Ukraine, Tucson Clubs, European Multi-ethnic Alliance of Tucson, Tapestry Project, Ukraine

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Tucsonans of Ukrainian originally come from a land located in eastern
Europe, bounded by the republics of the Russian Federation to the north,
Belarus to the Northwest and Poland, the Slovak Republic, Hungary and Romania
to the West. Its territory (232,000 square miles) and a population of 50 million make
it one of the largest nations in Europe. As in many countries, there are distinct cultural
and dialectical differences, which only serve to create a land of great cultural traditions.
The Ukrainian emigrants have brought diversity and richness to Tucson.

When Ukraine declared its independence in 1991, it adopted a new National Flag on January 28, 1992 - a horizontally 2-striped flag. The upper blue stripe represents the open sky and the bottom yellow stripe symbolizes the wheat fields of Ukraine.

The National Emblem � The Trident � was used in the first millennium of Ukraine�s history. Grand Prince Volodymyr of Kyiv first used it in 988. After the renascence of independent Ukraine on January 22, 1918, the trident was adopted as the national symbol of the Ukrainian National Republic. It was also accepted following Ukraine�s Independence in 1991.

Historical Markers

9th - 13th centuries - First period of Ukrainian statehood, when Ukraine was known as Rus�. During this era of vigorous activity, Rus-Ukraine, under the rule of Volodymyr the Great, accepted Christianity in 988, and developed close ties with other nations of Europe.

20th century - With the collapse of the Russian Empire, the Ukrainian National Republic is created. After the loss of the War of Independence, the Ukrainian lands are annexed by the Soviet Union, Poland, Rumania and Czechoslovakia. Following a short period of concessions in Soviet Ukraine, the Communists persecute Ukrainian patriots. Repression culminates in 1933 when Stalin engineered a man-made famine, which causes the death of seven to ten million Ukrainian villagers (The western press and journalists such as Walter Duranty of The New York Times covered up this crime while privately acknowledging this Famine-Genocide).

Natural Resources

Ukraine is known as �the Bread Basket of Europe� because of its naturally fertile lands and its wheat production. Its has also been endowed with huge deposits of coal and iron as well as oils and natural gas reserves, as well a many strategic minerals. Ukraine is highly industrialized with heavy industry concentrated in the Donets Basin (coal) and Kryvyi Rih (iron). It has all the natural assets to be an important economic player in the industrialized world.

Lanaguage

The Ukrainian language originates from ancient times. The brothers Cyril and Methodius founded the Slav written language (hence the use of the Cyrillic alphabet). Ukrainian is the official language of Ukraine. That is, it is the official language of Ukrainians who represent the major part of the state population. Approximately 10 to 13 million people who live outside the boundaries of Ukraine (the Russian Federation, Poland, the Czech and Slovak Republics, Romania, Hungary, the United States, Canada, Argentina, Brazil, Australia and other countries) speak Ukrainian.

Religion

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church is dominant in Central and Eastern Ukraine while the Ukrainian Catholic Church is dominant in Western Ukraine. Various Protestant denominations (Baptist, Methodist and Evangelical) are also active.
The rich Byzantine tradition has resulted in the building of many beautiful and majestic churches. The early churches were modeled after the Byzantine style of Constantinople. An example of this magnificent architecture is the St. Sophia Cathedral in the capital city of Kyiv built by Grand Prince Yaroslav the Wise in 1036.

In Western Ukraine, a different style of church was erected. Endowed with the rich forests of the Carpathians, churches were built predominantly of wood. One of the earliest example is the church of the nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary built in 1613 in Khotynec. Today, many of the churches are under Polish Roman Catholic jurisdiction.

by: Ihor Kunasz

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