|
Recommended because BRAMA -- Gateway Ukraine is a comprehensive search engine with categorized links to sources related to Ukraine and Ukrainians. Start by simply scrolling down the page and getting a sense of all the different hyperlinked categories and subcategories that are listed here. You are bound to find something of interest. Be aware of the fact that this site is available in Ukrainian and English. A very valuable source of information on Ukraine. |
|
Recommended because the objective of this lesson plan is to analyze and predict the effects of the Chernobyl accident on the people and geography of Ukraine. It was developed by Columbia University's teacher outreach program. Be aware of the fact that this site is low-tech without any bells or whistles, but it is well-organized. Produced by the East Central European Center, Columbia University. |
|
Recommended because this lesson (designed for grades 6-8)focuses on the most spectacular nuclear accident in history--the meltdown of the Chernobyl nuclear reactor in the USSR in 1986. Students should recognize that changes to the environment in one place can often affect other, distant places. To introduce and reinforce this concept, students will read and analyze several articles describing consequences of the 1986 explosion and fire at a nuclear power plant in Chornobyl, Ukraine, a country which at that time was part of the Soviet Union. Students will then create a map showing which countries were affected by this disaster and how they were affected. Produced by the National Geographic Society. Be aware of the fact that this site has several links to Chornobyl related websites in addition to the online articles. |
|
Recommended because of its comprehensive reporting of news from and about Ukraine. Despite the threat that freedom of the press is under due to the dictatorial policies of Ukrainian President Kuchma, the Kiev Post provides fairly objective news coverage. Be aware of the fact that you must register to read articles on this website. Unfortunately, even after completing the free registration process, some articles will be off limits to all but paid subscribers. |
|
Recommended because Columbia University's East European Studies Center has developed four separate lesson plans (for grades 9-12) relating to Ukraine: Chernobyl and its effects; Current political, economic and social events; Forced Famine in Ukraine; Presidential elections of Ukraine. The lesson plans are centered around Internet-based materials that the students read, and then they respond to questions posed in the lesson plans. Be aware of the fact that although they are not flashy, these lesson plans are well-thought out and are based on some of the very most important issues facing Ukrainians today. |
| Back to Top |
|
Recommended because this is a good website for general information about Ukraine. Includes sections on history, culture, environment, a good map, and a "slide show" of Ukrainian scenes. Start by going to the culture section to get a good overview of how Ukrainians differ from Russians. |
|
Recommended because this is a third grade level lesson plan which uses a short story and an Internet website to teach children both how to make Pysanky, or decorated Ukrainian Easter eggs, and to understand their importance in Ukrainian culture. |
Borderland : A Journey Through the History of Ukraine (2000)
Author:
Anna Reid, Westview Press
|
|
Recommended because this book is not just a history of Ukraine, it is also about Ukraine today--its politics, economy, culture, and how its history has shaped all of them. Former Kiev correspondent for The Economist Anna Reid has produced an engaging and useful introduction to the very complex nation of Ukraine. Available through Amazon.com for $11.90. |
|
Recommended because for centuries, different groups have vied for the valuable, fertile land of Ukraine. Known as the "breadbasket" of Europe, the country supplies much of the region with grain and other agricultural products. Once part of the Soviet Union, the Ukraine is a newly independent country. This new independence has come with consequences. In this issue of Faces, the reader meets several Ukrainians who describe their homeland in terms of music, culture, and everyday living. Also, one can explore the capital city of Kiev and the Crimea. Finally the reader finds out about the Ukrainian tradition of painted Easter eggs called pysanky and learns how to try the activity for himself. Faces Magazine is published by Cobblestone Publishing. Be aware of the fact that A teacher's guide is available for this issue, but that the issue itself is only available to paid subscribers of Cobblestoneonline.net. |
Forever Flowing (1997)
Author:
Vasily Grossman, Northwestern University Press
|
|
Recommended because although this is a novel, it is a true to life account of the sufferings of the Soviet people in the 1930s under Joseph Stalin's dictatorship. It includes the story of the artificial famine in the Ukraine (chapter 14), which occurred in 1932-1933. This is perhaps the best account of the famine because it describes the famine in very human terms by showing its effects on the people of one Ukrainian village. Grossman's account produces the same deeply moving effect on readers as Speilberg's "Schindler's List" achieved with movie-goers. Available used through Amazon.com for $14.70. |
| Back to Top |
Ukraine (1998)
Author:
Vladimir Bassis, from the "Festivals of the World" series. Gareth Stevens Publishing
|
|
Recommended because this book (designed for grades 5-9) provides interesting information and colorful photographs on Ukrainian festivals and traditions. Students will enjoy the section on making crowns from flowers, decorating eggs, and preparing a tasty strawberry kysil. However, because of its emphasis on religious festivals, the reader may be misled into thinking that all Ukrainians are Orthodox Christians. One should bear in mind that Ukraine also contains sizable Uniate (Greek Catholic), Jewish, and Muslim (Crimean Tatar) populations. Reviewed by and available from the University of Illinois' Russian and East European Center. |
|
Recommended because although it is somewhat dated now, this video is still a high-quality documentary investigating the adverse health effects of history's worst nuclear power plant accident three years after it occurred on April 26, 1986 in Chernobyl, Ukraine, USSR. Also shown is footage of the disaster itself. Produced by NOVA and PBS (60 minutes), may be borrowed from the Ohio State University Center for Slavic and East European Studies, apparently out of print. |
Carpathian Journey (1997)
|
|
Recommended because it permits you to travel through the most picturesque part of Ukraine, the famous Carpathian mountains and surrounding countryside, towns, and villages and to come in contact with the people and animals that inhabit them. View the cities of Ivano Frankivsk and Kolomyya, the gateways to the Carpathian Mountains, Uzhhorod, Mukachiv, Yaremcha, Kosiv, Verkhovyna and Vyzhnytsia. Visit the colorful Kosiv Hutzul Arts and Crafts and Animal Bazaar. Observe the customs and traditions of the Hutzul people, their architecture and ancient way of life and take part in a typical Hutzul wedding (60 minutes). Available for free loan from the Ohio State University Center for Slavic and East European Studies (call 614-292-8770 or order it by e-mail), or may be purchased from Yevshan for $25. |
|
Recommended because this is an historically accurate reenactment of 1932-1933 famine in the Ukraine from the Ukrainian anti-Soviet perspective which views the famine as a deliberate policy of genocide directed against the Ukrainian people. Estimates of the number of Ukrainians who starved to death at this time range from five to ten million people. Produced at the Dovzhenko Film Studio, Kyiv, Ukraine (95 minutes). In Ukrainian with English subtitles. Available for free loan from the Ohio State University Center for Slavic and East European Studies (call 614-292-8770 or order it by e-mail), but apparently out of print. |
Harvest of Despair (1984)
|
|
Recommended because this is a documentary about the Ukrainian "terror famine" of 1932-33 which caused the deaths of perhaps seven million or more people. Using interviews with survivors and as well as scholars, in addition to rare photographic evidence, the film argues that the famine was deliberately created by the Soviet Government as part of Stalin's decade-long effort to destroy the Ukrainian peasantry, which resisted forced collectivization of its farmland (black & white, 55 minutes). In English. Available for free loan from the Ohio State University Center for Slavic and East European Studies (call 614-292-8770 or order it by e-mail), or may be purchased from Facets Multimedia for $40. |
|
Recommended because it reveals secrets of the underground monastery, the great religious and cultural center of Kyyiv. In Ukrainian with English subtitles. Available for free loan from the Ohio State University Center for Slavic and East European Studies (call 614-292-8770 or order it by e-mail), but apparently out of print. |
|
Recommended because of its performances by the Kiev Bandura Ensemble as well as by the Kiev Kalyna Song and Dance Ensemble (75 minutes.) In Ukrainian. Available for free loan from the Ohio State University Center for Slavic and East European Studies (call 614-292-8770 or order it by e-mail), but apparently out of print. |
Pysanka: A Story of the Ukrainian Easter Egg
|
|
Recommended because it explains the importance of Easter eggs in Ukrainian folklore as well as demonstrates how the eggs are crafted (10 minutes). In English. Available for free loan from the Ohio State University Center for Slavic and East European Studies (call 614-292-8770 or order it by e-mail), but apparently out of print. |
Ukraine: Ancient Crossroads, Modern Dreams (1993)
|
Ukraine: The Independent Land (1993)
|
|
Recommended because this is a documentary on the history of Ukraine from earliest times to the present. Produced in Kiev (47 minutes). In English. Available for free loan from the Ohio State University Center for Slavic and East European Studies (call 614-292-8770 or order it by e-mail), but apparently out of print. |
Ukraine: Third Journey to Independence (1992)
|
|
Recommended because this is a documentary of the thousand year history of Ukraine, leading up to the country's independence in 1991. Opens with an excerpt from President Bush's notorious speech to the Ukrainian parliament in 1991 where he urged Ukrainians to remain part of the Soviet Union. Produced in the US by ethnic Ukrainians (62 minutes). In English. Available for free loan from the Ohio State University Center for Slavic and East European Studies (call 614-292-8770 or order it by e-mail), but apparently out of print. |
|
Recommended because this video (in English) permits you to travel on a Ukrainian journey to a land of some 53 million citizens, boundless steppes, fields, forests, and magnificent and ancient cities. Meet the people, view the architecture, experience the sights and sounds of the modern and the ancient. Take in the sights of Kiev and journey to the Carpathian Mountains and to historic Crimea. Other cities include Uzhorod, Mukacheve, Lviv, Berestechko, Rivne, Pochayiv, Ternopil, Buchach, Ivano-Frankivsk, Yaremcha, Kociw, Kolomya, Chernivtsi, Kamynets-Podilsk, Vinnitsya, Odessa, Yalta, and Kiev (57 minutes). Be aware of the fact that this video is available for free loan from the Ohio State University Center for Slavic and East European Studies (call 614-292-8770 or order it by e-mail), or may be purchased from Yevshan for $25. |
Last updated: 10 February 2007
|
