As a youngster in school, it was easier to answer questions about my name, by saying that it was Russian, because kids didn’t know where or what “Ukraine” was. When my grandmother found out that I had been saying that, she became furious! “You are NOT Russian!! You are Ukrainian!! Never say that again!!” Then she would storm off mutterin…
As a youngster in school, it was easier to answer questions about my name, by saying that it was Russian, because kids didn’t know where or what “Ukraine” was. When my grandmother found out that I had been saying that, she became furious! “You are NOT Russian!! You are Ukrainian!! Never say that again!!” Then she would storm off muttering obscenities in Ukrainian. I soon learned my lesson through my lessons.
Thanks for sharing that! I recently had family interaction that brought out the fact that a dearly loved uncle was "half Russian and half Ukrainian," reflecting the distinction going back to American immigrants well before turn of 19th-20th C.
As a youngster in school, it was easier to answer questions about my name, by saying that it was Russian, because kids didn’t know where or what “Ukraine” was. When my grandmother found out that I had been saying that, she became furious! “You are NOT Russian!! You are Ukrainian!! Never say that again!!” Then she would storm off muttering obscenities in Ukrainian. I soon learned my lesson through my lessons.
Thanks for sharing that! I recently had family interaction that brought out the fact that a dearly loved uncle was "half Russian and half Ukrainian," reflecting the distinction going back to American immigrants well before turn of 19th-20th C.