In this section: Culture
Culture and country
Short guides to Ukraine: its places, food, crafts, music, holidays, nature and history, each with a few Ukrainian words to take away.
These pages are about Ukraine itself: where things are, what people make, cook, sing and celebrate, and how practices differ from region to region and family to family. Each page ends with a few Ukrainian words and short examples, and links to the lessons where you can learn more.
Start here
Ukraine: an introduction
Where Ukraine is, what its land looks like from the Carpathians to the Black Sea, how its regions differ, and which languages people speak, with a few Ukrainian words for places and directions.
Country, cities and regions
1 page
Lviv: a city profile
Why Lviv matters. A city of many rulers and many communities, with a historic centre on the UNESCO World Heritage List, churches of several traditions, and a long history of books and learning.
Food and everyday life
1 page
Borshch and the Ukrainian table
What borshch is, what goes into it, how it changes from region to region and season to season, and what UNESCO's 2022 listing of Ukrainian borshch cooking does and does not mean.
Arts and crafts
1 page
Pysanky
How a pysanka, a Ukrainian egg “written” with wax and dyes, is made, what people do with pysanky, how the styles differ from region to region, and why there is no fixed key to what the patterns mean.