One of the most readable book on Ukrainian history is by Anna Reid. It is called Borderland: A Journey Through the History of Ukraine.

While Ukraine has only been a country since 1991, there is a very rich and long history. It isn't a history book in a tradition sense. But it supplies context, stories and even jokes that explain the culture.

A quote:

UKRANINA is literally translated as 'on the edge' or 'borderland', and that is exactly what it is. Flat, fertile and fatally tempting to invaders. .......... Until the Soviet Unit collapsed in 1991, it had never been an independent state.

Being a borderland meant two things. First, Ukrainians inherited a legacy of violence. 'Rebellion: Civil War: Pogroms: Famine: Purges: Holocaust' a friend remarked, flipping through the box of files-cards I assembled while researching this book. Second, they were left with a tenuous, equivocal sense of national identity.

Culture Shock Ukraine Edition is a great read too. However it can be difficult to find. My edition is from 1999 with the most current edition being from 2001. You can always post to Ukrainian adoption emails lists to see if someone will sell you their copy.


I like the Humor and Language section quite a bit.

And for anyone who wants to understand the Ukrainian government better there is

State and Institution Building in Ukraine published in 1999 and Dilemmas of State-Led Nation Building in Ukraine published in 2002

If you are lucky you can find these books at your local library or maybe used at a University bookstore. They are both cost around $80 when new.

The books are packed with information and can be a tough read. I have heard they are used in University Graduate courses. Each chapter is an essay which is written by a different author.

When I first read the 1999 book, my favorite chapter was Corruption in Ukraine: Between Perceptions and Realities.

And it answered a few questions that I had like, what happened to the Communists? Ukraine was declared a country on the same day that Communism was made illegal.

Origins of the Modern Ukrainian State: 1991

.............. "That Ukrainian independence came so abruptly and so unexpectedly has enormous consequences for the future of the country. Virtually no one in or out of the government was prepared for the independence or its aftermath." The Ukrainian state was created almost spontaneously in a rush of pronouncements in the late summer and fall of 1991.

Consequently, the government consists of a mix of institutions that were held over from the communist era because there was no time to create new ones (such as the Verkhovna Rada), and institutions that had to be devised in great haste (such as the presidency and cabinet system) without sufficient consideration of how they might work.

.................

It is particularly important that the events of 1991 are not viewed as a revolution that overthrew the existing elite. ........

By agreeing to let the communist-era government retain power under a new label, the opposition made political and economic change in the country extremely difficult.

The Orange Revolution (2004 to 2005) on the other hand did remove many communist-era folks from government.