All articles
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у Львові and в Одесі: Ukrainian’s у/в and і/й
In Ukrainian, the preposition for "in/at" is у in у Львові but в in в Одесі. This is a rule of "euphony" that avoids runs of consonants or vowels, and the same applies to і/й ("and") and з/із/зі/зо. This article tables the rules in §23-25 of the orthography that became the state-language standard in 2026, and traces what changed from the 1993 and 2019 editions.
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Ukraine’s Last Census Was in 2001: The Plan Moved Five Times, Then Was Cancelled
The last time a census was held in Ukraine was December 5, 2001. Under Cabinet decisions, the planned date for the next one moved from 2011 to 2012, 2013, 2016, 2020, and 2023, and in October 2023 the plan itself was cancelled. This article lays out a timeline of censuses since 1897 and the text of the law providing that none will be held while martial law is in force.
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Ukraine’s Highest Peak Hoverla: 2,061 m on the Maps, 2,056 m by Satellite Survey
Hoverla, Ukraine's highest mountain, is given as 2,061 m in encyclopedias and reserve guides. But Polish researchers who measured the summit by satellite positioning in 2018 published a figure of 2,056.0 m (±0.5 m), and maps going back to the 19th century had given values from 2,050.7 to 2,058.0 m. This article covers the mountain's location, the two protected areas that meet at its summit, and how its name is spelled.
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The Czechs Who Came to Volhynia: From 65,000 to 5,917
After serfdom was abolished in the Russian Empire in the second half of the 19th century, Czech farmers built villages in Volhynia, in northwestern Ukraine. From about 65,000 Ukrainian Czechs at the start of the 20th century, the 2001 census counted 5,917. This article traces the migration and the shifting population figures, and the departures of 1947 and the 1990s, drawing on two encyclopedias and Czech statistical and parliamentary records.
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The Name Day That Once Outranked the Birthday: Saint Mykola’s Day Moves to December 6
Ukraine's "name day" (imenyny, or "angel's day") is the feast day of the saint your name comes from. An encyclopedia states it was once held to matter more than a birthday. In September 2023 two major churches switched to a new calendar, and on the church calendar, name days moved 13 days earlier as well. This article covers naming customs, baptismal names versus everyday names, and how the dates changed.
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Born in 1918 Under a Hetman’s Law: Ukraine’s Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine began with a law signed on November 14, 1918, by Hetman Pavlo Skoropadskyi. Thirteen days later, at its first general meeting, the geologist Volodymyr Vernadsky was elected president. The Academy's name has changed four times, and as of March 2026 it encompasses 159 research institutions. This article lays out how the founding date is counted, a timeline of names and presidents, and staff numbers.
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Masked Youths Go House to House on the Eve of Saint Melania’s Day: Ukraine’s “Malanka”
"Malanka" is a Ukrainian folk custom in which young people put on costumes and go from house to house on the eve of the new year, the evening of Saint Melania's Day. Encyclopedias describe a young man dressed as the female Malanka, and a goat character, visiting houses, playing pranks, and finishing with carols. Ukraine's national inventory of intangible cultural heritage lists three entries — the Bukovyna Malanka, the Malanka of the village of Bileluia, and a nationwide "Bountiful Evening" tradition. This article also explains why the date splits between December 31 and January 13.
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Ninety Seconds of a Kharkiv Procession, September 1896: The Photographer Fedetsky
On September 30, 1896, Kharkiv photographer Alfred Fedetsky filmed a religious icon procession moving through the city, on about a minute and a half of film. On December 2 he screened his own footage at the opera house. This article traces just over a year in which a photographer already known for his portraits took up filmmaking, drawing on encyclopedias and a research monograph, and looks at what different claims of "the first film in Ukraine" actually count.
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The Only Source of Domestic Uranium Ore: The State Combine at Zhovti Vody
The state enterprise Eastern Mining and Processing Combine (SkhidHZK), headquartered in Zhovti Vody, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, is Ukraine's only company that mines uranium ore and produces natural-uranium concentrate. This article traces its story from its 1951 founding, through three mines and the route to Canada where the ore becomes reactor fuel, to the 2026 seizure of its accounts and its conversion into a joint-stock company.
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From 33 Student Films to a Kyiv Institution: The Molodist Film Festival
Kyiv's international film festival Molodist began in 1970 as a screening of 33 student films from a theater school's film department over two days. It was registered as an international film festival with the International Federation of Film Producers Associations (FIAPF) in 1993, and held its 54th edition in autumn 2025. Drawing on the organizers and encyclopedias, this article traces how it began, when it became "international," and its record from the 2020 postponement to the December 2022 edition.