10 Most popular stereotypes about Ukraine and Ukrainians

with 14 Comments

Ukraine

I think there are a number of stereotypes about every nationality in the world that develop over time and are passed down over the years from one generation to the next. Human nature is such that they believe almost everything that others say without verifying it with their own experience.

Today I want to talk about Ukraine and Ukrainian people.

I believe that the world began to actively talk about Ukraine and Ukrainians after the revolution of 2013-2014. The war in Donbas since 2014 and since February 24, 2022. I want to point out right away that the pre-war perception of my country and its people as a country of Chernobyl, the mafia, hunters for rich foreigners, corrupt people and many others has changed. It has changed to the fact that Ukraine is a large independent state with a strong, brave Ukrainian people.

The next stereotype that no longer exists: with the start of the war in 2022, it is difficult to find someone who will say (as many are accustomed to believe) that Ukraine is part of the Russian Federation.

Another of the old stereotypes: now many will confirm that not everyone in Ukraine speaks Russian and that the Ukrainian language is not the same as Russian. And more and more Ukrainian people are now trying to speak Ukrainian.

Today, our state is experiencing the peak of national identification, and compatriots proudly emphasize their belonging to the Ukrainian nation.

In this article, I try to investigate what stereotypes still exist about Ukraine and the Ukrainian nation. 10 main stereotypes about Ukraine and Ukrainian people

What stereotypes exist and are relevant today?

The first stereotype is Ukraine, the country of borscht, lard (Salo) and vareniki 

 

The first association when people ask about Ukrainians is our soup – borscht and vareniki . Then lard – many foreigners think that we can’t even have breakfast without it.

Although borscht and salo are probably the most traditional Ukrainian dishes, Ukrainians eat more than that. They are both quite filling and fatty, so they are not the most useful for daily meals. Other typical dishes in Ukraine, which many foreigners know, are derins, cheeses, sometimes they say about shashlik (this is not a Ukrainian traditional dish).

Ukrainian food Ukrainian food

Ukrainian people drink only vodka and a lot of it

Please do not confuse Ukraine and Ukrainians with Russia and Russians. In Russian, people drink a lot of vodka, not only men.

Therefore, when foreigners tell me that they only drink vodka in Ukraine, I find it funny and a little unpleasant! Yes, Ukraine is known for its vodka producers abroad, and yes, Ukrainians drink vodka, but that doesn’t mean anything else. In fact, we have a large selection of beer products. Many Ukrainians prefer to drink champagne, wine or cognac.

Ukraine has bad roads

Many foreigners laugh and show photos (videos) about how bad our roads are with big potholes. Yes, such a problem exists. But I want to note that since Volodymyr Zelenskyi became the president of Ukraine, a huge amount of repair work has been carried out, and they were carried out immediately before the start of the war.

It is always cold in Ukraine

You might find this funny to read. But I had many clients who did not want to fly to Ukraine to meet girls in autumn and winter because they were afraid of freezing.

Yes, it can be very cold in winter. But these are short periods of time, not constantly. Autumn and spring are quite warm periods. For example, Ukraine does not have as much rain and humidity in autumn as in other European countries. Summer can be hot and sunny.

Winter in Ukraine

Ukraine

Summer in Ukraine

Ukrainian girls are the most beautiful in the world

Many of my foreign guests often told me how many beautiful girls there are on the street and that our men are the happiest.

Ukrainian women are naturally beautiful. Also, many girls take care of their appearance: they regularly visit beauty salons, do manicures and pedicures, go out with a minimum of makeup and in beautiful clothes.

Ukrainian girls

The Ukrainian way of life in the family is considered traditional

Yes, there is truth in this. In Ukraine, a man remains a man in the traditional sense, and a woman remains a woman. This means that the man is courageous, strong, provides for the family, does hard work around the house, takes care of the woman (gives her flowers, opens the door for her, pays for dinner in a restaurant, etc.). A woman takes care of order in the house, cooks, takes care of children, takes care of her husband and at the same time tries to look beautiful.

Ukrainians are superstitious

Yes, Ukrainians often believe in various superstitions and use them in everyday life. Our grandparents taught us from childhood: you can’t clean the house on the day of the trip, if a black cat runs across the road – it’s not good, if a bird poops on you – it’s a profit and much more.

Ukrainian woman

Ukrainian babushka

I don’t know why all foreigners like this word – “babushka”. They know this word on an equal footing with such simple words as – “Hello, how are you, thanks, goodbye”

For those who don’t know babushka means grandmother.

In Ukrainian culture and families, a grandmother is someone who is very kind and can always feed something tasty.

 

Ukrainian girls only date old foreigners and only for money

 

Like no one else, I can tell you this stereotype is outdated. Maybe 10-15 years ago it was that Ukrainian women  wanted to meet a foreign man just to leave the country. Now – it’s not like this. Most young Ukrainian girls want to get a higher education and find a good job. Many Ukrainians women have (before the war) a great life in Ukraine.

 

Ukrainians are very friendly and hospitable

 

I have not yet met a single foreign citizen who, having visited Ukraine, did not tell me what friendly people are in Ukraine.

We, Ukrainians, are always ready to help, give advice even when we are not asked for it, we have a good sense of humor. We will always find something to feed the guest. Let’s lay a big table with lots of food. If you were in a Ukrainian family on a celebration  like a birthday or New Year, you understand me.

 

Perhaps you know some superstitions from your Ukrainian friends, so please share with everyone. Write about them in comments to this Article. 

I  hope you were interested in reading about the Ukrainian people, perhaps remembering your trips to Ukraine, your own experience in communicating with Ukrainians.

If you are interested in learning more about Ukrainian traditions, read this article.

14 Responses

  1. David
    | Reply

    I liked the article! I miss borscht and dumplings! And I would like to return to Ukraine and visit other cities. I was only in Kyiv.
    I heard from some Ukrainian women that many men in Ukraine are lazy, drink a lot and beat women;(

  2. Anna
    | Reply

    Dear David,

    thank you for your time to read my Article. I am glad you liked it.

    Well…about Ukrainian men with the war you could see how brave and strong they are! We, Ukrainian women, proud of our men in Ukraine.

  3. Les
    | Reply

    Great article Anna
    All I could add is odd number in a bouquet of flowers
    Everything else is exactly right,and most definitely the most friendly and hospitable
    I can not wait for the war to end and return ,wonderful country full of wonderful people

    • Anna
      | Reply

      Thank you so much Les. Ah yes Ukrainian women love flowers:)

      Peace in Ukraine!

  4. Alex
    | Reply

    Unfortunately, I have not been to Ukraine. I thought I thought about visiting somehow … I was interested in reading the article! I already dream of trying Ukrainian dishes and meeting babushka:)

    • Anna
      | Reply

      You should visit Ukraine in future when the war finishes.

  5. Pierre
    | Reply

    Bonjour.
    Hello from France! I have been to Ukraine many times and in such cities as Kyiv, Kharkov, Odessa and Dnipro. I often visited Ukraine for work. Every time I had a trip to Ukraine, I was glad and enjoyed my stay there. Yes, a lot of beautiful girls on the streets, delicious food, I tried samogon I do not know if it’s right word once. The people I met there were friendly to me. I did not feel any enmity or hatred towards myself. I know several French people who lived and worked in Ukraine before the war

    I wish Peace in Ukraine!

    • Anna
      | Reply

      Thank you for your comment. Hope you are going to come back to Ukraine again when we win!

  6. Andrea
    | Reply

    Ciao Ukraine and Ukrainians. Greetings from sunny Italy. I have been to Ukraine several times for business in many big cities. I have many Ukrainian friends left in Ukraine. I know a couple men who are at war right now, God bless them… amazen country with beautifill girls, songs and nature

  7. Kevin Brice
    | Reply

    I got on the dating site. Now many beautiful Ukrainian women are posting me messages. I can’t respond, as I am unwilling to use a credit card. However, I want to tell something of myself, that may be of interest to any of them that find this. I am 70, yet am fairly youthful, able to do things I always could, with a youthful appearance that surprises people, considering my age. But, I have a story, I believe will interest some of them, related to reincarnation and reincarnational patterns. Around 15 years ago I met a woman at my spiritual school whose father is Russian and whose mother is Ukrainian. She is tall, 5’11”, and beautiful. First time she walked past me, I was attracted to her. I am naturally attracted to tall beautiful women, as my own beautiful mother was 6 feet tall. I’m 6’6″. The woman invited me to her place. I stayed overnight. She let me go the next morning. We’ve never had sex again, but I hug her every time I see her, still no husband. She’s like a spoiled Russian princess, Olga to be precice, at least in my mind, the one slaughtered by the Bolsheviks in 1918, the oldest daughter. A few years later, I drove to Canada for my third initiation in Babaji’s Kriya Yoga, with Marshall Govindan. Afterwards, a young dark haired woman asked me for a car ride to her brother’s place in Vermont. I agreed. On the long ride we discussed reincarnation. She told me that she had lived as the Czarina, the mother of that family, slaughtered by the Bolsheviks and insisted that Rasputin was a very good person. I also know a man who I think looks and seems like a reincarnation of Czar Nicholas. Because all this was happening, I checked the Internet to see more precisely what the Czar’s family looked like. I was surprised to see that the third daughter, Maria, looked just like my mother at that age. My mother was born in 1928 and died January 2022, at 93. I also saw in person, many years ago, Elizabeth Claire Prophet, a known reincarnation of Tatiana, 2nd daughter in the Czar’s family. She died in 2009. I see on the Internet that some people believe they lived a past lifetime in the Czar’s family. I also know that consciousness(souls) can split and merge. So a being can be living more than one lifetime simultaneously. Of further significance, my kindergarten and piano teacher, Miss Russak was Russian. And one of my best friends, had a mother, Mitzi, whose parents were Russian. She may have had an affair with my father. Many Russian people settled in Lavallette, where I live, decades ago. Reincarnationally, I have no idea how I could be connected to all this, even though I have impressions of a dozen or more past lifetimes, throughout history, including Biblical and even Science fiction. Yes, science fiction is often depicting Reality, much more than people realize. This is meant for the people for whom it’s not too weird. I continue to pray for the war in Ukraine to come to an end, for everyone to find the healing they need, in physical form or not and for all those beautiful Ukrainian women, some of them in desperate situations, find what they need. Just know that life is absolutely eternal. It NEVER stops. And God is real.

  8. Mathias
    | Reply

    Ohh so many things are true in this article…After reading this I understood how much I miss Ukraine and Ukrainian people…

    • Anna
      | Reply

      Nice to know…Since 1 March 2022 I am in Belgium…I miss my home, my family soo much

  9. Oscar
    | Reply

    Hello Anna,

    it was so funny to read this post. I never been to Ukraine but I have some good friends from Ukraine. They told many things about Ukraine, Ukrainianians, what they like to do….so true!

    • Anna
      | Reply

      Dear Oscar,

      you should visit Ukraine one day.

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