National Minorities

Azerbaijanis of Ukraine. Who are they?

A series of events that led to the appearance of Azerbaijanis in Ukraine is colorful, like a pattern of world-famous Azerbaijani carpets. Service in the Soviet army, student exchanges among universities of the Soviet republics, and then — the First...

Poles of Ukraine. Who are they?

The Polish community, which has been living in what is now Ukraine since Kyivan Rus’, was one of the first to suffer from Soviet repression. In the 1930’s Poles were one of the first to be deported from Volynto Central...

Karaites of Ukraine. Who are they?

Karaites are one of the indigenous peoples of Ukraine. They have lived on the Crimean Peninsula since the 13th century. The core of their community is their faith: they recognise the Torah but not religious organisations’ dogmatic interpretations of it...

Slovaks of Ukraine. Who are they?

Historically, Slovaks settled in Ukraine in two stages. At the end of the 18th century, the first of them – the Liptaks – came to Velykyi Bereznyi, a village that was then part of Austria-Hungary and now located in Zakarpattia....

Romanians of Ukraine. Who are they?

Romanians have been living on Ukrainian land since the 14th century. Back then, Vlachs from Maramureș and Southern Transylvania, who are now considered the ancestors of modern Romanians and Moldovans, began to settle in the territories of modern Zakarpattia and...

Armenians of Ukraine. Who are they?

Of the over 8 million Armenians scattered around the globe, less than 3 million live in Armenia itself. Armenian churches and streets have become major attributes of many cities — from Lviv to Singapore. In Ukraine there are about 100...

Hungarians of Ukraine. Who are they?

Hungarians are one of the biggest minority groups in Ukraine. Their presence in the area dates back to the 10th century. Currently there are over 150 thousand Hungarians residing near the border in Zakarpattia. Despite that over the past 11...

The Synagogue in Ostroh: Reconstruction of the ruins

One of the largest synagogues in Eastern Europe is located in Ostroh. It has been reconstructed for 20 years by a local, an ethnic Jew — Hryhorii Arshynov. Hryhorii is a professional builder who decided to save the historic monument....