a new jar was broken over the place it stood on as a symbol of life renovation while the way it was carried out was sprinkled with rye or barley so that nobody else died in the house.
Ukrainians strictly kept the rite of semi-official church ‘sealing’ the grave unknown to other peoples: to a chant, the priest marked a cross over the grave with a spade, and then threw soil crosswise over the coffin.
After the burial ceremony had been over, a meal was arranged for all those present which mandatory dish was kolyvo, a dish of wheat cooked with honey. It was customary immediately after the meal to put a glass of horilka (vodka) and a piece of bread intended for the deceased on the windowsill: in popular belief, he returned home during the following nine days. The next day luncheon was carried to the grave (‘to wake up the deceased’. By this, the funeral ended and commemoration began.
Marking of certain commemoration days are linked with popular ideas about life and death. Hence, the belief was that soul leaved the body on the third day, spirit on the ninth, while on the fortieth day the body ceased its existence.
Calendar Holidays and Ceremonies
A calendar rites are divides into four principal seasonal cycles: winter, spring, summer and autumn with each of them timed on the one hand with the natural phenomena and to the correspondent types of agricultural activity on the other hand.
The winter cycle of popular calendar ritualism of the Ukrainian folk starts with Koliada marked on the eve of Christmas on January 7, ending with Vodokhresch on January 19. In general, the winter cycle includes the following holidays: Koliada (or the Holy Night); the Birth of the Sun Holiday (Christmas); the Old New Year’s Day (Malanka or Saint. Basil’s the Great Day), Vodokhresch (or Epiphany), Stritenia, and Obritenia.
The Christmas night (the Koliada, Holy Night) was also called bahata kutia accompanied by extensive preparations: the stove was kindled with 12 logs that dried for twelve days, 12 ritual dishes were baked and boiled, of which the principal ones were the Christmas kutia (boiled wheat corn with raisins and honey) and uzvar (dried fruits compote). Towards the evening didukh (reaped sheaf) was brought into the house since, in accord with a belief, together with other home objects it acquired miraculous power bringing luck and providing for fruitful toil. In the evening children were sent to relations and kinsfolk with gifts and kutia to commemorate the souls of the dead.
Starting with the Holy Night until the Vodokhresch the ritual wish-singing continued addressed to the hosts of lodgings and habitations, and to all their folks.
Connected with the most vitally important business – laying foundation for the future harvest, the Spring Cycle of the calendar ritualism was of special significance among Ukrainians. For this reason, the people with the help of rituals and magic actions tried with all their might to speed up the coming of spring, warm weather and rain. In addition, the season is also famous for the alchemy of spring and awakening of human feelings. Hence, the spring ritualism was directed at recreation of the youth, telling fortunes and magic signs of supernatural protection. The characteristic colors of the spring rituality in Ukraine were vesnianky, highly poetic folk singing that penetrated more than one holiday and ceremonial actions.
The Velykden (the Great day) was always seen among the people as the principal spring holiday that later was established by the Christian Church as Easter, a Christian festival commemorating Resurrection of Christ. Quite organically it combined pagan rites and canon ceremonies. The Velykden is a complete ritualistic cycle, which comprises the following chief elements: the Maundy-Week that in its turn divided into Palm Sunday and Holy Thursday; Velykden (Easter) and Svitlyi Easter Week including Radunytsia (veneration of ancestors) and Svitlyi Monday. On Palm Sunday, withes of willow were consecrated in church to be used at home for whipping the house folk and domestic animals. On Velykden, paskha (the Easter cakes) and decorated eggs, which were prepared in advance, are also consecrated.
The most diversified is the Summer Ritual Cycle that lasted from the holy day of rusalii at the end of May until the Day of Holovosiky (beheading of St. John the Baptist) and included the following: rusalii, Trinity Sunday (the Green Feast), Kupaila or Ivan Kupala (St. John the Baptist Day), Petriv Den (Saints Peter and Paul Day), Maccabeus, Elijah and Saint Panteleimon the Healer Days, and the Savior Day, as well as quite forgotten today holydays of Thunder and pagan gods Lada, Yarylo, etc.
Within the Summer Ritual Cycle two ideas were prominent: water and plants. Special appeal of romance and magic distinguish The Ivan Kupala Feast. There is a folk-belief that to anyone who is lucky to pick the flower of fern (assumed to bloom at midnight, take fire and fall there and then) the hidden treasures are revealed while the person himself acquires miracle-working powers and knowledge. Hence, during Midsummer Night brave people were looking for fern in the wood, girls were telling fortunes by wreaths, young country folk lighted fires on the water and jumped over them presumably in a belief that Kupala fires and water had curative and purifying properties.
The autumn cycle of the calendar holydays does not present itself as an integral order, but instead incorporates separate customs and omens with their general character defined by the nature going to sleep and preparation for winter. Ceremonial actions move predominantly indoors acquiring the form of evening sessions.
The cycle starts with Simeon feast that formerly coincided with the canon New Year’s Day. The whole cycle comprised of the following holidays and ceremonies: Simeon Day, Pokrova, saints’ days of Dymytriy, Kuzma and Demian, the Feast of Presentation of the Blessed Virgin, Kateryna, Saint George and Saint Andrew Days, as well as Saint Barbara and Saint Nicholas Days. The ceremonies of the autumn cycle were oriented predominantly at domesticity. Weddings started with the Pokrova with other holidays of the season also connected with marriages or divination about those to wed. Engagement in fortune telling was also intensive during the Feast of presentation of the Blessed Virgin, as well as on saints’ days of Kateryna and Andriy with the stock of techniques extremely diverse.
Presently, traditional customs and rites are gradually becoming the thing of the past; however some of the elements still stay in the ceremonies of today to be used during celebrations of the most popular folk holidays.

FolkloreThe folk culture and art of Ukrainians are justly considered a part of the most abundant gains of the European cultural inheritance. Diversified genres and perfection of forms, poetic and exquisite lyricism, profound philosophical thought and irrepressible fieriness are defining the colors of the Ukrainian folklore.
For centuries, the unwritten folk account was almost the sole means to epitomize the Ukrainian lifelong experience and embodiment of popular wisdom, world outlook and high ideals. In addition to the most important events in the Ukrainian history starting from the princedom age, folklore reflected and preserved numerous archaic pagan motifs and symbols often hidden under the cover of Christian tradition. Thanks to the folklore heritage, those living today are able to familiarize themselves with the way of life of the remote and not far off generations, their red- and black-letter days filled with magic and fascinating ceremonial rites.
The Ukrainian folklore tradition one could classify into two blocks: music and poetic (songs, dumy (ballads), folk-tunes, etc.) and prose (fairy tales, legends, anecdotes, and so on) forms.
In addition, the music and poetic art is separated into the basic groups: ceremonial folklore, epic and lyrical folk tradition. The ceremonial folklore includes calendar events and domestic ritual songs; the dumy, historical and epic poetry songs belong to the epic group, while the lyrical one contains social and everyday life poetics.
One of the ancient layers of the Ukrainian folklore is incantation, that is, short oral mythological texts used by our ancestors in looking after the house, to avert misfortune or disease, as well as in the field of romance. Both groups of the ritual songs, that is, calendar (koliadky, schedrivky, vesnianky, rusalni, tsarynni, kupalsky and petrichansky, zhnyvasksy) and domestic ritual songs (the ones for marriage and burial rites, and christening) are rated as the oldest examples of the traditional folklore.
The calendar-ceremonial tradition is divided into four cycles commensurable with the seasons.
The most fully represented and applied at present is the winter cycle of the Ukrainian tradition. Primarily, it is the songs dated for Christmas: koliadky (carols) and scenarios for the Christmas Day activities. The winter cycle also include the so-called schedrivky that are structurally similar to koliadky and meant for singing on Christmas Eve. These are especially rich with wishes of happiness, good health and prosperity to the host of the house of attendance.
The so-called vesnianky or hayivky, numer