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Ukraine’s Pagan History
Ukrainians hedge their bets in many areas including religion. With a history wrought with political turbulence and violence the notion that Ukrainians hold on to old folktale beliefs as well as their Orthodox religion is not surprising. Ukraine as a country has a history of peasantry and amongst these agrarian communities paganism is the ancient polytheistic religion of East Slavic tribes.
FeaturesUkrainian Stamps Accomplish More Than Mail Delivery
Stamp collectors around the world know the value of the little paper square affixed to packages and letters. Stamps connect people living a great distance together, honor and remember a country’s leaders and accomplishments and sometimes can unlock secrets to a culture. The simple act of securing a stamp to a piece of mail is a record of history.
FeaturesDemolition and preservation of Soviet era monuments
Since the age of the Egyptian pharaohs, grandiose monuments have been erected to honor rulers and compel their subjects worship their visages long after their mortal deaths. The Soviet commitment to public demonstration of their iron-fisted power is no more apparent than in the statues and monuments left behind after Ukraine’s independence.
FeaturesCarving God Out of Rock: Ukraine’s Rock-Cut Church
In Europe, men raised their churches knowing many would never see the climax of stone and mortar. In the desert, men came upon their cathedrals at dawn or in the moonlight. Weather built these shrines on dangerous peaks with turrets like elephant’s toes close to the sun. Drawings fade into rock like the apparitions of sleep around the world and in the village of Busha in the Land of Vinnychyna, a certain cave in a rocky gorge still speaks mystery.
FeaturesUkraine’s Capital Gets a Linguistic Facelift
Kiev is now Kyiv, at least according to the US State Department and western Ukrainians are concerned. Kyiv has long been the spelling of Ukraine’s capital for many but for Russian speaking Ukrainians living on the eastern side of the country in particular, the Russian spelling Kiev is correct. About half of Ukraine’s 4.7 million citizens are Russian speakers.
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