Tuesday, April 25, 2017

Living in Ukraine: An isolated backwater?


In this video Michael reads what he thinks is an excellent passage from Robert Kaplan's book, "In Europe's Shadow." It's excellent because it perfectly sums up how we feel about life in Ukraine.

Western Ukraine shares a border with many countries: Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, and Moldova. In a way, this area is a crossroads for many different countries and cultures, and we share a common history with many people just across the border. Yet at the same time, the border feels like a hard barrier. Travel back and forth can be difficult, for example. It also creates a separation between Ukrainians and their neighbors, and this, in turn, fuels many negative stereotypes about our country.

Michael discusses how Ukrainian life and culture is both connected to, yet separate from the rest of Europe.

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