Ask a Ukrainian

[LamaGT]

I thought it would be a nice idea given the events of these past months to open this thread.

Let me present myself, if you don't know me. I was born in Donetsk, Ukraine. I've lived there until I moved to Italy at the age of 8, but I've kept coming back almost every year in summer, and I've kept contacts with my relatives. I'm not the purest Ukrainian there is but I feel qualified enough for this.

I don't want this to be yet another Ukrainian crisis thread, use it to ask questions about culture, opinions and what not (political too if you want), but let the debate stay in other threads.
Other Ukrainians are welcome to pitch in since different regions have (in general) different world views.

You can also ask questions about Italy if you want, I've lived here long enough to blend in.

 

[~Corsair#01~]

What is the difference between Ukrainians and Russians?

Do you believe that the Donetsk/Luhansk region should be part of Ukraine or part of Russia?

What is your opinion regarding the European Union?

 

[LamaGT]

What is the difference between Ukrainians and Russians?

Between Galicians and Muscovites? A lot of differences, the language is different, food is different, customs are different, culture is different. I can't say precisely which differences since I've never been in Lvov or Moscow, but they are substantial. Only in a relative sense though, I'd still say that the French and Italians have more differences.

The differences between a person from Rostov and one from Donetsk or Kharkov are however much smaller than that, starting with language and continuing with all the rest. In fact, city dwellers in much of Eastern Ukraine, including even Kiev, speak Russian.
In the countryside the situation is more complex as people speak a mix of Russian and Ukrainian called Surzhyk, and in Donetsk region the influence of Ukrainian amounts to only a few words (speaking from personal experience).

Do you believe that the Donetsk/Luhansk region should be part of Ukraine or part of Russia?

Yes, but only because it would benefit them greatly as the Ukrainian state is completely and utterly broke, and due to IMF loan terms and the economic relations with Russia it won't improve. The West isn't too keen for charity to Ukraine seeing as they have their own problems to take care of.
Without the economic factor, I'd be ambivalent.

What is your opinion regarding the European Union?

A good institution that must still sort out its problems, namely that it's apparently ran by bankers and it is the USA's dog. I'd love if Ukraine joined it, but economical factors prevent it. The Ukrainian industry is decrepit and won't benefit from free trade with Europe, rather the opposite.

 

[SS-18 ICBM]

Most-recommended local foodstuff?

 

[Tahuti]

A good institution that must still sort out its problems, namely that it's apparently ran by bankers and it is the USA's dog. I'd love if Ukraine joined it, but economical factors prevent it. The Ukrainian industry is decrepit and won't benefit from free trade with Europe, rather the opposite.

Don't you think the future of Ukraine lies in agriculture?

 

[LamaGT]

Most-recommended local foodstuff?

The obligatory "Borsch", with potatoes, cabbages and other vegetables, sometimes meat, in a soup made red by beetroots. Usually people add a sour cream called smetana, or mayonnaise. I like it pure, personally.

Spoiler :

"Bliny" (the i sounds like an e), basically pancakes wrapped around a core of something, which could be minced meat or fruit. I like the former ones especially. Also served with smetana, but I like them pure (actually I just dislike smetana and mayonnaise, you could like it for all I know)

Spoiler :

"Zharkoe", which is apparently a Russian food but as I've said, it's complicated where I'm from. It's cooked meat and potatoes, with a little soup base (the one made by boiling chicken essentially). It's usually served in a typical pot.

Spoiler :

"Golubtsy", meat wrapped in cabbage, usually with tomato sauce. Not really something specific to Ukraine or even Russia, but still pretty good and widespread.

Spoiler :

The bread has to be mentioned. Again, it's widespread in all of the post-USSR, but I love the white "Baton" and the black rye bread "Borodinskiy". Better than any Italian or French bread I've ever tried.

Spoiler :

Spoiler :

An honorable mention has to be given to the "Shashlyk", actually a Middle-Eastern dish popular in the ex-USSR, it's meat on sticks (usually lamb but also pork and beef) cooked on wood fire or just heated charcoal. Usually it's marinated and covered with some sort of batter. The end result is spectacular if done well.

Spoiler :

Don't you think the future of Ukraine lies in agriculture?

I do believe it's the sector with the most exciting prospects, Ukrainian soil is incredibly fertile (especially in the east). Unfortunately agricultural equipment is very old and a lot of fields are abandoned. It's also susceptible to the climate, the winters can be very harsh. But it should be only one of the many industries in Ukraine, there are plenty of other resources too.

 

[Cheezy the Wiz]

Second on the blyny recommendation. Best food ever.

Ukraine is sometimes considered " a country that should not exist." With Poles in the NW, Russians in the East and South, Romanians in the SW, and Russians and Tatars in the South, there's only a portion of Ukraine which is uniquely "Ukrainian," in the sense that it can have no other identification elsewhere [this is not to pass judgment on people from any ethnicity who identify themselves as Ukrainian, of course, but if we operate under the ethnic nationalist idea that gave birth to the country, then it's worth mentioning]. The borders of Ukraine as such were only given modern form in the 1920s, with portions of the country only being added after 1939 and 1945. How do you feel about this? Do the multiple ethnicities with comrades over the border make the days of Ukraine's territorial integrity numbered? Or is this largely a non-issue, projected onto Ukrainian politics from an outside perspective? Could a Ukrainian rump state of Podolia and the Dnepr basin lay in the future?

 

[Daw]

Most-recommended local foodstuff?

The obligatory "Borsch", "Bliny", "Zharkoe", "Golubtsy", the bread, "Shashlyk"...

What happened to the "Salo" thing? Have you just forgotten to mention it? How could you?!

Being 1/4 Ukrainian I feel I'm qualified and anyway determined to correct this sad omission.

Spoiler :

Salo ("a" is stressed and reads like in "staff" and "o" reads like in "onion") basically is pork fat generously cured with salt and spices: mandatory black or red pepper and than you're welcome to experiment with whatever other you have available.

Spoiler :

A thin slice of salo over a slice of Borodinskiy (or any rye) bread topped with a leaf of parsley and/or a pickled cornichon is a marvelous chaser for a shot...

Spoiler :

Spoiler :

... of Gorilka, which has become a more or less generic name for Ukrainian strong alcoholic beverages (about 40% alc. vol.). The most remarkable one IMO is Pertsovka - this one is aged on pepper. It's not a long drink, so no ice cubes allowed. The proper way of having it is 50 ml shots of the cooled (in a refrigerator or on ice) thing.

Spoiler :

Legal note: you can't have any Gorilka unless you're 18+ in Ukraine or Russia.

 

[Harv]

"Golubtsy", meat wrapped in cabbage, usually with tomato sauce. Not really something specific to Ukraine or even Russia, but still pretty good and widespread.

Appartently I have been spelling it wrong all my life!

 

[Cheezy the Wiz]

No one should mention salo.

 

[LamaGT]

Second on the blyny recommendation. Best food ever.

Ukraine is sometimes considered " a country that should not exist." With Poles in the NW, Russians in the East and South, Romanians in the SW, and Russians and Tatars in the South, there's only a portion of Ukraine which is uniquely "Ukrainian," in the sense that it can have no other identification elsewhere [this is not to pass judgment on people from any ethnicity who identify themselves as Ukrainian, of course, but if we operate under the ethnic nationalist idea that gave birth to the country, then it's worth mentioning]. The borders of Ukraine as such were only given modern form in the 1920s, with portions of the country only being added after 1939 and 1945. How do you feel about this? Do the multiple ethnicities with comrades over the border make the days of Ukraine's territorial integrity numbered? Or is this largely a non-issue, projected onto Ukrainian politics from an outside perspective? Could a Ukrainian rump state of Podolia and the Dnepr basin lay in the future?

I do believe Ukraine's borders are arbitary at best. Still, I believe the main problem is that nationalists from Western Ukraine consider themselves the "true" Ukrainians, failing to realize that due to the inexistence of a Ukrainian nation-state for most of history, there are a lot of variations between regions, kind of like in Europe as late as the 19th century. This has resulted in their dialect becoming standard Ukrainian and a progressive marginalization of the Russian language in official settings, because they're the most vocal group in the country.

The divide has an economical nature too. The South-East was the region most invested in by Russia and the USSR, and as such its economy is geared towards Russia. From this followed a generic Pro-Russian sentiment.

I think that the only way Ukraine could remain territorially stable is if it stopped trying being an ethnic state and instead embraced the minorities, developing an identity beyond ethnic lines, kind of like Belgium or Switzerland. Unfortunately, the Maidan was exactly the opposite of this, so I do believe that Ukraine will never be stable again in its current configuration. We'll see where this separatist thing lead us.

 

[LamaGT]

What happened to the "Salo" thing? Have you just forgotten to mention it? How could you?!

Being 1/4 Ukrainian I feel I'm qualified and anyway determined to correct this sad omission.

Salo ("a" is stressed and reads like in "staff" and "o" reads like in "onion") basically is pork fat generously cured with salt and spices: mandatory black or red pepper and than you're welcome to experiment with whatever other you have available.
A thin slice of salo over a slice of Borodinskiy (or any rye) bread topped with a leaf of parsley and/or a pickled cornichon is a marvelous chaser for a shot...

... of Gorilka, which has become a more or less generic name for Ukrainian strong alcoholic beverages (about 40% alc. vol.). The most remarkable one IMO is Pertsovka - this one is aged on pepper. It's not a long drink, so no ice cubes allowed. The proper way of having it is 50 ml shots of the cooled (in a refrigerator or on ice) thing.


Legal note: you can't have any Gorilka unless you're 18+ in Ukraine or Russia.

Never actually ate it, it's also more of a West Ukrainian thing. Sorry if I forgot...

Appartently I have been spelling it wrong all my life!

That's the Russian spelling, in Ukrainian it would be Holubtsi. Perhaps you were using that spelling.

 

[Ajidica]

How often do people travel by train in Ukraine?
When I traveled on an overnight sleeper from Lviv to Misnk the train stations in both cities seemed pretty large and heavily used.

 

[Harv]

That's the Russian spelling, in Ukrainian it would be Holubtsi. Perhaps you were using that spelling.

Actually, I never had any idea how it was spelled - just how it was pronounced.

 

[LamaGT]

How often do people travel by train in Ukraine?
When I traveled on an overnight sleeper from Lviv to Misnk the train stations in both cities seemed pretty large and heavily used.

I've used them multiple times to go to Kiev. Very convenient, and it's pretty cheap too. People who can't afford to travel by car use it very often, along with coaches for destinations unreachable by train.

Actually, I never had any idea how it was spelled - just how it was pronounced.

Well the letter O is often pronounced sort of like the letter A (like in "can't" pronounced the British way). The rest is fairly straightforward.

 

[ywhtptgtfo]

Do you believe Lwow should go to Poland?

 

[LamaGT]

Do you believe Lwow should go to Poland?

Nope, most Poles there got "relocated" after WW2. Plus, the locals probably hate Poles almost as much as they hate Russians.

 

[SS-18 ICBM]

No one should mention salo.

But it looks good though.

Anyway, is there any common usage of the "left-bank/right-bank" terminology?

 

[Tahuti]

Nope, most Poles there got "relocated" after WW2. Plus, the locals probably hate Poles almost as much as they hate Russians.

Are Ukrainians in general Anti-Polish?

 

[warpus]

Nope, most Poles there got "relocated" after WW2. Plus, the locals probably hate Poles almost as much as they hate Russians.

Isn't there a significant enough Polish minority living in the city?

(No, I don't think the city should return to Poland.. but it is sad to see that there is hate going around)