Chanta76
A classical American question.
Go give you a good example: imagine that you are a Chinese person and you go from England to Ireland. You will probably say that these two countries are the same because the differences will be too fine for your eyes. However, an Englishman will find Ireland to be totally different. It's kind of similar with Russia vs. Ukraine. Local people see the difference, the outsiders- not so much.
In the East of Ukraine, it does look similar to Russia to an uninitiated eye. Except that signs are half in Ukrainian. If you know Russian, you could guess some of it as it's in Cyrillic. The cities looks not different from cities in S. Russia. Once in the countryside though, two things spring to the eye immediately- the houses are made from clay and painted white. The roofs are thatched.
This is a Ukrainian house:
In Russia, houses are mostly wooden.
The second thing is the churches. Russian churches have the classic onion domes while Ukrainian ones are like this:
These two things immediately tell you that you are in Ukraine and not Russia.
The rest of differences are cultural:
Ukraine has its own language although in the East, Russian is widely used for daily communication. However, Russian does not have an official status. All documents must be in Ukrainian. Even if they speak Russian, it's still accented the Ukrainian way.
To give you a good analogy, an Irishman and a Scotsman speak English in daily lives, but it's not the same English spoken by an Englishman. If a Russian arrives in Ukraine, he/she is immediately identified by the accent and mannerism. The same way as an Englishman would be easily identified by the same characteristics in the US.
Then of course, traditional clothes are different, but most people use modern clothes. The food is different, too. There are many foods that the Russians would never eat. Like pork fat-called
salo. To Ukrainians it's as essential as
kimchi is to the Koreans.
Racial differences:
The Russians are of Finno-Ugric stock mostly. They are not originally Slavic. They have smaller heads and are lankier. Ukrainians have bigger heads and are stockier and shorter. Ukrainian faces are rounder and have a bit of Turkish in them and Scandinavian. The Russians are Finns mixed with Slavs.
Local people can generally tell if a person is Ukrainian or Russian just by looking at them. The same way as say, Indians, Bangladeshis, Pakistanis and Sri Lankans can tell each other apart - while others cannot.
Musical instruments and music are different. Russian music does not have too many minor tones. Ukrainian music has more minor notes and uses F-cords a lot.
The most important distinction is the national character.
Russians are very communal, they work and think in collectives and hate being alone. They are romantic and philosophical. They also have a dark side and often enjoy darkness and misery. Alcohol is a big problem. Men rule, women obey. Very patriarchal. Russians also like rules and a strong government. On an individual level, they are good and honest friends who are very sincere and personal. They will pour their soul to you and listen to your problems with a full heart. They will take a shirt off their back and give it to a friend. Generosity is highly valued. Friendships are instant.
They, as Americans have a messianic complex- they are true Christians- the Third Rome and are there to protect and spread Orthodoxy and their culture. They have been invaders and conquerors.
Names are also a dead giveaway. Again, think England, Ireland, Scotland. An Englishman is a John Smith or George Brown. An Irisman is a Patric O'Neil and a Scotsman is Ian MacGregor or something of the sorts. Same here.
Russian names mostly end in ' in or 'ov. Names ending is ski are only for aristocracy and it's gone by now. Contrary to the American misconception, a ski is mostly Polish and Macedonian, not Russian. A typical Russian name would be Ivan Ivanov. Or Sergei Tomin.
Ukrainians are quiet, individualistic and practical. They can't work well in groups, they don't talk much and are not into philosophizing. The country has no messianic complex- they don't attack anyone or try to conquer. The only thing they want is material goods and a good future for the family. They want to be left alone for the most part.
Women rule the family, and the men obey. It is a matriarchal society, and guys treat women humbly. Alcohol is used with food, not as a way to drown sorrows. There is no darkness about them. They don't like rules or a strong government. As friends, Ukrainians are not very faithful, and cheating and betrayal are frequent. There's a lot of corruption and dishonesty, slyness and underhandedness. It's hard to get to know people in Ukraine or make friends there. Even for Ukrainians. People do not take up to strangers easily.
In the West of Ukraine, it is Catholic and the people act, well, Catholic. No Russian acts Catholic. There is no such thing as a Catholic Russian ever anywhere. The cities in the West of Ukraine look like Prague or Warsaw. The clothes are also similar to Hungary and the Czech republic.
Ukrainian names end in ' enko, 'uk and ak ( in the West) Simonenko, Schevchuk, Vyluchak. Some names end in 'ski but mostly in the south. A typical name would be Orest Belenko.
Have a look at this city. This is Lviv in the west of Ukraine. Does it look like Russia to you?
The people in the West of Ukraine have narrow, smaller faces and look like Austrians if it means anything. When they speak Russian, it sounds like Polish people are speaking.
This is basically it.
