Variation #17
By Ana Paula Cordeiro
Print: Variated Edition 7/18
Frame: vyshyvanka-inspired cyanotype, linen
An overwhelming majority of people living in the Ukrainian SSR voted to secede from the Soviet Union. The December 1, 1991, referendum had an 84.18% turnout, with 92.26% voting in favor for independence. In 1991, ethnic Ukrainians made up 71% of the republic’s population, so such a result meant that more than just ethnic Ukrainians supported an independent Ukraine. In this way, the 1991 referendum foreshadowed the nation to come. Today, being “Ukrainian” signifies more than just belonging to a specific ethnicity.(A)
Situated at the crossroads of forest, steppe, and sea, Ukraine has historically been a melting pot. Hungarians, Belarusians, Moldovans, Bulgarians, Greeks, Roma, Germans, Crimean Tartars, Poles—all have representation in Ukraine.(B) Many, like the Poles and Germans, have complex histories in the region. There are two groups that loom larger than others in modern-day Ukraine: Jews and Russians.
The Jewish people have lived in what is now Ukraine for over a millennium. At one point, over a million Jews resided within its borders.(C) Even today, Ukraine’s Jewish community is, by some accounts, the fifth-largest in the world. From food—there are Jewish and Ukrainian versions of borsch, stuffed cabbage, and fish dumplings, to name but a few overlapping dishes, to music—Jewish Klezmer and Ukrainian folk music share elements, to humor—both groups have made an art form out of laughing in the face of despair. Much of what defines Ukrainians and Ashkenazi Jews culturally can be seen as variations on the same themes. The histories of the two people are inexorably entwined. Jews have had a profound influence on building commerce and cities in the region, while many modern Jewish traditions and ideologies were born in Ukraine. In this light, it is not surprising that the current President of Ukraine is Jewish.
Russians have long been a significant minority in Ukraine, with conflicts over language and identity predating the Ukrainian nation by centuries. The fact that many Russian-Ukrainians—despite internal disputes exacerbated by disinformation campaigns—have consistently expressed a preference to remain a part of Ukraine rather than be absorbed into Russia shows the lie in Russia’s claim that these individuals need to be “saved”.(D)
Since gaining independence in 1991, Ukrainians have shown a willingness to confront the complexities of their blood-soaked past. They have embraced democracy, with all its messiness, and pushed back when their freedom has been threatened. Ukraine remains, at its core, a nation of ethnic Ukrainians. Yet this new nation with an old history is striving to redefine what it means to be Ukrainian; aiming to build an identity that is less cohesive but more true to the spirit of modern Ukraine. It’s no wonder that Putin saw their success as such a threat that he felt compelled to concoct a war to try to destroy them.
A) For more on the ethnic Ukrainians, see Variation #2.
B) For more on the Crimean Tartars, see Variation #24.
C) My maternal grandmother’s family are Jews from Ukraine who left in the early 1900s (KSL).
D) For more on Russia’s disinformation campaigns, see Variation #3.
See below for further reading and background.
1991 Ukrainian independence referendum, Wikipedia.
People of Ukraine, Britannica.
Ethnic and linguistic identity in Ukraine? It’s complicated, Eurac Research Science Blogs, 21 Mar 22.
Communities: Ukraine, World Jewish Congress.
Factsheet: Jewish community in Ukraine, Religion Media Center, 14 Mar 22. This number includes people who identify as having a Jewish parent.
Klezmer music is part of the great traditional culture of Ukraine, Ukrainian Jewish Encounter, 03 Oct 19.
From memes to moral: Decoding Ukraine’s comedy arsenal against disinformation, Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, 07 Dec 23.
Jewish Humor, Wikipedia.