Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
proved slightly with population growth figures for 2013 estimated at -0.6%. Also, due to
the bureaucratic system of registering citizens at a certain address, population figures in-
clude a huge chunk of the nation that has emigrated in search of a better life, but still of-
ficially resides in Ukraine for legal reasons. This means the actual population figure may
be as low as 35 million.
A large Ukrainian diaspora of some 2.5 million people exists. Many live in North
America, particularly Canada.
According to local superstition, women should never sit down on steps, walls or anything
concrete, lest their ovaries freeze and they can't bear children.
Multiculturalism
The 'ethnic' schism between western and eastern Ukraine has been under the spotlight
since the Orange Revolution, when there were brief but serious fears the country might
split. With Russian immigration into Ukrainian territory from the late 17th century, some
Russian Ukrainians still feel their allegiance lies more with Moscow than with Kyiv. This
immigration is the single reason Ukrainian nationalists refuse to see an east-west split as
a solution to the country's ethnic strife. Though the cause of countless problems, the divi-
sions are neither as clear-cut nor as intractable as some politicians like to suggest.
Crimea
Extra tensions exist in Crimea, where some 260,000 Tatars have resettled since the
1990s. After early clashes, 14 Tatar seats were granted in the Crimean parliament and the
situation quietened down. Over the past decade there have been occasional attacks by
skinhead 'Cossack paramilitary' groups on Tatars and their property, and Tatar leaders
have also expressed concerns over Ukraine's shift towards a more Russia-friendly policy
in Crimea since Yanukovych took over in 2010.
A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM
It involves fire, water, dancing, fortune-telling and strong overtones of sex. No won-
der the Soviets tried to quash the festival of Ivan Kupala, a pagan midsummer cel-
ebration. Indeed, leaders since the Middle Ages - including Cossack hetmans
(chieftains) - have tried to outlaw it, but all without success. The festival is still
marked across Ukraine and beyond.
