неділю, 15 січня 2012 р.

USEFUL TIPS FOR FOREIGNERS ABOUT UKRAINE

COUNTRY DESCRIPTION - Ukraine is a newly independent nation undergoing profound political and economic change, still in the process of stabilizing its relations with neighboring countries. Tourist facilities are not highly developed, and many of the goods and services taken for granted in other countries are not yet available. Travel within Ukraine is unrestricted. Though fuel shortages are generally no longer a problem, internal travel can be difficult and flight and train schedules can be irregular.

LANGUAGE - Ukrainian became the official language only in 1990, replacing Russian. Most of the population in eastern Ukraine and in Kyiv speak Russian as a first language, while Ukrainian is the first language in western Ukraine. Although those in the political world and the local media use both languages, official documents are now in Ukrainian. The two languages share almost the same Cyrillic alphabet, and if you arrive unfamiliar with either language a phrase book or interpreter is almost essential. Not much English is spoken here.

INTERNATIONAL TIME - Ukraine has two time zones (two hours after Greenwich Mean Time in 24 oblasts and three in the Republic of Crimea). Daylight savings time is observed from the first Sunday in April to the last Sunday in October when you will need to advance your clocks by one hour.

ENTRY REQIREMENTS AND LOCAL REGISTRATION - A passport and visa are required. Visas can be obtained in advance from the Embassy of Ukraine, located at 3350 M Street, NW, Washington D.C. 20007, tel. (202) 333-0606 or 333-7507, fax: (202) 333-0817, or Ukrainian consulates in Chicago and New York. A letter of invitation from a person, company, or organization in Ukraine or a tour company voucher is currently required to obtain a visa.
You can find addresses of ukrainian embassies and consulates here. Read also more about ukrainian visas and regulations at the web site of the Ukrainian Embassy to the United States of America.

All foreigners visiting Ukraine, except those staying less than three working days and minors (under 18), are required to register their passports with local law enforcement authorities. Visitors who do not register may experience delays when leaving Ukraine, or difficulty when trying to extend visas. The registration requirement is automatically met when foreigners stay in hotels, when resident business persons register their companies, or when students register under established exchange programs. Private visitors must have their hosts, relatives or landlords register their U.S. passport at the local Section of Visas and Registration Office of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (known by the acronym "VVIR" in Ukrainian and "OVIR" in Russian). A fee is usually charged for visa extensions or passport registration.
For details look at U.S. Consulate in Kiev page.


MEDICAL FACILITIES - Medical care in Ukraine is limited. The availability of basic medical supplies, including disposable needles, anesthetics, and antibiotics has improved. Elderly travelers and those with existing health problems may be at risk due to inadequate medical facilities. Doctors and hospitals often expect immediate cash payment for health services. Foreighn medical insurance is not always valid for Ukraine. Travelers have found that in some cases, supplemental medical insurance with specific overseas coverage, including air evacuation coverage, has proved to be useful.

MONEY - The new official ukrainian currency 'Hryvnia' (UAH) was introduced September 2, 1996 replacing the old temporary ukrainian currency 'Coupon' and became the only legal payment bill within Ukraine after September 15.
See more information about Hryvnia here.

CURRENCY EXCHANGE - You can easily change your dollars or other hard currecies for Hryvnias in major banks and special exchange points. Estimated exchange rate to dollar as of July 2000 is about 5.45 UHR for 1 USD. (You may also check our Hryvnia Currency Converter here.) Changing U.S. dollars for ukrainian Hryvnias or another currency is legal only at banks, currency exchange desks at hotels and at licensed exchange booths. There are a lot of such exchange points throughout the city. Beware of changing money on the streets or with private individuals: it's illegal and it can be dangerous. Remember however that old or damaged bills may not be accepted or accepted under the lower rate. The "hard currency" stores only accept Hryvnias but almost all of them have a money exchange booth on the premises.

CREDIT CARDS - Ukraine is a cash economy. Traveler's checks and credit cards are gaining wider acceptance in larger cities. Use of credit cards is limited to the better hotels, Western-style restaurants, international airlines and select stores. American Express, MasterCard, and Visa are commonly accepted. A passport or diplomatic card may be required whenever a credit card is used. Customs regulations prohibit sending cash, traveler's checks, personal checks, credit cards or passports through the international mail system to Ukraine. These items are regularly confiscated as contraband by customs authorities.

EXPORT OF VALUABLES OF UKRAINIAN ORIGIN - To export any antique items and/or works of art the permission of the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine must be obtained. In addition to samovars, paintings, and rugs, this restriction applies to collections or separate works of fine, applied, and folk art, archeological and numismatic items, valuable musical instruments, gold, silver, precious stones, hand-woven carpets, manuscripts, books published before 1966, and furniture made before 1945.

PUBLIC RESTROOMS - It is always a good idea to have a packet of tissues on hand, for it is a rare occasion when one finds toilet paper supplied in a public restroom. While any public restroom can be unsanitary, relatively clean toilets can be found in large department stores, restaurants and some hotels.

BUSINESS HOURS - An eight-hour day is considered a normal work day, Monday through Friday. A lunch break is taken between the hours of 1:00pm and 2:00pm. Most banks are open without breaks, Monday through Friday from 9:00am to 1:00pm.

FLOORS - In official buildings the entrance hall is considered the 'ground floor'. The next flight up takes you to the 'first floor'. This floor numbering system is the same as the European system. For the private appartments the first floor is actually the 'first'.

TIPS - Restaurant bills normally include a 5% service charge, however, you'll often find that a few extra hryvnias (10% suggested) can make your dining experience a lot more pleasurable.

WATER - Tap water in Kyiv is chemically safe but may contain elevated levels of lead from the pipes. This problem is remedied by letting the tap run for 10 seconds before collecting the water. There is also no detectable radiation in the water.

You should be aware that hot water is typically turned off for a month during the summer so the pipes can be cleaned.

RADIATION AND FOOD - Radiation is a constant concern because of the 1986 catastrophe at the Chornobyl nuclear power station some 60 miles northwest of Kyiv. The level of background radiation in Kyiv is considered safe. Kyiv's food supply has been tested for radiation and thus far no elevated levels of radiation has been detected. It is suggested to avoid wild mushrooms, berries, and game, for they are considered to retain radiation.

TAILORING AND DRESSMAKING - Service varies from place to place and it is best to frequent shops or dressmakers recommended by others with similar tastes. Tailoring can be quite expensive, relative to U.S. prices. The choice of fabrics available is limited but improving.

BARBERS AND BEAUTY SHOPS - Although relatively inexpensive, techniques and methods used by hairdressers differ from those in the West. Some European hair products are available in big stores, and there are several beauty salons opening up in Kyiv that offer services using western products.

ELECTRICITY - 220 volts, 50Hz is the standard electrical voltage throughout Ukraine. To use electrical appliances you will need a converter as well as an Eastern-European plug adapter.

ALCOHOL - Throughout Ukraine alcohol is quite inexpensive and easily accessible. Ukraine is a zero tolerance country, so do not drink and drive. The fines are substantial and you are never sure what may happen in such incidences with the militia.

Ukrainian Words And Phrases  ENGLISH TRANSLITERATION
Hello Pryveet, Veetayuh
Good morning Dobroho ranky
Good afternoon Dobry dehn
Good evening Dobry vehchir
Goodbye Doh pobachehnyah
Yes, No Tahk, Nee
Please Buhd laskah
Thank you Dyakuyuh
Excuse me Probachteh
My name is ... Mehneh zvuht ...
Men's restroom Choloveechy tualeht
Women's restroom Zheenochy tualeht
Where, when, who Deh, koly, khtoh
How much does it cost? Skeelky tseh Koshtuyeh?

Summary

Ukraine is the second largest country in Europe after Russia. The largest city is Kiev, which is also the
capital and economic center, culture and education.
Territory

A large area of 232,000 km square (about the size of France), Ukraine’s borders with Belarus,
north, the Russian Federation in the north and east, the Black Sea and Sea of ​​Azov in the south, Romania and
Moldova in the southwest and in Hungary, Slovakia and Poland to the west.

The topography of Ukraine consits mainly of steppes (plains) and plateaus that rarely reach a height of


Map of Ukraine Territory

1000 meters. The Ukrainian Carpathian Mountains (highest point 6764 m) extend to the west the country and the Crimean mountains (highest point 5071 meters) at the southern end. The Ukraine climate is temperate for most of the country and subtropical in the south end. The largest river of Ukraine is the Dnipro, the third longest river in Europe. It serves as an important source of hydroelectricity. Other important rivers are the Danube, Western Buh, the Tisza, the Pripyat and Desna.
Population

In January 1992, the population of Ukraine was 52.1 million euros. In this ethnic population Ukrainians make up 72.7%. 22.1% are ethnic Russians and other minorities such as Poles and Hungarians up 5.2%. About 4 million more Ukrainians living in the United States, Canada, Australia, West and Central Europe and South America.

Most of the land of Ukraine consists of fertile plains and plateaus, with mountains to the west (the Carpathians) and the southern tip of the Crimean peninsula.
Ukraine Cities

The capital of Ukraine is Kiev, with a population of 2.6 million people. Located along the Dnieper River, Kiev is a
of the oldest cities in Europe, founded by Prince c.600 AD Kyi. Other major cities include Kharkiv (1,600,000)
Northeastern industrial capital of Ukraine, Dnipropetrovsk (1.2 million), an industrial power in the electrical and
the lower Dnieper Donetsk (1.1 million), an industrial and coal in the southern Ukraine, Odessa (1.1 million),
important port on the Black Sea, and Lviv (800,000), the largest urban center in western Ukraine.
Languages of Ukraine

The language of Ukraine is Ukrainian, a language independent of the East Slavic branch of Indo-European languages. While all Slavic languages ​​have some common characteristics that are so different from each other other than German is from Swedish or Dutch, and each contains only the differences in grammar and vocabulary. The Ukrainian language uses the Cyrillic alphabet.
Literacy rate

99.4%. About 70% of adult Ukrainians have a secondary or higher education.
Climate

Continental temperate, Mediterranean on the south coast of Crimea.
Religions

The Ukraine was baptized by St. Volodymyr in 988. Although the majority of believers are Orthodox Christians (77%), no is a great oriental rite Catholic population (13.5%) in western Ukraine. Religions Protestant, Jewish and Muslim are also the practice. While all Ukrainian churches were severely persecuted in the former USSR, Ukraine and the Orthodox
Catholic churches joined the force of the Russian Orthodox Church by the Soviet authorities and outside law. The churches were restored in 1990.
National Day

August 24, Independence Day, commemorates the proclamation of Ukraine 1991


Ukrainian Kids in Ethnic Dress

the independence of the U.S.S.R.
National Symbols

The trident, derived from the trident of the god of the sea Poseiden, is the national symbol of Ukraine. The Ukrainian flag is composed of two horizontal stripes of equal width, the light blue top color (blue symbolizing the sky), the lower yellow (symbolizing the most wheat fields of Ukraine). The National Anthem of Ukraine is Shche Ukrayeena Vmerla Do (Ukraine has not perished).
History

Ukraine trace their history to the state of Kievan Rus’ (9 th – 14 years), which was the first major and long-term political entity among the Slavs of Easter. In 988, Christianity has agreed to Kiev-Rus’, and became Kiev main economic, cultural, religious and political Eastern Europe. With the decline of Kyiv-Rus’, the Gallego-Volyn State has developed in the western regions of Ukraine as a continuation of the state of the “Kiev-Rus. The was from mid 15 to late 18th century brought the Kozak period with fierce warriors, braveon horseback.

The modern era, or the third part of the Ukrainian state began with the fall of empires Russian and Austro-Hungarian when an independent Ukrainian Republic was dominated by the Bolsheviks, which lasted until 1991 in the form of the Soviet Republic of Ukraine.
Indepedence

Ukraine became independent in 1991 after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The first elected president of Ukraine Leonid Kravchuk was. His second was elected president Leonid Kuchma. Ukraine, now in its third election President Viktor Yushchenko is embarking on a bold course of action as an independent and democratic country
a free market economy. United States extended formal recognition of Ukraine December 25, 1991. Ukraine, one of the founders of the United Nations has finally reached full political independence in the international economy community of nations.
Economy

If Ukraine, often called the “breadbasket of Europe”, is known for its agricultural production (especially wheat) production, is also rich in other natural resources such as iron, natural gas, manganese and magnesium. 13.6% of theiron stores in the world, 25-30% of manganese ore in the world, and 8% of mercury in the world is in Ukraine. The Ukraine


Bar Chart of Ukraine Inflation Rate

produced more than 30% of coal production in the products of the former Soviet Union, Ukraine has exported 107 countries the world. Raw materials and consumer goods are the main export products.
Transportation

Ukraine has 14.295 miles of track, the main means of transport for the country. Some of major ports are Odessa, Illichivsk, Kherson and Reni. The Dnieper River, the main track, but the Danube, Western Buh, the Tisza and others are also used to export and import operations. The largest airports are in Kiev Kharkiv, Donetsk, Odessa, Lviv and Ivano-Frankivsk. Import transcontinental pipelines carrying oil and gas run through Ukraine is in Europe.
Education

Currently an estimated 21,900 of general education schools with 7.1 million students. As Most schools teach in the classes of Ukraine perform many other languages ​​according to the ethnic the school district. These schools offer the study of the Ukrainian language as a subject. There are about 156 higher education institutions with more than 880,000 students. Recently, new types of educational institutions, such as private universities are developing in Ukraine. Literacy in Ukraine is 99.9% with 15% of the adult population completed higher education.


Kyiv University - Alma Mater of All Ukraine Universities
Culture

There are 25,300 public libraries operating in Ukraine with a total volume of about 420 million books and magazines. An estimated 24.3 million people per year use these libraries. It 130 theaters and 225 museums in Ukraine. Frequency of attendance per year per 100 inhabitants , Respectively, 29 and 40 times per year. In 1991, the Ukrainian print houses 5857 titles of books.
Health

In 1991, per 10,000 inhabitants was 44.2 physicians in all specialties, the medical staff 118.6 half and 135.7 hospital beds. The average life expectancy is 71 years (66 years for men and 75 women). The birth rate in 1991 was 12.1 persons per 1,000 population with a rate of infant mortality during the first year of life, 13.6 per 1000 the newborn.
Environment

The legacy of the communist left in Ukraine with the monumental problems of the environment. While pollution disasters resulting from the Chernobyl nuclear power plant is well known, is not widespread pollution of soil, water and air resulting from toxic waste and lack of environmental controls in mines and industrial plants. Since 1991, Ukraine The government has enacted laws to protect the environment in accordance with international standards in efforts to end more pollution. At the same time, however, Ukraine can not afford to repair most damage of 75 years
ordinary negligence. In the cleanup of the Chernobyl disaster, Ukraine has requested assistance from the the international community.
Justice System

Legal system based on civil law system, judicial review of legislative acts has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Government

President elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term)

четвер, 23 червня 2011 р.

Ukrainian Culture

Ukrainian Culture

When we speak of culture as a distinguishing mark of a specific nation, we mean, of course, not culture in the widest sense of the word, but those well-known cultural peculiarities which characterise every European nation.

The Ukraine lies wholly within the confines of the greater European cultural community. But its distance from the great culture-centers of Western and Central Europe has, of course, not been without profound effect. The Ukraine is at a low stage of culture, and must be measured by Eastern European standards.

The Ukraine, which in the 11th Century caused great astonishment among travelers from Western Europe, because of its comparatively high culture, can now be counted only as one of the semi-cultural countries of Europe. The very low stage of material culture, to which the economic conditions of the country bear the best witness, is characteristic of the Ukraine in its entire extent. The intellectual culture of the people appears frightfully low. The number who know how to read are 172 out of a thousand in Volhynia, 155 in Podolia, 181 in Kiev, 259 in Kherson, 184 in Chernihiv, 169 in Poltava, 168 in Kharkiv, 215 in Katerinoslav, 279 in Tauria, and 168 in Kuban. These hopeless figures, to be sure, are only a result of the exclusive use of the Russian language, which is unintelli- gible to the Ukrainians, in all the schools. Even in the first school-year, it is not permitted to explain the most unintelligible words of the foreign language in Ukrainian. This frightfully low grade of education of the people permits of no progress in the economic life of the country. Even the most well-meaning efforts of the government or the Zemstvo, break on the brazen wall of illiteracy and ignorance of the Russian language. And Ukrainian books of instruction and information are forbidden as dangerous to the state. No wonder, then, that the Ukrainian farmer tills his field, raises his cattle, carries on his home industries, cures his ills, etc., just as his forefathers used to do. There is a small number of the educated who are still cultivating literature and art, feebly enough for the size of the nation — but how could one speak of a distinct, independent culture here?

And yet it exists. For the low stage of culture which every foreign tourist, who only knows the railroads and cities, immediately notices, applies only to the culture created in the Ukraine by the ruling foreign peoples, to- gether with the small mass of Ukrainian intelligenzia. (The intellectual culture of the Ukrainian educated classes will be discussed later). In the same way, every hasty observer would consider the Ukrainian peasant as a semi-European, standing on a very low level of culture. And yet this illiterate peasant possesses an individual popular culture, far exceeding the popular cultures of the Poles, Russians and White Russians. The settlements, buildings, costumes, the nourishment and mode of life of the Ukrainian peasant stand much higher than those of the Russian, White Russian and Polish peasant. Hence, the Ukrainian peasant easily and completely assimilates all peasant settlers in his own land. The rich ethnological life, the unwritten popular literature and popular music which, perhaps, have no counterpart in Europe, the highly developed popular art and standard of living, preserve the Ukrainian peasant from denationalization, even in his most distant colonies. The power of opposition to Russification is particularly great. The Ukrainian peasant never enters into mixed marriages with the Russian muzhik, and hardly ever lives in the same village with him. The ethnological culture of the Ukrainian people is, by all means, original and peculiar; entirely different from the popular cultures of all the neigh- boring peoples.

Even in prehistoric times, Ukrainian territory was the seat of a very high culture, the remains of which, now brought to light, astonish the investigator thru their loftiness and beauty. In ancient times the early Greek cultural influences flourished in the Southern Ukraine, then the Roman, and in the Middle Ages the Byzantine. Byzantine culture had a great influence upon ancient Ukrainian culture, and its traces may still be seen in the popular costume and in ornamentation.

The most important element in Ukrainian culture, however, is entirely peculiar, and independent of these influences. The entire view of life of the common man, to this day, has its roots in the pre-Christian culture of the ancient Ukraine. The entire creative faculty of the spirit of the nation has its source there ; all the customs and manners and very many of the songs and sayings. Christi- anity did not destroy the old view of life in the Ukraine, but was adapted to it. This accommodation was all the easier, because the character of the ancient faith and philos- ophy of life of the Ukrainian people were not so gloomy and cruel as was the case with many of the other peoples of Europe.

Outside of the prehistoric, Byzantine and Christian body of culture, we observe extremely few foreign influences in the popular culture of the Ukraine. It is highly inde- pendent and individualized. The Polish and Muscovite influences are very insignificant, and appear only here and there in the borderlands of the Ukraine.

It would require the giving of a detailed ethnological description of the Ukrainian people if we wished to draw a complete picture of its peculiar culture. Such a description has no place in geography, and certainly none in a book of such general nature as this. Therefore, I shall discuss but briefly the various phases of the popular culture of the Ukraine, so that in this respect, too, the independent posi- tion of the Ukrainians among the peoples of Eastern Europe may appear in the proper light.

The Ukrainian villages (with the exception of the mountain villages, which consist of a long irregular line of farms) are always built picturesquely, in pretty places. The huts of a typical Ukrainian village are always surround- ed by orchards, which is hardly ever the case among the Russians and White Russians, and very rarely so among the Poles. These neighbors of the Ukrainians plant orchards only in the few regions where professional fruit- growing has developed. In a Ukrainian village, the green of the orchards is considered absolutely necessary. The Russian will not endure trees in the neighborhood of his hut; they obstruct his view. In the Ukraine an orchard is an indispensable constituent part of even the poorest peasant homestead. And the separate farms, in which very much of the spirit of the glorious national past still lives, are hidden in the fresh green of fruit orchards and apiaries.

The Ukrainian house is built of wood only in the moun- tains and other wooded areas. In all other regions it is made of clay and covered with straw. The front windows are always built facing the south. In this way, different sides of the houses face the street, and in general, too, street life does not play so important a part in a Ukrainian village as it does in Polish, White Russian or Russian villages. The Ukrainian houses are always well fenced in, altho not so strongly and so high as the Russian houses in the forest zone, or as the White Russian houses. They usually stand (except in Western Podolia) rather far apart. Thus, the danger of fire is less than in the Russian villages of the Chornozyom region, where the huts lie very close together. As a result, the insurance companies, for instance, charge smaller premiums in the Governments of Kursk and Voroniz for insuring Ukrainian village proper- ties than for Russian.

The general external appearance of the Ukrainian huts, which are always well whitewashed and have flower gardens before the windows, is very picturesque, and contrasts to advantage with the dwellings of the neighboring races, especially the miserable and dirty Russian "izbas." All the houses of the Ukrainians, excepting, of course, the poorest huts, are divided by a vestibule into two parts. The division into two we do not find in the typical huts of the Poles and White Russians. A further characteristic in which the Ukrainian house differs from the houses of the neighboring peoples, is its comparative cleanliness. Particularly does it differ in this respect from the Russian izbas, which are regularly full of various insects and para- sites, where sheep and pigs, and, in winter, even the large cattle, live comfortably together with the human inhabi- tants. The well-known authority on the Russian village, Novikov, relates a very characteristic little story in this connection. Several Russian families settled in a Ukrainian village. Naturally, cattle were kept in the living room. And when the Ukrainian village elders expressly forbade the keeping of cattle in the huts, the Russians moved out, because they could not become accustomed to the Ukrainian orderliness. It happens very seldom that the Russians live together with the Ukrainians in one and the same village. In such a case, the Russian part of the village lies separate, on the other side of a ravine, a creek, or a rivulet. In the regions of mixed nationality we see, adjoining one another, purely Ukrainian and purely Russian villages.

The interior arrangement of the houses and the arrange- ment of the barnyard differentiate the Ukrainian very sharply from his neighbor. Still more decidedly does he show his individuality in his dress. The mode of dress is quite varied thruout the great area of the Ukraine, and yet we observe everywhere a distinctness of type and individu- ality as opposed to the dress of neighboring peoples. Only the dress of the Polissye people bears some trace of White Russian influence, on the western border of Polish influence, in Kuban of Caucasian influence (Russian influence appears nowhere). But all these influences are slight. Ukrainian dress is always original and esthetic. No one can wonder, therefore, that the Ukrainian costume is surviving longer than the Polish, White Russian and Russian, and is giving way very slowly to the costume of the cities.

The description of even the main types of Ukrainian costume would take us too far afield ; similarly, we cannot discuss the diet of the people in detail, altho in this respect, too, the Ukrainian race retains its definite individuality, those cases excepted, of course, in which economic strain forces the people to be satisfied with "international" potatoes and bread.

We now come to the intellectual culture of the Ukrainian people. If the material culture of the Ukrainians, despite its originality and independence is not at a strikingly higher level than that of the neighboring peoples, the intellectual culture of the Ukrainian people certainly far outstrips all the others.

The Ukrainian peasant is distinguished, above all, by his earnest and sedate appearance. Beside the lively Pole and the active Russian, the Ukrainian seems slow, even lazy. This characteristic, which is in part only superficial, comes from the general view of life of the Ukrainians. According to the view of the Ukrainian, life is not merely a terrible struggle for existence, opposing man to hard necessity at every turn; life, in itself, is the object of contemplation, life affords possibilities for pleasure and feeling, life is beautiful, and its esthetic aspect must, at all times and in all places, be highly respected. We find a similar view among the peoples of antiquity. In the present time, this view is very unpractical for nations with wide spheres of activity. At all events this characteristic of the Ukrainian people is the sign of an old, lofty, individual culture, and here, too, is the origin of the noted "aristo- cratic democracy" of the Ukrainians. Other foundations of the individuality of the Ukrainian are the results of the gloomy historical past of the nation. It is the origin, first of all, of the generally melancholy individuality, taciturnity, suspicion, scepticism, and even a certain in- difference to daily life. The ultimate foundations of the individualism of the Ukrainian are derived from his his- torico-political traditions; preference for extreme individu- alism, liberty, equality and popular government. Pro- - ceeding from these fundamentals, all the typical char- acteristics of the Ukrainians may be logically explained with ease.

The family relations reflect the peculiarity of the Ukrainian people very clearly. The comparatively high ancient culture, coupled with individualism and a love of liberty, does not permit the development of absolute power in the head of the family (as is the case among the Poles and Russians). Likewise the position of woman is much higher in the Ukrainian people than in the Polish or Russian. In innumerable cases the woman is the real head of the household. Far less often does this state of affairs occur among the Poles, and only by exception among the Russians. A daughter is never married off against her will among the Ukrainians; she has human rights in the matter. Among the Russians, this business is in the hands of the father, who takes the so-called kladka for his daughter, that is, he sells her to whomever he pleases. Grown sons among the Ukrainians, as soon as they are married, are presented by their fathers with a house and an independent farm. The dwelling under one roof of a composite family (a family clan), as is usual among the Russians, is almost impossible among the Ukrainians, and is of exceedingly rare occurrence. The father has no absolute power in this case (as among the Russians) to preventjiiscord in the family.

It is part of the peculiarity of the Ukrainians that they seldom form friendships, but these are all the more lasting, altho reserved and rarely intimate. The Russians make friends among one another very easily, but they separate very easily, too, and become violent enemies. The Poles form close friendships easily and are true friends, too. Enmity is terrible among the Russians; among the Poles and Ukrainians it is less bitter, and is, moreover, less lasting. The capacity for association is very considerable in the Ukrainians. All such association is based on complete equality in the division of labor and profit. A foreman is elected and his orders are obeyed, but he receives an equal share of the profits and works .together with the rest. Among the Russians, the bolshak selects his workmen himself, does not work, and is simply an overseer. Still he receives the greatest part of the profits. Among the Poles the capacity for association is but slightly developed.

At this juncture we may also discuss the relation of the Ukrainians to their communities. The Ukrainian community (hromada) is a voluntary union of freemen for the sake of common safety and the general good. Beyond this purpose the Ukrainian hromada possesses no power, for it might limit the individual desires of some one of the hromada members. For this reason, for example, common ownership of land which has been introduced, following the Russian model, chiefly in the left half of the Ukraine, is an abomination in the eyes of the Ukrainian people, and is ruining them, economically, to a much greater extent than the division of the land in the case of individual ownership. The Russian "mir" is something entirely different. It is a miniature absolute state, altho it appears in the garb of a communistic republic. The mir is complete- ly a part of the Russian national spirit, and the Russian muzhik obeys the will of the mir unquestioningly, altho its will enslaves his own.

The general relation to other people has become a matter of fixed form to the Ukrainians; a form developed in the course of centuries. The ancient culture and the individual- istic cult have produced social forms among the Ukrainian peasantry which sometimes remind one of ancient court- forms. The proximity and influence of cities and other centers of "culture" have, to a great extent, spoiled this peasant ceremonial. But in certain large areas of the Ukraine it may still be observed in its full development. Great delicacy, courtesy and attention to others, coupled with unselfish hospitality, these are the general substance of the social forms of our peasants. These social forms are entirely different from the rough manners of the Polish or Muscovite peasants, which, in addition, have been spoiled by the demoralizing influence of the cities.

The relation of the Ukrainian people to religion is also original and entirely different from that of all the adjacent nations. To the Ukrainian, the essence of his faith, its ethical substance, is the important factor. This he feels deeply and respects in himself and others. Dogmas and rites are less significant in the Ukrainian's conception of religion. Hence, despite differences in faith, not the slight- est disharmony exists between the great mass of the ortho- dox Ukrainians of Russia and the Bukowina, and the 4,000,000 Greek-Catholic Ukrainians of Galicia and Hungary. From the ancient culture and consideration of the individual comes, also, the great tolerance of the Ukrain- ians toward other religions, a tolerance which we do not find among the Poles and Russians. The spirit of the Ukrainians has, likewise, been very indifferent toward all sects and roskols. Among the Poles, sects flourished very luxuriantly in the 16th Century; among the Russians, there are to this day any number of sects, often very curious ones, and more are constantly arising. Among the Ukrainians, a single sect has been formed, the so-called stunda (a sort of Baptist creed). This sect is not the result of rite formalism, however, but merely an effect of the Russification of the Ukrainian national church. In order to be able to pray to God in their mother-tongue, more than a million of the Ukrainian peasantry is persevering in this faith, which came over from adjacent German colonies, despite harsh persecution on the part of the Russian clergy and government.

The worth of Ukrainian culture appears, in its most beautiful and its highest form, in the unwritten literature of the people. The philosophical feeling of the Ukrainian people finds expression in thousands and thousands of pregnant proverbs and parables, the like of which we do not find even in the most advanced nations of Europe. They reflect the great soul of the Ukrainian people and its worldly wisdom. But the national genius of the Ukrainians has risen to the greatest height in their popular poetry. Neither the Russian nor the Polish popular poetry can bear comparison with the Ukrainian. Beginning with the historical epics (dumy) and the extremely ancient and yet living songs of worship, as for example, Christmas songs (kolady), New Years' songs (shchedrivki) , spring songs (vessilni), harvest songs (obzinkovi), down to the little songs for particular occasions (e. g. shumki, kozachki, kolomiyki) , we find in all the productions of Ukrainian popular epic and lyric poetry, a rich content and a great perfection of form. In all of it the sympathy for nature, spiritualization of nature, and a lively comprehension of her moods, is superb; in all of it we find a fantastic but warm dreaminess; in all of it we find the glorification of the loftiest and purest feelings of the human soul. A glowing love of country reveals itself to us everywhere, but particularly in innumerable Cossack songs, a heartrending longing for a glorious past, a glori- fication, altho not without criticism, of their heroes. In their love-songs we find not a trace of sexuality; not the physical, but the spiritual beauty of woman is glorified above all. Even in jesting songs, and further, even in ribald songs, there is a great deal of anacreontic grace. And, at the same time, what beauty of diction, what wonderful agreement of content and form! No one would believe that this neglected, and for so many centuries, suppressed and tormented people could scatter so many pearls of true poetic inspiration thru its unhappy land.

This peculiarity of the poetical creative spirit enables us, just as do the other elements of culture, to recognize the vast difference between the Ukrainian and the Russian people. The Russian folk songs are smaller in number and variety, form and content. Sympathetic appreciation of nature is scant. The imagination either rises to super- natural heights or sinks to mere trifling. Criminal mon- strosities and the spirit of destruction are glorified as objects of national worship. The conception of love is sensual, the jesting and ribald songs disgusting.

Like their popular poetry, the popular music of the Ukrainians far surpasses the popular music of the neigh- boring peoples, and differs from them very noticeably. Polish popular music is just as poor as Polish popular poetry, and almost thruout possesses a cheerful major character. Russian popular music has many minor ele- ments in addition to the major elements. But the Russian popular melodies are quite different from the Ukrainian. They are either boisterously joyous or hopelessly sad. The differences in the character of the melodies are so great that one need not be a specialist to be able to tell at once whether a melody is Ukrainian or Russian.

Popular art, in our people, is entirely original and much more highly advanced than in the neighboring peoples. The remains of the ancient popular painting are still in existence in the left half of the Ukraine. Wood carving has developed to a highly artistic form among the Hutzuls (there are the well-known peasant-artists Shkriblak, Mehedinyuk, and others). The chief field of Ukrainian popular art, however, is decoration. Two fundamental types are used; a geometric pattern with the crossing of straight and broken lines, and a natural pattern, which is modelled after parts of plants (as leaves, flowers, etc.). In the embroideries, cloths and glass bead -work, we find such an esthetic play of colors, that even tho each individual color is glaring, the whole has a very picturesque and harmonious effect. The decorative art of the Russians is much lower. It is based on animal motifs or entire objects, e. g., whole plants, houses, etc., and evinces an outspoken preference for glaring colors," which are so combined, however, as to shock the eye. Among the Poles, the art of ornamentation is very slightly developed. As for colors, they prefer the gaudy, not many at a time; usually, blue is combined with bright red.

For the sake of completeness, we must still say some- thing about Ukrainian manners and customs. In this aspect, too, the Ukrainian peasantry is richer than its neighbors. Only the White Russians are not far behind them. The entire life of a Ukrainian peasant, in itself full of need and poverty, is, nevertheless, full of poetic and deeply significant usages and customs, from the cradle to the grave. Birth, christening, marriage, death, all are combined with various symbolic usages, particularly the wedding, so rich in ceremonies and songs, so different in its entire substance from the Russian or Polish. The entire year of the Ukrainian constitutes one great cycle of holidays, with which a host of ceremonies are connected, most of which have come down from pre-Christian times. We find similar ceremonies among the White Russians, some also among the Poles, e .g., Christmas songs, songs of the seasons, but among the Russians, on the other hand, we find no parallel to the Ukrainian conditions. Among the Russians, neither the Christmas songs (kolady) are customary, nor the ceremonies of Christmas eve ibohata kutya), neither the midwinter festival (shchedri vechir), with its songs (shche- drivki), nor the spring holidays (yur russalchin velikden) and spring songs (vesnianki), nor the feast of the solstice (kupalo), nor the autumn ceremonies on the feast-days of St. Andrew or St. Katherine, etc. The entire essence of the popular metaphysics of the Ukrainians is quite foreign to the Russians, and almost entirely so to the Poles. Only the White Russians form a certain analogy, but, among them, pure superstition outweighs customs and ceremonies in importance.

Sufficient facts have been given to make clear to the reader the complete originality and independence of Ukrainian popular culture. We now come to a brief survey of the cultural efforts of the educated Ukrainians.

The number of educated Ukrainians is comparatively small. Hardly a century has passed since the intelligence of the nation awoke to new life, yet, in its hands lies the development of the national culture in the widest sense of the word. The disproportion between the magnitude of the task and the small number of the workers for culture, is at once apparent. And yet the results of the work, in spite of obstacles on every side, have grown in volume.

The Ukraine lies within the sphere of influence of European culture. This culture has spread from Central and Western Europe over the territory of the Ukraine and its neighboring peoples, the Poles, Russians, White Russians, Magyars and Roumanians. Each one of these nations has accepted the material culture of Western Europe to a greater or less degree, and adjusted the spiritual culture to its national peculiarities. The Ukrainians, for a long time after the loss of their first state and the decline of their ancient culture, found no line along which they could develop their national culture independently. For centuries they vacillated between the cultures of Poland and Russia. To this day, now that the conditions are much better, one may still find among the Ukrainians individuals who, culturally, are Poles or Russians, and only speak and feel as Ukrainians. Such a condition is very sad, and causes the Ukraine untold injury — most of all in the field of material culture, which, in both these neighboring nations, is very incomplete. Agriculture, mining, trade and commerce, are on a much lower plane among the Poles than in Western Europe. And what is to be said of the Russians, who are a mere parody of a cultured nation in almost every field, altho they possess so great a political organization? No one need be surprised that material culture is of so low a grade in the Ukraine. On the other hand, it has become clear to every intelligent Ukrainian, that the development of material culture is possible only thru Western European influence, by sending Ukrainian engineers, manufacturing specialists, merchants and farmers, to Western and Central Europe to learn their business.

In the field of Ukrainian mental culture, the chief influences to be considered are Polish and Russian. In this field, Polish culture is comparatively very high. It possesses a very rich literature, considerable science and art, and very definite principles of life. The influence of Polish culture is limited almost exclusively to Galicia at the pre- sent time. But it was very strong until very recent years, when it began to decrease. At one time, however, the entire Ukraine, particularly the right half, was emphati- cally under the influence of Polish culture for centuries (16th to the 18th Century).

There is one element in the spiritual culture of the Poles which certainly deserves to be, and is, imitated by the Ukrainians. It is the tone of national patriotism, the love for the nation, its present and its past, which is everywhere evident. Hence, modern Polish literature must be a model for Ukrainian literature in its tendencies and its sentiments. But, beyond its patriotic tone, Polish culture is not appropriate for the Ukrainian people. It is aristo- cratic, by reason of its descent and its philosophy of the universe. It is far removed from the mass of the people it should represent. In spite of all efforts, the Polish culture of the educated classes has been unable to establish an organic connection with the common people of Poland. It has been built up above the masses and has not grown out of them. To build up Ukrainian culture entirely after the model of Polish culture, would mean to tear it from its life-giving roots in the soul of the people. That it would be deadly to Ukrainian culture, the Ukrainians have perceived for a long time.

Russian culture is much more dangerous to the Ukrainian people than Polish. In its material aspect it is of a very low grade. In the spiritual field it possesses a very rich literature and a noteworthy science and art. The spiritual culture of Russia now dominates all of the Russian Ukraine, and has, to a great extent, become prevalent even among those educated Ukrainians in Russia who possess real national consciousness.

This very circumstance constitutes a great danger for the development of Ukrainian culture. For, let the Mus- covite conquest extend over the Ukrainians, even in the cultural field, and there is an end of all the independence of the Ukrainian element, and its beautiful language will be, in fact, degraded to a peasant dialect. But a still greater danger lies in the quality of the Russian cultural influence. The first evil characteristic of Russian culture is the complete lack of national and patriotic sentiment, which is absolutely necessary for an aspiring culture like the Ukrainian. Russian culture is infecting the Ukrainians with an ominous national indifference. Another unfavor- able characteristic of all Russian culture, is the fact that it is undemocratic thru and thru, and very far removed from the Russian people. The Russian people did not create this culture; the educated, in producing it, took nothing from the people. An intelligent man, brought up in the atmosphere of Russian culture, is unspeakably distant from the Russian people, so that it is impossible for him to work at the task of enlightening them. The views of the Russian "lovers of the people" (narodniki) , or of a Tolstoy, con- cerning the common people and its soul, simply offend us thru their unexampled ignorance of the peculiarities and customs of the common people,

A culture so far removed from the people as the Russian can bring no benefit to the Ukrainians. We observe this, best of all, in the condition of the muzhik, to whom the educated Russian has never been able to find an approach, and now the latter looks on indifferently, while the masses sink deeper and deeper down into the abyss of intellectual and spiritual darkness. To guide the common people along the path of organic social-political and economic progress, is a task which an intellect permeated with Russian culture can never perform. The last Russian revolution, and the beginning of the era of constitutional government for Russia, have furnished the best proof for the truth of this assertion.

The other chief characteristic of Russian culture is its manifest superficiality. Hidden beneath a thin veneer of Western European amenities lies coarse barbarism. The external manners of the educated Russian very often strike one by the coarseness, lack of restraint and brutal reckless- ness accompanying them. We see, then, that even the external forms of European culture have only been out- wardly assumed by the Russians. Still poorer is their condition with respect to the things of the spirit. We have observed to what a slight degree the Russians have been able to assimilate the material culture of Europe. The same holds for spiritual culture. Russian literature, particularly the latest, has brought ethical elements of the most questionable worth into the world's literature. (Artzibashev and others). Russian science, altho it can point to some great names and has unlimited means at its disposal, stands far behind German, English or French science. In Russian science, everything is done for the sake of effect, without thoroness, without method, hence fatal gaps appear. Let us consider, for example, our science of geography. Hardly a year passes in which the Russian government does not send one or more great scientific expeditions to Asia or to the North Pole. Each expedition hands in volumes of scientific results, and, at the same time, the surface configuration of the most populous and cultur- ally most advanced regions of European Russia, for example, is barely known in its main aspects. The best geography of Russia was written by the Frenchman Reclus. A modern, really scientific geography of Russia does not exist.

Even more emphatically does the superficiality of Russian culture appear in social and political questions. These two directions of human thought have, in most recent times, become very popular in all Russian society. But what an abyss separates a European from a Russian in this field! In Europe the theses of the social sciences or of politics are the result of life. They are adjusted to life conditions and treated critically. In Russia they are life- less dogmas, about which Russian scholars of the 20th Century dispute with the same heat and in the same manner as their ancestors, a few hundred years ago, disputed as to whether the Hallelujah should be sung twice or three times, whether the confession of faith should read "born, not created" or "born and not created," whether one should say, "God have mercy upon us" or "Oh God, have mercy upon us," whether one should use two fingers in crossing oneself or three, and so on. Naturally, at that time religious questions were the fashion. Today it is social questions. And what does it amount to? Rampant doctrinism, the eternal use of banal commonplaces, an immature setting up of principles. And the result is — extreme unwieldiness of Russian society in internal politics and in parliamentarism, in social and national work, together with a deep scorn of the depraved West (gnili zapad) .

With this superficiality of Russian culture, its most evil characteristic is connected; the decline of family life and a certain moral perverseness. This phenomenon is commonly met with in all peoples who have but recently come in contact with Western European culture. The bad quali- ties of a high civilization are always assumed first, the good qualities slowly. In this field the Russians have far outstripped their European models.

The above facts suffice to prove that Russian cultural influences are dangerous for the Ukrainian people. The severe, rigid materialistic character of the Russian people will, without any doubt, enable it to outlast the storm and stress period of the present Russian culture, and guide it to a splendid future. But for the Ukrainian people, with its sentimental, gentle character, the assuming of Russian culture would be a deadly poison. Even supposing that the Ukrainian people might survive such an experiment, a thing which is not likely, it would forever remain a miser- able appendage of the Russian nation.

And besides, such an experiment is entirely unnecessary. Either we say, "We are Ukrainians, an independent race and different from the Russians," and build up our culture quite independently, or we say, "We are 'Little Russians,' one of the three tribes of Great Russia and of its high culture," and, in that case, we may calmly lie down on the world renowned Ukrainian stove. For then it does not pay even to work at the development of our language. A third alternative does not exist.

At present, however, the former view is generally predominant among the intelligenzia of the land, and the fact that many intelligent Ukrainians are permeated with Russian culture is due, not to an ideal conviction, but only to the powerful influence of the Russian schools and the Russian cities. How do these educated people stand beneath the Ukrainian peasant who, even on the shores of the Pacific Ocean, does not exchange his individual Ukrain- ian popular culture for the Russian, and deserves the scornful, but in our eyes very commendable saying of the Russians, "Khakhol vyesdie kharkhol!"

If, then, we are to remain a really independent nation, there is only one avenue open to Ukrainian culture, and that is to follow the culture of Western Europe step by step, to seek its models among the Germans, Scandinavians, English and French. And this entire development we must base upon the broad foundation of our high popular culture. Let us consider with what piety the really cultural nations of Europe preserve the little remains of their popular culture. Their few usages or superstitions, their little body of folk-songs ! How much richer than they are we in all our misery! The Ukrainian people spoke a mighty first word thru Kotlarevsky a century ago; it then found the first diamond upon its path, the pure language of the people. Unfortunately, no Ukrainian has yet arisen who could speak just as mighty a second word by finding ways and means of lifting the treasures of the home culture of the land, and enabling the entire nation to work at the task of using them to advantage. This "apostle of truth and science," as he is called by Shevchenko, has not ap- peared, altho he has had several ancestors, like Draho- maniv. But there are already very many Ukrainians who would place their seal upon the declaration: "that the Ukraine possesses so rich a popular culture, that by develop- ing all its hidden possibilities and supplementing them by elements drawn from the untainted sources of Western European culture, the Ukrainian nation could attain a complete culture just as peculiar to itself, and just as exalted among the great European cultures, as Ukrainian popular culture is among the popular cultures of other peoples."

Hence, the way lay clearly indicated for the Ukrainians of the 19th and 20th Century. Ethnological investigations and the scientific study of folk-lore have been taken up very eagerly by Ukrainian scholars, so that in this parti- cular field, recent Ukrainian science, perhaps, ranks highest in all Slavic science. In no other cultured nation of Europe is the life of the educated elements so permeated with the influences of the nation's own popular culture. The Ukrainian cultural movement is hardly a century old, and yet it has results to show which, even today, guarantee the cultural independence of the Ukrainian nation. Active relations with Central and Western European cultures have been established, which may become of incalculable effect in the further development of Ukrainian culture.

What the Ukraine is?

What the Ukraine is?

 But do you know what the Ukraine is ?

Where in Spring the warm wind breathes, bearing on its wings from " Earey " (Egypt) the myriads of grouse and other birds, and into the hearts of the people the paean of love; where the woods are carpeted with blue " prolisoks " and red " riast "; where Vesnianka, the " Lada " of Spring, with the assistance of vovkoolaks and spirits of the woods, is running through the forest scattering bloom, her song echoing over the whole country; where the sun is so bright and gay; where the willow tree in full blossom looks like a great yellow stack, orchards are white with cherry; where millions of nightin- gales sing all the night long where Petrus so truly loves Natalka

There is the Ukraine.

Where in the Summer the Dnieper is carrying down its broad yellow waters to empty them into the bluish waves of the Black Sea; and upon the steeps of its mountainous right bank, like pyramids, the ancestral grave-hills stand, looking over the endless plains golden with ripening rye; where the little white huts of the villagers hide themselves in the green orchards of scarlet apples, yellow pears, purple prunes, musical with the humming of bees; where, beside a broad road, under a willow tree, a blind lirnik-beggar sits, singing a song of the vanished freedom; where the " grandsons " of that free- dom mow the lush grass, with their scythes glistening in the hot sun, just as the sabres of their grandfathers flashed on the same field There is the Ukraine.

Where in Autumn in the wood on the peaceful bank of a Dunai the hopvine with its gold and bronze covers the bared branches of ash trees; where on cranberry bushes the red bunches burn in the rays of the Autumn sun like a circlet of rubies; where Marusina walks in the wood pick- ing the berries and calling upon her fated one in her songs; where in the fields, now umber- coloured, the herds of cattle graze; where the poplar rustles sadly with her leaves yet green over a lonesome grave as a maiden deserted by her lover ; where, when the leaves fall, the night- heaven is so darkly blue and the stars so bright This is Ukraina.

Where in Winter Witch-Marina with snow white as swansdown covers the fields, making of them an endless white sea; where Frost- Moroze with its magic power changes fog into rime and sleet, transforms the forests into silver coral jungles of the undersea kingdom; where in gayety the people know how to spend the whole winter season, entertained by folk-drama ; where hymns to the pagan goddess Lada are heard at Christmas;

Where the red foxes, seeking refuge in tall " ocherets," or bulrushes, and hares lying in utter stillness on the hillocks, shall hear the stamping of horses' hoofs, the baying of hounds and the sudden clamour of the horn There is Ukraina.

Where on the summits of the Carpathians old oaks and pines murmur, and the native Hutzul in white embroidered shirt and red breeches plays on his trimbeeta amid his grazing flocks in the mountain meadow; where on a dark night thunder roars and the lightning plays on the white breasts of beech-trees; where Dobush sleeps with his robber Oprishki, in a rocky cave under the Chorna Hora, waiting for the summons to arise once more against the enemies of the Ukraine

There is the Highland of the Ukrainian.

Where the southern prairies meet the waves of the Black Sea, and grey eagles circle in the heavens watching the numberless herds of sheep ; where the Dnieper's cataracts roar, dashing down to the Khortitsa Island, asking it : " Where are the banners of the hetmans and the cannons of old ? " There, where a black cloud covers heaven from Lyman, the Mount of the Dnieper, in the semblance of the dragon of the fairy tales There are the Zaporogian Steppes.

And the ages passed over the Ukraine. . . . " In the beginning " black-haired Scythians came from Ariastan to the Ukraine with their herds later, the race was crossed with blue- eyed, white-haired Finns ; both disappeared and the tall, dark brown-eyed, fair-haired Ukrainian arose, the beneficent gods Yoor and Lada nursing him in his cradle.

Mongolians came from Asia, and Ghingiz- Khan built his pyramids of men's skulls. . . . And on the Steppes, on the Kalka river the brave Russichi barred the way to the Polovets, with scarlet shields, and all fell for the mother- land. Still, the Mongolian waves rolling over the Ukrainian rock were unable to devastate Europe. The Khan turned back, civilisation was saved, but the Ukraine was covered with corpses, on whose bones Cossacks arose who again checked the Tartars. There in the Ukraine was Freedom personified by the Zaporogian Cossack, in blue zhupan and red breeches, mounted on his grey horse.

Seven feet deep is the black soil of Ukraina, bringing forth from one seed one hundred and twenty fold. Poles, Turks, and Muscovites began to press forward, eager to grasp the land flowing with milk and honey and bind her as a captive. Long centuries the sabre of the Cossack flashed beheading invaders from all parts of the world. At last it was shivered and broken!

Now naught is left of Ukraina save her songs but in that song she still lives, engraved in the heart of the people. Let it be sung, and before your eyes you shall resurrect the dead centuries.

The Ukrainians sing their Kolady, Ves- nianky, Kupalni and the ancient gods of the

Sun and Thunder are again alive, adversaries of Christianity.

The bride-maidens sing the wedding songs, and ancient days come back when a wild youth gathered a band of the boys of his tribe and raided another village to kidnap a maiden. All her relatives rose to defend her, and sometimes only after a bloody fight did the bridegroom carry his bride safely home. A thousand years passed, and only song was left 'to show that such barbarous days had ever been.

In the troublous days that followed, when the Cossacks ringed Ukraina with the terrible circle of their sabres, they sang of Freedom ; and even now those songs will stir a man's blood and make him long to leap on a horse and gallop over the broad steppes, " swift to the fields of Freedom."

Moscow, Tartary, Lithuania, Poland, Turkey what neighbours! the Hetmans, wars and revolutions at length the fall of Seech, the last stand of Ukrainian freedom the whole Ukrainian history was put into song by the Kobzars, the rhapsodists, and if the Ukraine has lost her written history it is still preserved in her historical songs.

The period of bondage and feudalism began in 1771. The Cossacks had disappeared, but their place was taken by the avengers of the people's sorrows Robbers, Haidomaki, Oprishki the Ukrainian Robin Hoods and their deeds also are recorded in their songs. The bitter fate of the feudal slave sighs in the song of the Ukrainian woman before, a free Cossachka, now the slave of her husband, with no rights of her own. Full of self-pity and sorrow are the " Songs of Unhappy Women." The sons of Cossacks became Tchumaks and tramps; they wrote their songs on their broken hearts. . . . But eternal song, that of love, of the nightin- gale's voice, and the cherry blossom, is the same everywhere unchangeable young, charming, immortal !

Italian songs are glorious, but the singing of the Ukrainian is also a precious pearl in the common treasury of mankind. It was born out of the beauty of the Ukraine, and it is beautiful; it was born on the steppes, and as the steppes it is wide; it was born in battles, and it is free; it was born of the tear of a lonesome girl, and it rends the heart; it was born of the thoughts of the Kobzars and its harmonies are pregnant with thoughts

This is Ukrainian Song.

THE Songs, alas! must lack their native music; of the land which evoked them Mr. Paul Crath has written with a poet's pen. It remains for me just to say a few words about the people who sing the songs and (with one digression) I will quote a few extracts from French and Ukrainian essayists:

" The Ukrainian is a race purely Slav, gay, chivalrous, made thoughtful by its own steppes a race of poets, musicians, artists who have fixed for all time their national history in the songs of the people which no centuries of oppression could silence. The singers the Kobzars accompany themselves on the kobza while they sing the glories of the Ukraine. All art with them is national, from the building of their tiny huts to the embroideries which adorn their clothes and which are distinguished for their originality all over the East."

" Here is a people, one of the most numerous of Europe and nevertheless one of the least known. They have not even an assured name. They are called Little Russians to distinguish them from the mass of the Russian people they are called Ukrainian because they inhabit the frontier between Poland and Russia; one of the branches (in Austrian Galicia) bears the name of Ruthenian. ... In the nineteenth century this oppressed people revealed to the world the puissance of its artistic gifts. The Ukrainians became the first singers of Europe; the celebrated Russian music is the music of the Ukraine, and it is an Ukrainian, Gogol, who has opened the way to the Russian romancers of genius." CHARLES SEIGNOBOS, Professor at the Sorbonne.

" In the Russian Ukraine the nobles, descendants of the line of the Cossacks, and the clergy had closely guarded the remembrance of the grandeur, the glory, and the independence of the Ukraine. Living in contact with a people which had preserved its language, songs, and customs, they turned to it to know it better. . . . Collections of popular songs by Maximovich, Drago- manov, Shesnevsky, Zerteleff, etc., began to be made around 1820 and in the second half of the nineteenth century. Soon romantic poets found this field Kvitka outstripped George Sand and Auerbach. . . . Towards 1840 the great poet Shevchenko (1814-1861) combined by his genius all that was most profound in universal poetry with the genre of the popular poetry of the Ukraine. A great poet and a great citizen, his name is sacred to all Ukrainians."

The Ukrainian Climate




The Ukrainian Climate

The great uniformity of Eastern Europe, in respect to its morphology, we find repeated in its climatic conditions. But, to the same extent that the attentive investigator, upon close observation, finds several independent mor- phological individualities within the Eastern European low country, he will also observe important climatic differences in this great half-continent.

The Central European climatic zone stops at the western borders of the Ukraine. Similarly, the cool Eastern European continental climate, which rules over all of White and Great Russia, embraces only insignificant borderlands in the north of Ukrainian territory. The Ukrainian climate assumes an entirely independent posi- tion. It is more continental than that of Central Europe and differs from that of Great Russia in its greater mildness. The Ukraine shares with France the advantage that in its territory the direct transition from the temperate climate of Eastern Europe to the Mediterranean climate of Southern Europe takes place.

The thermal conditions of the Ukraine, despite its great size, are very uniform. The yearly averages fluctuate between +6° and +9° C. Ternopil, in Podolia, and Vov- chansk, in the Kharkov country, have the same yearly temperature of +6.3°, Pinsk +6.7°, Kiev and Kharkiv +6.8°, Lviv (Lemberg) and Poltava +6.9°. The differences are confined within a space of 1° C. Chernivtzi (Czernowitz) in the Bukowina, Yelisavet in the Kherson region, and Luhan in the Donetz region have an annual temperature of 7.6° or 7.7°, Katerinoslav on the Dnieper, Tahanroh on the Sea of Azof, and Stavropil in the sub-Caucasus country 8.3° or 8.2°. This great coincidence of yearly averages in so widely separated places is all the more surprising, since the mean temperature falls considerably directly behind the borders of the Ukraine. Thus, Kursk has only +5.2°, Voroniz +5.4°.

Not until we reach the southern borders of the Ukraine does the mean temperature rise considerably. Odessa and Kishinivhave +9.8°, Mikolaiv +9.7°,Simferopil +10.1°, Sevastopil +12.2°, Katerinodar +12.1°, Novorossiysk +12°, Yalta +13.4° mean annual temperature. The last-named place actually lies in the narrow belt of the Mediterranean climate, on the southern slope of the Yaila Mountains.

Comparing the annual averages of the Ukraine with those of different places in Western and Central Europe, the latter appear relatively much higher. London, situated in the same geographical latitude as Kursk has an annual temperature almost twice as high (+10.3°). London is on the average even a little warmer than Sim- feropil, which actually lies 650 km. nearer the equator. Brussels lies a little more north than Kiev, yet it is in the mean warmer than Odessa.

The cause of this unfavorable relation is the severe winter of the Ukraine. The mean temperature of January is +3.5° in London, +2° in Brussels, +1.2° in Frankfort a m., — 1.2° in Prague, — 3.3° in Cracow. In the Ukraine the January means are much lower. Lemberg has — 4.6°, Kiev has —6.2°, Kharkiv —8.3°, Luhan —8°, Vovchansk — 7.7°, Katerinoslav — 7.4°, etc. To be sure this is not re- markable when compared with the January temperatures of even the south of Great Russia, where the winter suggests polar conditions, but the antithesis to the winter climate of Western and Central Europe is striking. Hammerfest, the northernmost city of the. earth, is one degree warmer than Kiev in January and even a little warmer than Lemberg.

On the other hand, the summer of the Ukraine is even warmer than that of Western and Central Europe. The July mean of London is +17.9° C.,of Brussels 18°, Lemberg the same, but Kiev has as much as 19.2°, Kharkiv 20.9°. The differences in the summer temperatures are much smaller, however, than the differences in the winter tem- peratures — hence the comparatively low annual mean in the Ukraine.

These figures clearly show the continental character of the Ukrainian climate. The influences of the Atlantic Ocean, which still strongly dominate the climate of Central Europe, become slight in the Ukraine. Particularly, the southern part of the Ukraine is almost unaffected by the mitigating influence of a nearby ocean, and the necessary result is the low winter-temperatures. But the continental character of the Ukrainian climate is, nevertheless, not so strongly marked as that of the Russian or Siberian climate. Kamishin, Semipalatinsk, Blagovieshchensk, situated on the same degree of latitude as Kiev, have a January mean of —11.6°, 17.5° and —25.4°, and a July mean of +24.1°, +22.2° and +21.3°, respectively. The influences of the Black Sea, altho in general not great, are at least unmis- takable in the coastal region of the Ukraine.

The difference between the mean of the coldest and that of the warmest month is slighter in the Ukraine than in Russia or Siberia, to be sure, but it is, at any rate, considerable. Only in the Mediterranean climate of Southern Crimea does the difference amount to as little as 20°. The rest of Crimea, the sub-Caucasian country and the northwestern part of the Ukraine as far as Kiev and Uman have a difference of 20° — 25°, Lemberg, for example, 22.6°, Pinsk 24°, Chernivtzi 25.1°, Kiev 25.2°. On the other hand, the southern and the entire eastern part of the Ukraine, especially east of the Dnieper, shows a considerable difference, from 25° to 30°, as for example, Kiev 25.4°, Odessa and Mikolaiv 26.3°, Poltava 27.3°, Kharkiv and Tahanroh over 29°, Luhan and Katerinoslav 30.4°.

The winter appears severe in the entire Ukraine, with the exception of Crimea and the sub-Caucasian country.

The January mean temperature of — 4° to — 8° then obtains in the entire wide territory. Lemberg has — 4.3°, Tarnopol — 5.5°, Chernivtzi — 5.1°, Kiev — 6.2°, Vovchansk — 7.7°, Katerinoslav — 7.4°, Mikolaiv — 4.3°, Tahanroh — 6.7°, Luhan — 8°. Even the southern lands of the Ukraine have a low mean for January, for example, Odessa — 3.7° (Kishiniv — 3.5°), while Kamenetz owes its exceptionally high mean, — 3.3°, to its sheltered location in a "yar." The January isotherms run from northwest to southeast in Ukrainian territory, in a wide curve, which becomes increasingly flat toward the southeast. For this reason the cold in the Ukraine grows in intensity not in a northern but in a northeastern direction. The mean annual mini- mum almost everywhere exceeds — 20° (Lemberg — 19.2°, Chernivtzi —2 1.1°, Tarnopol —23.4°, Kiev —23.2°, Mikolaiv — 21.4°, Luhan — 28.4°). The absolute extremes attain very high values. The absolute minimum amounts to —30° in Mikolaiv and Odessa, —33.1° in Kiev, —34° in Ternopil, — 35° in Lemberg and Czernowitz, — 40.8° in Luhan.

The Ukrainian winter is far less variable than the Central European or even the Russian. Only in the north- western borderlands of the Ukraine does a thaw, brought by the Atlantic winds, frequently appear. The duration of the frost on the Pontian shore is at most two months, in the Pontian steppe-plain and the southern spurs of the plateau groups three months, in all the rest of the Ukraine three and a half. Only in the northeastern borderlands of the Ukraine, located on the spurs of the Central Russian elevation and the Donetz, does the frost period extend over four months.

In Southern Ukraine the winter is followed directly by a sunny spring, with dry east winds, which partly degenerate into sand-storms (sukhovi). Everywhere else in the Ukraine wet, sloppy weather follows the steps of the receding winter. Toward the northwest it continues longer and longer. The sloppy weather of spring consists of a con- stantly varying succession of frost, thaw, snowstorm, rain and sunshine, ending in the southern part of the Ukraine usually in the middle of April, in the northern and north- western part at the end of April or even at the beginning of May. The actual spring following thereon is very short thruout the Ukraine and usually lasts three weeks, except in the northwest, where it continues thru the entire month of May. The mean April temperature is everywhere higher than the annual mean (Lemberg +7.8°, Tarnopol and Kiev +6.9°, Czernowitz and Odessa +8.6°, Luhan — 8.1°). But the month of May is quite as warm as July in England. On the other hand, we find' May frosts in the entire Ukraine as far as the shores of the Black Sea, altho they do not appear so destructive here as in Russia proper.

The Ukrainian summer is everywhere marked by considerable heat. Only in the northwest corner of the Ukraine (Rostoche, Pidlassye, Polissye, Volhynia) is the summer moderately warm (Lemberg +19.1°, Ternopil + 18.7°, Pinsk +18°).

The July temperature of all the rest of the Ukraine is much higher than this. The July isotherm of +20°, like all the July isotherms of the Ukraine, runs in a northeast direction past the source of the Sbruch and the mouth of the Pripet, and the further we advance from this line towards the southeast, the hotter the summers we find.

On the lower Dniester and Dnieper the mean July tem- perature exceeds -(-23°. Following are a number of July means: Czernowitz -)-20.1°, Kiev -{-19.2°, Vovchansk +20.3°, Odessa +22.6°, Katerinoslav and Mikolaiv +23°, Luhan -(-22.4°, Tahanroh -(-22.8°. The strongest degrees of heat are +37° to +43°, and the mean annual maxima are +30.3° for Ternopil, +31.1° for Lemberg, +32.7° for Czernowitz, +32.1° for Kiev, +35.2° for Mikolaiv, +35.5° for Luhan. The duration of the heat period with temper- atures of +20° and over is two months southeast of a line which runs near Kishiniv, Poltava and Kharkiv, one month southeast of the line of Mohiliv, Kaniv and Kursk. The total duration of the summer is only in the northwest of the Ukraine as short as three months; otherwise it is four, and on the Black Sea even four and a half.

The autumn of the Ukraine is regularly very beautiful and comparatively warm. The month of October has a mean of temperature higher than the annual (Lemberg +8.5°, Ternopil +7.7°, Czernowitz +9°, Kiev +7.5°, Vovchansk +7°, Katerinoslav +9.7°, Luhan +8.4°, Odessa + 11°, Mikolaiv +9.7°, Tahanroh +9.1°). But even in October the warm sunny days are followed by night frosts. The moist autumnal weather which begins the transition to winter lasts as much as two months in the northwest; beyond that, one to one and a half months. The mean date of the earliest frost is October 19th for Kiev, Octo- ber 11th for Luhan, October 28th for Micolaiv, and November 10th for Odessa.

A different position, climatically, is that of Crimea, the sub-Caucasian country, as well as the mountain islands of the Carpathians, the Yaila and the Caucasus. In the temperature conditions of Crimea and the sub-Caucasus country, the influence of their southerly location and the proximity of the sea is everywhere apparent. The mean temperature is everywhere higher than +10° (Simferopol + 10.1°, Sevastopol +12. 2°, Katerinodar +12.1°). The winter is short and comparatively mild (January mean of Simferopol +0.8°, Sevastopol +1.8°, Katerinodar +2.1°, Stavropol — 4.7°), but very variable. The degrees of frost are sometimes quite high (Sevastopol — 16.9°, Stavropol — 25.6° as absolute minima), but the frost period is short (one to two months). The spring begins in March with full force; in May follows the five-months' summer. The July means are very high, especially in the sub-Caucasus country, the heat period lasting everywhere more than two months. (July mean of Simferopol -f- 28°, Sevastopol 33.1°, Stavropol +20°, Katerinodar +25.3°). The long autumn also is very mild.

South of the Yaila and Caucasus Mountains, on the shore of the Black Sea, lies a narrow strip of land which actually shows Mediterranean climatic characteristics. The winter lasts less than a month and is very mild (Jan- uary mean of Yalta +3.5°, altho the absolute minimum is — 13°), and, as in Novorossiysk, cold, bora-like gusts of wind are common in times of heavy cold. After a long spring follows a six-months' summer, which passes imperceptibly into a mild autumn.

The climate of the mountains of the Ukraine has been but little investigated. In the entire Ukrainian territory there is not a single meteorological observatory. The general characteristics of mountain climate, its greater uniformity, the smaller difference between the warmest and coldest months, the belated beginning of all the seasons, etc., may be found in all the mountains of the Ukraine.

Only the climate of the Ukrainian Carpathians is somewhat better known. The dreariest climate is that of the Beskyds and the Gorgani. The five-months' winter and long periods of sloppy weather in the spring and in the fall encroach upon the short summer. The Chornohora chain, despite the greater height of its peaks, upon which the snow in sheltered places remains lying thru the entire summer, has a much milder and pleasanter climate. The influence of the warm summer of the adjacent plain regions limits the duration of the sloppy weather in spring and autumn. For this reason, the mountain valleys have a short but very beautiful spring, a warm summer, and a wonderful mild autumn. The mountain pastures have in place of the summer only a three months' spring.

In the Yaila Mountains, as a result of their small size and height, the characteristics of typical mountain climate are lacking, but in the Caucasus we find them in their highest development. The analogy to the Alps is perfect, but the influence of the continental steppe climate of the surrounding country is unmistakable, expressing itself in the position of the various climatic regions, in the height of the snow limit, in the development of the glacial covering, etc., very distinctly and very differently than in the Alps, which are surrounded by countries with a climate of a different kind.

We now come to the second group of climatic phenomena, pressure and wind conditions. The Ukraine may, in this respect, be divided into two great regions. The line of high pressure which separates these parts, called by Voiekoff the great axis of Europe, extends from the bend of the Volga, near Tsaritsin, over the porohi section of the Dnieper at Katerinoslav to Kishinev. North of this line, west winds prevail, bringing Atlantic air into Northern Ukraine. In the south, east winds prevail, bearing the influences of the Asiatic steppe climate. This wind divide is most distinct in winter. In the northern part of the Ukraine we find chiefly west and southwest winds, which mitigate the frosts and cause precipitations of rainfall; in the southern part dry, cold east winds prevail, increasing the cold. Sometimes the east wind increases to a snow- storm (metelitzia, fuga) which whirls up terrible masses of snow, filling the air with snowflakes until absolutely nothing can be seen, and causes terrific destruction. Herds of a thousand head fall victim to its icy breath, even in the steppes of Crimea, and woe to the traveler who is caught in a snowstorm in the steppe.

In November and December, in Southern Ukraine, moist, warm south winds frequently come up from the Pontus. But the absolute balance is on the side of the freezing east winds, to which is to be ascribed the severe winter climate of Southern Ukraine. The northern half of the Ukraine as a rule, is seldom reached by the east winds, the northwestern corner very seldom. Their occasional appearance is accompanied by heavy frosts with fair weather.

In the spring, east and south winds blow, especially over Southern Ukraine. They often change to heavy sand-storms (sukhovi) very harmful to the crops, which carry clouds of sand, with which they form miniature dunes as high as 30 cm. The east and south winds, at such times, penetrate even into Northern Ukraine, altho with the exception of the northwest corner.

In the summer, on the other hand, the west, northwest, and southwest winds hold a decided balance over the east winds, even in Southern Ukraine. They bring moist Atlantic air and rain into the entire land and mitigate the heat. The occasional east winds increase the heat and bring periods of drought, but usually not until August, when they are rather frequent. In September all the winds are weak thruout the Ukraine, with high pressure. That is why the fall is so beautiful too. Then, in October and November, follows the gradual transition to the winter wind conditions.

The third group of atmospheric phenomena, humidity and precipitation, possesses the same great uniformity in Ukrainian territory as the other two elements of the climate. The humidity of the air in the Ukraine is in general slight. It is greatest in the forest-covered partly swampy West and Northwest. Toward the southeast the humidity in the Ukraine constantly decreases. Fogs appear seldom and are only light, so that the antithesis to Western and Central Europe, as well as Russia, is striking. The light night and morning fogs which appear, especially in the latter part of summer and in the fall, only contribute to the beautification of the landscape, by flooding the depressions of land like a sea. Cloud-formation is much slighter in the Ukraine than in Western or Central Europe, or in Russia proper, the dreary Muscovite country. The greatest number of clouded days occurs in the western and northwestern part of the Ukraine; toward the southeast and east the number of such days dwindles continuously. The least amount of cloudy weather occurs in the month of August. In September and October the increase is very slight. November and December are much cloudier and January is most cloudy all over the Ukraine. After that the cloudy weather lessens considerably at first, then slowly, until August.

The atmospheric precipitations in the Ukraine are in general insignificant, except in the Carpathian and Caucasus regions. The Ukraine has less rainfall than Central or Western Europe. The Atlantic Ocean, the most important source of the precipitations in Europe, lies far distant, and the cyclonal systems on their way east drop their collected moisture upon Western and Central Europe. For the Ukraine, and particularly for the eastern part of it, there is, therefore, very little left. In this connection the Black Sea has only a local significance, and the evaporation of water from the rivers, lakes and swamps, from the plants and the ground, is hardly worth considering, except as it happens in the summer.

The great amounts of precipitation are to be found in the mountains of the Ukraine, where rising currents of air help along the condensation of the water vapor. Even in the Low Beskid the precipitation exceeds 1000 mm. (Yasliska 1170 mm.), in the Gorgani and Chornohora we find in large areas, especially on the southern slope, a precipitation of over 1200 mm., in a few places 1400 mm. (Kobiletzka Polana 1377 mm., Bradula 1419 mm.). The amount of precipitation is still large in the entire Pidhirye, but at only a short distance it decreases considerably. Lemberg has only 735 mm. of rainfall, the southern part of the Rostoche as much as 900 mm. in places, since the western edges act like chains of mountains to the west winds. But Czernowitz, near as it is, has only 619 mm. and the Podolia on the Dniester still less. The Khotin lying in the yar of this river has only 300 mm., which best illustrates the significance of local conditions. At a greater distance from the curve of the Carpathians the amount of precipitation shows a slow but regular decrease toward the southeast. Only in the northern part of the Rostoche and the northwestern part of Podolia does the amount of precipitation attain 600 mm., while further toward the south and east a wide zone stretches out with only 500 — 600 mm. (Pinsk 581 mm., Kiev 534 mm., Uman 546 mm., Poltava 532 mm.). Another wide zone, which extends from the mouth of the Dniester to the bend of the Don, has a precipitation of between 400 and 500 mm. (Kharkiv 465 mm., Katerinoslav 475 mm., Kishinev 471 mm., Yelisavet 444 mm., Odessa 408 mm.). The next narrow zone of the Pontian and Crimean steppe has a precipitation of less than 400 mm. (Mikolaiv 360 mm., Sevastopol 386 mm., Luhan 379 mm.), a corner of Crimea on the peninsula of Tarkhankut has even barely more than 200 mm.

The Yaila Mountain Range is too small to have any marked influence on the increase in the amount of precipi- tation. Yalta has only 508 mm. precipitation. On the other hand, the influence of the Caucasus is very great. The sub-Caucasus Kuban region, to be sure, has only 400 — 500 mm . precipitation , Stavropol 7 20 mm . , N ovorossy sk 691 mm. However, the amount of precipitation on the southwestern side of the Caucasus Mountains increases uncommonly. At the borders of Ukrainian territory, Sochi has not less than 2071 mm.

From this account we see clearly enough that, in com- parison with Central and Western Europe, the Ukraine is rather poor in rainfall, especially in the southeast. But the distribution of the precipitations among the seasons is so favorable that most of them fall at the time they are most needed, namely, in the early part of summer. The entire Ukraine lies within the area of the summer rains, only the narrow strip of the south coast of Crimea and the Caucasus are within the area of the winter rains.

The reason of the preponderance of the summer rains lies in the western and northwestern Atlantic winds, which, in that season, have easy access far into the southeastern part of the Ukraine. These winds bring so much moisture into the Ukraine that almost two-thirds of the annual rain- fall belongs to May, June and July. The month with the greatest amount of precipitation for the entire Ukraine is June. Only the Polissye, Northwestern Volhynia and the western part of the Kiev territory show the heaviest precipitation in July, since, in these regions of forests and swamps, evaporation is heaviest at this time of greatest heat.

The summer rains of the Ukraine differ from those of Central or Western Europe in their heaviness. Only in the Western Ukraine are the summer rains of the type of gentle rains that are uniform for an entire country; in the south and east they appear as cloudbursts in heavy showers. In Samashcani, in Bessarabia, there have been times when 200 mm. of rain fell in a single day, in Korovintzi in the Poltava region, 5 mm. in one minute. In the Pontian steppes all rain falls in the form of heavy showers. The water flows off quickly and evaporates rapidly, before it is able to thoroughly saturate the ground..

Electric discharges and hailstorms occur in close connection with the summer rains, most frequently in June, less so in July and in May. They usually come from the southwest in the afternoon hours. Most of these storms originate in the Carpathian Mountains and reach Volhynia and Kiev, but do not cross the Dnieper. The Caucasus, too, has very many storms. Hailstorms are most frequent in Galicia and Volhynia and the western part of the Kiev regions; very rare in the southeast.

In August the amount of rainfall slowly decreases; in September and October still more, and so it continues until December. January is the month of least rainfall for the entire Ukraine (only one-fourth of the June figure), and this circumstance is of particularly great significance for the southern and eastern parts of the Ukraine. For this reason the cover of snow in the Ukraine is much less than in Central Europe or Muscovy, besides which, it is often disturbed by snowstorms. The slight snow-cover melts down quickly in the spring, without saturating the soil well, and without requiring much warmth. This explains the rapid rise of heat in the Ukrainian spring.

From January until the end of April the amount of rainfall again grows slowly but steadily, reaching its maximum in June.

The southern part of Crimea and the Caucasian shore have just the opposite annual distribution of the precipita- tions. Under the influence of the moist Pontian winds, the greatest amount of rain falls in December and January, while the spring and summer have very little rain. These characteristics of the Mediterranean climate, the rainy winter after the dry summer, are all the more striking, since the opposite condition prevails on the other side of the Yaila and Caucasus Mountains.

From this account of the Ukrainian climate we see that this climate retains an entirely independent position as against that of Central Europe or Russia. The Ukrainian climate is characterized by an annual amplitude of 20° to 30°, a mean annual temperature of from +6° to +12°, a July mean of from +19° to +24°, and a January mean of from 0° to 8°, with predominant summer rains and a generally insignificant cover of snow. The difference from the Russian climate is, consequently, quite consider- able. The Russian climate forms the transition to the polar, that of the Ukraine to the Mediterranean climate.

Nature has provided the Ukraine with a pleasant, very wholesome climate. On the whole temperate, it does not lack heavy frosts and considerable degrees of heat, which harden the Ukrainian to any inclemencies of the weather. The differences of the seasons cause a pleasant variety, strong winds clear the atmosphere and bring motion into nature, the rains are everywhere sufficient for the growth of vegetation and the carrying on of the most important occupation of the Ukraine — agriculture. The great uniformity of this Ukrainian climate has recently caused the French geographer, de Martonne, to set it up as one of the types of climate of the globe.

Lviv Travel

Lviv Travel

Lviv is a proud, majestic city and a beautiful and hospitable city at the same time.

Lviv is a place where people should visit at least once in their lives. To wander on narrow small streets, which were made of ancient stone blocks, to drive a yellow-red street car in the centre, to drink a cup of Lvivian coffee in one of those silent European style cafes, to visit the numerous ancient temples and Catholic churches, to hear the unforgettable dialect of the local western Ukrainian people - to dive into an epoch of a medieval city. The past and the present are organically intertwined in Lviv. It is a city of cathedrals, temples, architectural monuments and it also has modern regions.

The central part of Lviv is declared as a historical and architectural reserve and it entered the list of the world cultural heritage of UNESCO in 1998. About two thousand historical, architectural and cultural objects are under protection. You can find more information about it in “lviv tourist information” guide books, which were issued special for tourists.

Lviv is a symbiosis of styles, stories and epoch. When you travel to Lviv, you can see like colorful light bulbs are hanging on lampposts; car drivers are stopping at the pedestrian crossings, the bakeries are ready with their fresh scents in the mornings at six o'clock.

At the same time it is often possible to bump into an automatic water machine with a chained drinking cup, some shop windows can still be decorated by the Soviet era drawings. The benches are still made of wood there. During your Lviv travel you will find the interesting combination of the classic European style and the spirit of the USSR era.

Inhabitants of Lviv often hope for the "London" kind of weather and advise tourists to visit them in the springtime, when the entire city is in its full color. Other good time to take your Lviv tours is in the summer, if it is not too hot - or in the early autumn. During this season it is especially beautiful there and if you travel to Lviv for the first time, you will be continually surprised, when you find "Krakow", "Budapest" and "Florence" in Lviv.

Lviv is saturated with monuments of history, culture and architecture - there is just so much to see. Take your Lviv tours and enjoy the city! A good way to begin is to start with the old central part of a city. Cars noise will not disturb you on days off, the streets are vacant and only a streetcar can break the silence with the knocking of its wheels. The Market area will surprise tourists with its multi-colored houses. They have remained from The Gothic Lviv era and they just escaped the fire of 1527 when the city was almost completely burnt down.

The Lviv town hall - the administration building – is situates in the center area. The building is from 1835 and it was made in the Viennese classicism style. The square construction with an internal courtyard has witnessed many historical events - repeatedly burnt and wrecked. The Town hall was reconstructed in 1852 and nowadays there is a city council of Lviv. There is a tower with a viewing platform over a building there. And the amazing view of the city opens from that place.

Lviv tours across the old Lviv are almost impossible without visiting the local book market on the Museum area. There are the monuments of the first printer Ivan Fedorovu and the Ukrainian kozak Ukrainian Shuchkar there, clothed in a national Ukrainian shirt and with the same kind of moustaches that Taras Bulba used to have. There is also the Kreschatik there in Lviv - Freedom prospectus. In fact, you will feel the Ukrainian spirit, fill with internal freedom and the feeling of the present during your Lviv travel.

The extraordinary view on a city opens from a viewing platform of the High castle. It is the highest point of Lviv, a hill, where the most beautiful old park with centenary trees is located. All our Lviv tours show all this beauty.

Lviv is a city of churches, monasteries, cathedrals and temples. The Pokrovy Presvjatoj Bogoroditsy's temple is one of the most famous , which is located in the Grushevsky Street 5 - designed by Italian architect Frantsa Platsidi. It is the interesting place to visit for fans of baroque architecture. The temple was called the Sacred Nikolay's church until 1990. Lviv tourist information (Lviv guide books) will tell you more facts about this place of interest.

Lviv is an extraordinary city. It is necessary to notice that people are exclusively kind there, even if they have more than their fair share of troubled times in the past history. You have to travel to Lviv and experience the city atmosphere yourself and let it convince you. Lviv will stay in your memory for a long time - it will be like a trip back to the Middle Ages.

If you would like to rest in clean ecological areas – then you definitely have to choose Lviv eco tours. You will enjoy your vacation and you will change your lifestyle for a while. Clean ecological meals, the chance to join the unique world of nature – that is all what you need in Lviv eco tours!

Nowadays many British tourists travel to Lviv. Lviv becomes more and more popular destination for them. We hope, that Lviv airport will open new flying destination soon – London Lviv – and it will help travelers from UK to get to Lviv more easily and faster.