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15 Nations Global Tour: Ukraine (Stop #3)

Privacy Level: Public (Green)
Date: 14 Feb 2023 [unknown]
Location: Ukrianemap
Surnames/tags: Notables 15_Nations_Tour Ukraine
Profile manager: David Randall private message [send private message]
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This sub-project is part of the larger 15 Nations Global Tour. Please visit the main project page for details on the goals and objectives of this project.

G2G: Click here to participate in our current discussion on the Ukraine G2G thread, or here for our general discussion on the 15 Nations Global Tour G2G thread.

Contents

Geography

Ukraine is the second-largest European country after Russia. it boarders Russia to the east and northeast, Belarus to the north, Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary to the west, and Romania and Moldova to the southwest. It also has a coastline along the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov to the south and southeast. Kyiv is the nation's capital and largest city.

Demographics

Prior to the ongoing Russian invasion, Ukraine was the eighth-most populous country in Europe, with a population of around 41 million people. Ukraine is the poorest country in Europe by nominal GDP per capital. Ethnically, the population is about 78% Ukranian, 17% other and about 5% other. Ukraine's state language is Ukrainian, although Russian is also widely spoken, especially in the east and south. Nearly 87% of Ukrainians practice Christianity, while 11% claim no religion, with only about 2% practicing non-Christian faiths.

History

Settlement by modern humans in Ukraine and its vicinity dates back to 32,000 BC. From the 6th century BC, Greek, Roman, and Byzantine colonies were established on the north-eastern shore of the Black Sea, which thrived into the 6th century AD. The Goths then inhabited the area, but came under the sway of the Huns from the 370s. By the 7th century, the territory that is now eastern Ukraine was the center of Old Great Bulgaria, but by the end of that century, the majority of Bulgar tribes had moved on and the Khazars took over much of the land

During the Middle Ages, Ukraine was the site of early Slavic expansion and the area later became a key center of East Slavic culture under the state of Kievan Rus'. That state eventually disintegrated into rival regional powers and was ultimately destroyed by the Mongol invasions of the 13th century. The area was then contested, divided, and ruled by a variety of external powers for the next 600 years, including the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, the Austrian Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Tsardom of Russia.

Following the Russian Revolution in 1917, the short-lived Ukrainian People's Republic was formed, but the Bolsheviks soon consolidated control and established the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, which became a constituent republic of the Soviet Union when it was formed in 1922. In the early 1930s, millions of Ukrainians died in the Holodomor, a man-made famine, and during World War II, Ukraine was devastated by the German occupation.

It wasn't until 1991, with the collapse of the Soviet Union, that Ukraine gained independence and declared itself neutral. But Ukraine's rise to independent statehood has been anything but smooth. A new constitution was adopted in 1996 and a series of mass demonstrations, known as the Euromaidan, led to the establishment of a new government in 2014. Russia then unilaterally annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula, and further pro-Russian unrest culminated in a war between Russian-backed separatists and government forces in eastern Ukraine. Russia later launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Since the outbreak of war with Russia, Ukraine has continued to seek closer ties with the European Union and NATO.

What is a Ukrainian?

With all the historical alterations to Ukraine's boarders, changes in political status, and displacement of its people, the question arises as to who qualifies as a Ukrainian and who does not. After all, Leonid Brezhnev was born in Ukraine, yet most would clearly identify him as a Soviet well above a Ukrainian. One scholar states simply that a Ukrainian is "any person who identifies as a Ukrainian." But for the purposes of selecting this stop's 15 notables, a Ukrainian is identified as an individual born and raised within the modern-day boundaries of Ukraine (including Crimea). While some may have emigrated from the Ukraine as adults, and given the USSR's long occupation of their territory, some could also rightfully be considered Soviet, in most cases their loyalties seem to have favored their Ukrainian heritage.

Resources

Click here for a list of resources relevant to Ukraine genealogical research: Ukraine Resources Page

  • The Page: Online Ukrainian newspaper, English VersionSkye Sonczalla has put together an amazing Ukrainian Free Space Page exploring the history of Ukraine's boundaries and those of its individual Oblasts (Provinces). This is a must read for anyone doing Ukrainian genealogy.

Here's a link to the Family Tree Magazine Complete Guide to Tracing Your Ukrainian Ancestors.

Notable Ukrainians

In the below list, columns can be sorted by clicking on the arrow button in any category heading box. A "C" in the final column denotes a Notable who has been successfully connected to the Big Tree. "N/C" stands for Not Connected.

Notable Born Died Claim to Fame Photo C
Mykhailo Hrushevsky18661934Poet, Playwright, Activist N/C
Lesya Ukrainka18711913Poet, Playwright, ActivistC
Alexander Vertinsky18891957 Cabaret artist and actorN/C
Lyudmila Rudenko19041986Chess PlayerN/C
Pavlo Zahrebelnyi19242009NovelistN/C
Oleksandr Bilash19312003ComposerN/C
Volodymyr Dakhno19322006AnimatorN/C
Tamara Press19372021Olympic AthleteN/C
Valeriy Lobanovsky19392002FootballerN/C
Bhodan Stupka19412012ActorN/C
Lidiya Belozyorova19452022ActressN/C
Nazariy Yaremchuk19511995SingerN/C
Leonid Kadenyuk 19512018AstronautN/C
Denys Shmyhal1975LIVINGCurrent Prime MinisterN/C
Volodymyr Zelenskyy1978LIVINGCurrent PresidentN/C




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Ukraine stop on 15 Nations Tour
Ukraine stop on 15 Nations Tour
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Comments: 2

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Randall-8561 David Randall
Not many people can trace their ancestry back 1000 years. Thanks for sharing Anna's story.
posted by David Randall
Mike Jonas
Vladimir the Wise Kiev-19 is my direct ancestor (and direct ancestor of just about everyone else, including several US presidents) through two and possibly three of his four daughters. His Wikitree profile gives only three daughters: Anastasia, Elizabeta and Anna. Wikipedia shows part of an "11th-century fresco of Saint Sophia's Cathedral, Kiev, representing the daughters of Yaroslav I, with Anne probably being the youngest. Other daughters were Anastasia, wife of Andrew I of Hungary; Elizabeth, wife of Harald Harðráði; and possibly Agatha, wife of Edward the Exile.". Although Agatha is a "possibly", there are four daughters in the fresco. The full fresco is described as "Saint Sophia's Cathedral in Kiev houses a fresco representing the whole family: Yaroslav, Irene (as Ingegerd was known in Rus'), their four daughters and six sons.".

[1]

The papal laws of consanguinity caused the royal families and nobility of Europe to search further afield for suitable spouses, and Anna was brought from Kiev to marry the king of France. Her statue is in the Luxembourg Gardens in Paris, and another statue of her is in Senlis, France. A third statue of her was erected in Kiev in I think 2016 (9 centuries after her death - impressive!). She also featured on a Ukrainian postage stamp in 1998. Anna was a feisty and capable person, and is one of my 'favourite' ancestors.

posted by Mike Jonas

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