All articles
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Before You Go to a Hospital in Japan: Have Proof of Insurance and Notes on Your Symptoms Ready
When you feel unwell in Japan, the hospital reception desk will ask to see proof of insurance, and you'll write your symptoms on an intake form. Interpretation for the 119 emergency line is available nationwide in English, Chinese and Korean, but Ukrainian depends on the local fire department. This article covers how to find a hospital, what to confirm when booking, and where to find Ukrainian-language intake forms and medical glossaries.
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The Odesa Film Studio Where Dovzhenko Began Making Films
The Odesa Film Studio was founded in 1919 and was the center of Ukrainian filmmaking in the 1920s. It was here that Dovzhenko made his first films. From the 1930s it went through a period of being used as a base for Moscow studios, and today it is a private joint-stock company that has also seen a court battle over the state's stake. This article traces its changes of name, its major works, and its current ownership.
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School Records and Documents a Family Can Prepare Before Entering a Japanese School
Foreign-national children are not legally required to attend school, but they can enroll in Japan's public elementary and junior high schools. The point of contact is your municipal board of education. Grade level is basically set by age, though there are exceptions for a lower grade depending on Japanese-language ability and other factors. A family can write out ahead of time what they want to convey about school history, language, health, and feelings (based on Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology materials as of 23 September 2026).
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How Far Can You Study in Hungarian? Six Years of Debate over Article 7 of the Education Act
Under the 2017 Education Act, Hungarian-language schools in Zakarpattia Oblast were required to shift instruction to Ukrainian from grade 5 onward, prompting strong objections from the Hungarian government. A 2020 law set specific ratios, and a December 2023 amendment substantially widened the scope for studying in Hungarian and other official EU languages.
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In Ukraine’s Protected Areas: Steppe That Was Never Plowed, and 28 Lakes
In southern Ukraine, steppe that has never been plowed survives; at the western edge, in the Carpathians, old-growth beech forest remains; and in the northwest, in Polissia, lakes and peat wetlands endure. The nature reserves at the heart of these areas were established not as tourist sites but as places of research. Drawing on the records of biosphere reserves and Ramsar wetland sites, this article traces what is being protected, and what is studied there.
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47,000 in the Census, Up to 400,000 in Estimates: Ukraine’s Roma and the National Strategy
The 2001 census counted 47,587 Roma living in Ukraine, but the government's own strategy states that the actual number could be 200,000 to 400,000. This article traces what the strategy and action plan adopted in 2021, running to 2030, identify as challenges and what they decide — from people without identity documents to schooling, housing, and teaching the Romani language.
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The Healer Invited to Medzhybizh in 1740: the Baal Shem Tov and Hasidism
Hasidism, the Jewish religious movement, emerged in 18th-century Podillia around the healer known as the Baal Shem Tov. Drawing on two encyclopedias, this article traces the town of Medzhybizh where he lived from 1740, his teaching of joy rather than asceticism, the movement his disciples spread, and his great-grandson Nachman of Bratslav, who is buried in Uman.
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Ukrainian Statehood Day Was Set on the Feast of St. Volodymyr
Ukraine's “Statehood Day” holiday was created by a 2021 presidential decree, made a public holiday by a 2022 law, and moved from July 28 to July 15 by a 2023 law. Drawing on presidential decrees and the explanatory notes attached to the bills, this article traces why it was set to coincide with the day marking the baptism of Kyivan Rus, and why it was moved 13 days earlier. It also covers how the day is treated as of September 2026.
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How a 1932 Dam Drowned the Rapids and Turned the Dnipro into a Staircase
From Kyiv upstream to Kakhovka downstream, the Dnipro River was lined with six hydroelectric dams and reservoirs, one after another. The first dam, which started operating at Zaporizhzhia in 1932, submerged the river's rapids underwater. Drawing on encyclopedia entries and materials from the state hydropower company, this article sets out when and how large the six dams and reservoirs were built, the rapids that were lost, and the damage since 2022.
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Birch in March, Falling Leaves in November ── Ukrainian Months, Dates, and Numbers
Many Ukrainian month names come from nature and farm work — birch (March), sickle (August), falling leaves (November). This article draws on Ukrainian dictionaries, the 2019 orthography, and cabinet regulations to set out the origins of the twelve months and the days of the week, how dates are written and read in the day.month.year order, and how numbers combine with nouns.