Articles from "Ukrainian Week", August 14–20, 1933

Published during the World’s Fair “Century of Progress” in Chicago

Mother Ukraine — What Do You Know About the Ukraine?

Ukraine is described as “the Mother Country of all people” from which Greeks, Romans, Celts, and Germans originated. The article locates the Indo-European homeland “somewhere in the north-western corner of Ukraine.”

Detailed ethnographic boundaries are provided, stretching from the Danube Delta through Bessarabia, the Carpathians, Galicia, and eastward to the Don River and Caucasus region. The text notes Ukraine is currently divided among Poland and Russia despite ethnic unity.

Historical context emphasizes Ukrainian agricultural traditions and Cossack culture, describing Cossacks as “Free Man, the Freest Man in the World.” The article traces Ukrainian influence on Russian empire-building and European civilization.

Approximately one million Ukrainians are noted as living peacefully in America, with another half-million in Western Canada, primarily farming communities valuing “Personal independence.”

Cultural contributions highlighted include embroidery designs spanning thousands of years, sculptor Alexander Archipenko’s work, and composers including Tchaikovsky and Stravinsky described as Ukrainian-influenced.

Ukrainian Folk Culture

This section describes Ukrainian folklore as revealing “cultural influences of old Arian tribes” and pre-historic Slavonic races. The article identifies fifty million Ukrainians in southeastern Europe with distinct language and high culture.

Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko is cited characterizing Ukraine as “Our Land, but not belonging to us.”

The Ukrainian Folk Ballet and creator Vasile Avramenko receive extensive coverage. Born near Kyiv, Avramenko organized dance schools across Poland, Czechoslovakia, Canada, and the United States.

Ukrainian Chorus of Chicago

The forty-voice chorus, organized five years previously under director George Benetzky, won multiple prizes at the 1930–1931 and 1932 Chicagoland Music Festivals.

Published in Ukrainian Week, August 1933