There are so many places to visit in Ukraine that you’re never sure where to start. Considered the jewel of the Crimean peninsula, Yalta is one of those cities you have to experience for yourself. It’s a seaside resort town on the Black Sea that is surrounded by steep mountain peaks and beautiful blue waters. It was also the home of famous writer Anton Chekov. With beaches, resorts, museums, and a friendly population of about 80,000, you can see why it has been compared to Carmel, California, Greece, and the French Rivera.
If the name Yalta is ringing bells in your head but you’re not sure why, think back to your World War II history lessons. Yalta was the city in which Winston Churchill, Joseph Stalin, and Franklin D. Roosevelt held their ‘Big 3’ conference to discuss the war that they were all involved in. Livadia, the Romanov vacation home that was used for the conference, is open to visitors, as is the home turned museum of Anton Chekov. The Nikitsky Botanical Gardens located just outside the city is beautiful with their 1,600 rose varieties and you could enjoy a good meal while looking out over the sea and the gardens from this elevated location.
If you are going to tour Yalta, take a two day, three night trip so that you can enjoy everything the city has to offer and the beautiful beaches to relax on.
Ukraine authorities have taken an interesting step towards banning prostitution in their country. Anyone arrested in connection with the sex trade will have the wonderful honour of dealing with mom and dad when they get out of jail. According to the ‘Sehodnia’ newspaper, law enforcement authorities have started sending letters to the parents of prostitutes telling them that they son or daughter was arrested just as he or she was selling their bodies for money. The campaign has been put into effect in an effort to reduce the prostitution trade by having parents bring some pressure on to their kids.
The program has already had some effects on the trade. One young woman, the newspaper reports, has quit the trade entirely after dealing with the family scandal and no peace and quiet at home for more than a week after she was arrested and her parents received the letter. It has already reduced the number of prostitutes on the streets as many young men and women do not wish to get into arguments with their parents.
While prostitution in Ukraine is not illegal, there are laws in place concerning it and they are rarely enforced by the police. Many Ukrainian women alone have had to resort to selling sex in order to simply make it and while the government calls it a ‘national disgrace’, they are doing nothing about closing down the many bordellos or stopping a lot of the streetwalkers that are commonly found in both the major cities and smaller villages.
When you visit Ukraine, you will be treated to some of the best hospitality the world has to offer. As a guest you find table filled with food and gifts and toasts will be offered all around. If you are offered a gift from one of the residents, it is considered rude to turn it down. Always make sure that you graciously accept the proffered gift so that you do not insult your hosts. This is the Ukrainians way of saying, ‘Welcome to our humble home and country’.
Some other rules of etiquette that you may find helpful when you visit Ukraine are as follows:
- Bring a gift when you visit a family home. A bottle of wine, bouquet of flowers, or a cake satisfies this tradition. If you know there is a child in the home, bring them a small gift as well.
- If you choose to bring a bouquet of flowers, make sure there are an uneven number of blooms. This is considered good luck.
- Remove your shoes when you enter a home in order to help your hosts keep their home clean. More often than not, they will offer you slippers to wear.
- Casual dress is acceptable when you dine at a host’s home unless they specify otherwise.
- Be ready to give a toast during dinner. Guests are usually asked to so as an honour to them.
- If you are offered food and drink while visiting friends in Ukraine, accept it even if you are not hungry. It is considered rude to refuse, although if you leave some on your plate, your hosts will graciously accept that you are full.
- Your host’s may offer you an item that you compliment on so make sure you are very careful when doing so.
- While using public transportation, give up your seat to mothers with children, the infirm or the elderly. This shows respect.
- Do not whistle or shake hands with someone across the threshold of a door. Both are considered bad luck.
- Expect to have your coat, briefcase, or baggage checked at a restaurant or theatre.
- Make sure you share any snacks or cigarettes with those around you as it is a sign of respect and friendship.
- If you are in Ukraine on business, have your business cards printed ahead of time with English on one side and Ukrainian on the other.
- Business attire is conservative and men should not take off their jacket unless they are asked to.
- When attending an Orthodox Church service or simply touring one of the many cathedrals in the country, women should wear head scarves or hats and men should remove any hats they are wearing. This is a sign of respect.
- Do not put your thumb between your first two fingers as this is a rude gesture in Ukraine.
Dusia, a first generation Ukrainian Canadian, says that she does not remember much about the famine in Ukraine of 1932-33. She was only five year old when the Soviet-imposed famine, also known by historians as the Holodomor, started raging in her home village. That was one of the most devastating national disasters of the Ukrainian people in all modern history. “My Mom went out to sell jewellery and buy some bread, but she never returned home”, – recalls Dusia, one of just a handful survivals among people living in central and eastern parts of Ukraine during the Holodomor. It is estimated that the total number of those who died from starvations when communists forced Ukrainian peasants into collective farms can be more than 10 million people
Continue reading ‘Ukraine Famine of the 1930s’
Imagine you’ve rented an expensive apartment on Kreshchatyk. Even though the rent may top that of a townhouse in Washington’s prestigious Georgetown-Foggy Bottom neighborhood, most likely you’ll find the interior lacking tasteful decor, a sense of modernity, comfort and most importantly safety.
Continue reading ‘The Post’s home makeover survival guide’
A national Ukrainian home I will be speaking about is a hut you’ll only find in Ukrainian lifestyle museums. It’s there that you are most luckily to find the whole set of items. Some of the attributes though can be found even in modern Ukrainian homes.
1. Obraz
Continue reading ’5 Attributes of a National Ukrainian Home’
When you visit friends and relatives in Ukraine – or if you’re there for vacation or a business trip even – don’t be surprised if you are given a pysanka egg to take home. These are the beautiful hand colored eggs that are very popular and traditional in Ukraine and surrounding areas. They are colored using a written-wax batik method and they are meant to be decorative and not to be eaten. Many times the eggs have a small hole in the top and bottom where the egg white and yolk have been blown out.
The custom of decorating the eggs in this fashion date back to the earliest days of Ukraine and many of the patterns that are placed on the eggs date back to the time when the Ukrainian’s worshipped a sun god. Throughout the centuries the eggs took on many symbolic meanings but rebirth was one of the themes that ran throughout the customs to today. Christianity helped change the egg to symbolize not the rebirth of the earth, but the rebirth of man, which is why they are decorated at Easter time with many Christian symbols.
Pysanka eggs are bestowed upon members of the family and highly respected visitors. It is a symbolic gift of life and the meanings on each egg mean something different. They are usually indicative of the character of the person the egg is going to and they are so beautiful and have such a special meaning behind them that you will see pysanka eggs in bowls in just about every public room in a Ukrainian home.
Going to Ukraine means visiting a number of different historical places that are located all over the country. It is a country with a deep heritage that has seen numerous other nations claiming bits and pieces of it through the centuries. It was once part of the Soviet Union and it is to this day the home of the worst nuclear disaster the world has ever faced – and it is still suffering from the repercussions. However, Ukraine holds such a rich and unique history that since its doors opened to the rest of the world, it is has seen prosperity thanks to the deep pockets of its visitors.
One of the many unique sites the country offers its visitors the Kiev Pechersk Lavra – or the Caves Monastery. Located on the western bank of Dnieper River in Kiev, the Kiev Pechersk Lavra is a piece of Ukrainian history that dates all the way back to 1051. Within their walls a devout monk, the Venerable Anthony, settled to live out his life. He was joined by his followers and they made their home within the caves to the point that they eventually outgrew them. Many members of the city’s aristocracy, including Prince Izyaslav, donated money to Anthony and his monks during their visits and an aboveground church and monastery were built. The monastery is still active today and growing and it serves as an important center of Orthodox Christianity in Ukraine. The entrance to the Kiev Pechersk Lavra is free.
Many visitors to the Ukraine will wonder if they are suppose to tip people that offer them a service just like they would in their home lands. While tipping in the Ukraine used to be something that was not done, in recent years it has begun to develop. Because of the introduction of the more modern entertainment and restaurant establishments that have begun to come up in the Ukraine because of the large amounts of Western clientele that are visiting the Ukraine things have changed.
Today in the Ukraine you are expected to tip on the average of about 5-10 percent in a Ukrainian establishment. In the establishments that are more upscale you will find that tipping is more along the lines of what you are used to in your homeland of about 15% of your total bill. There are times and establishments that will include the tip in the bill so make sure to check before you over tip. If you are unsure if the tip is included as the waiter or the manager for assistance.
Drivers are not usually tip, but if you feel he has done an excellent job you are allowed to tip and the tip will be greatly appreciated by the driver.
Canadian Inna Gertsberg has been living in Kyiv for one year and working in advertising. For her one of the most memorable aspects of life in Ukraine has been the familiar sight of middle-aged expat men playing playboy lovers with girls half their age. If you could have seen these men in their own countries, she says, you’d be surprised too!
Continue reading ‘Why Kyiv (Kiev) is a Male Heaven…’
