Questions tagged [ukrainian-language]
Questions about works of literature that were originally written in the Ukrainian language, regardless of where they were originally published.
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Were schoolteachers really paid substantially less than $45 per month in 1990s Ukraine?
Shortly after Tys graduated from university and started teaching in Carbide (by Andriy Lyubka), he'd periodically borrow money from his friend Icharus:
By that time, Icarus had become a businessman (...
3
votes
1
answer
51
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Why did Carbide consider one to two bottles of vodka a small amount?
Carbide by Andriy Lyubka
Tys came home trailing a wake of aromas that stung Marichka's eyes, but a demented smile adorning his face. That may account for why his wife thought he was still hammered. ...
2
votes
1
answer
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Why was the illegal tunnel in Carbide mostly used to smuggle illegal cigarettes?
Possibly related: What is "Galacian tobacco" and what is its significance?
Carbide by Andriy Lyubka starts with the following news item:
BRATISLAVA (Reuters) - A smuggling title the length ...
14
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3
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What is "Galacian tobacco" and what is its significance?
Chapter 7 of Sweet Darusya refers to "Galacian tobacco" being smuggled between Poland and Ukraine. What exactly was this, and what was the significance of it being specifically that kind of ...
8
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2
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What is the "unavoidably-raised ax of history over every person's head"?
Chapter 6 of Sweet Darusya referred to the "unavoidably-raised ax of history over every person's head". What does this phrase mean?
2
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0
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Why did Darusya kick Ivan out?
At one point, Ivan was dragged before a subset of the town council, who had him thrown in administrative lockup for 15 days on a variety of obviously ridiculous charges. After he got out, Maria ...
2
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0
answers
26
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Why did Ivan and Darusya travel part of the way to town by horse-drawn carts?
Sweet Darusya periodically refers to horse-drawn carts being in contemporary use. For example, in one particular scene in the book, cars, bicycles, and horse-drawn carts were all in use at the same ...
2
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1
answer
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Why was the doctor's "entire monthly pay" in his pocket?
At one point in Sweet Darusya, Ivan took Darusya to the regional clinic for her headaches. The book noted that the doctor there had his "entire monthly pay" in his pocket.
I'm a little ...
4
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1
answer
238
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Why did the police officer complain about Ivan not having a passport?
In Sweet Darusya, a police officer brings Ivan to a party Director on a laundry list of complaints, one of which was that he was living in the village without a proper passport. I'm a little confused ...
9
votes
1
answer
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What does it mean to take iron to a transfer station?
Chapter 4 of Sweet Darusya contains the following quote:
The children carry iron as if they were taking it to a transfer station.
I'm confused about what that actually means. What is a "...
2
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2
answers
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Why did Maria tell her friends that a negative event was caused by the fact that she "didn't confess this year"?
In chapter 3 of Sweet Darusya, Maria mentioned told one of her friends "...and it's all from the fact, dear Varvara, that you didn't confess this year." Why did she say this? Was she ...
3
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1
answer
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Why did Maria rub badger fat on Darusya's head?
In chapter 2 of Sweet Darusya, Maria rubbed badger fat on Darusya's head and put a cabbage leaf on top of that in an apparent effort to help with her headaches. Why did she do that?
5
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1
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58
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Was "sweet" a common euphemism for "foolish"?
In Sweet Darusya, many of the townspeople believed Darusya to be "foolish." She was believed to be eccentric in her behavior, unaware of her surroundings, and unable to speak (which Darusya ...
2
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0
answers
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What is Andrey Kurkov's view of writing in Russian vs. Ukrainian?
Follow-up to: Why does Andrey Kurkov write in Russian?
In an interview with the New York Times, Andrey Kurkov defended the fact that he published novels in Russian and stated that it's reductionist to ...
2
votes
1
answer
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Why does the river refer to itself in the plural?
The Golden Hum by Pavlo Tychyna includes the following:
:we'll grow tall! said the poplars.
:we'll burst into song! said the flowers.
:we'll overflow: said Old Man Dnipro.
The poplars, flowers, and ...
2
votes
1
answer
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Why is "The choir of bell-flowers" referred to as "a fragment of a long poem" in the subtitle?
The Choir of Bell-Flowers by Pavlo Tychyna in The Complete Early Poetry Collection has the subtitle "A fragment of a long poem". What does this mean? Was that added by the translator or by ...
0
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1
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Why do some lines in Stanza 2 of "Pastel" start with a colon?
from Pastel by Pavlo Tychyna:
II
The iron day
Drank up some good wine
Blossom, meadows! -
:I've been walking-for a day-
Graze, herds!-
:to see my love- for a day-
Ears of grain like cradles sway!-
:...
1
vote
0
answers
23
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Why do willows go to the Cathedral?
Cathedral by Pavlo Tychyna starts as follows:
Willows to one side,
Beggars to the other.
the willows bend and bend and bend.
The beggars stoop over.
Why is the Cathedral attended by those two groups ...
1
vote
1
answer
118
views
What is swamp milk?
Pavlo Tychyna's poem Enharmonies starts as follows:
Above the swamp milk is spun...
A black raven lost in thought
A grey raven is musing
It pecked out eyes. God knows whose.
I'm confused by this, ...
1
vote
0
answers
40
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Why did the sacrifice make the trees free?
The poem The poplars in the fallow fields are free starts as follows:
The poplars in the fallow fields are free
(Someone had brought a sacrifice at Sundown)
What is this referring to? Who was the ...
2
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0
answers
44
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Why was the rye angry about being called "golden"?
From the poem "Somewhere Spring Approached" by Pavlo Tychnya:
The rye ripened. I told her: "You're Golden!"
Angrily her eyebrows splintered.
She turned away. And left.
And just ...
1
vote
0
answers
23
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Why does "Like Harps, Like Harps" end with "Lament..."?
The poem Like Harps, Like Harps (from Pavlo Tychyna: The Complete Early Poetry Collection) by Pavlo Tychnya is as follows:
Like harps, like harps -
the golden groves resounded
Selfstrumming:
spring ...
1
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0
answers
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Why does "Your Ad Could Go Here" state that the Orange Revolution lasted for three weeks?
The Orange Revolution protests were called for on November 21, 2004 in response to election fraud in their 2004 Presidential election. Eventually, the Supreme Court ordered a re-vote on December 26, ...
0
votes
0
answers
34
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Is "An Album for Gustav" referring to the author's language skills?
In An Album for Gustav, Oksana Zabuzhko tals
When people ask me this question and I try to answer, every time I feel like I come up against a solid wall inside myself, a profound lack of desire to ...
1
vote
1
answer
45
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Was Milena's husband evading taxes?
At one point in I, Milena, Milena's husband (who is a photographer) complained that someone had swindled him. When Milena suggested taking them to court, he said
What court, are you kidding? On what ...
7
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1
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Why are Santa Barbara, Denver, and Dallas held up as examples of the glamorous high life?
From I, Milena in Your Ad Could Go Here,
Did they (the women [who appeared on Milena's show], not the moths - although who could say with confidence what a moth is thinking?) Perhaps dream that by ...
5
votes
1
answer
100
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What is an Akhmatovian nose?
I, Milena by Oksana Zabuzhko (in Your Ad Could Go Here) contains the following quote:
If anyone has forgotten, let me remind you: Milena talked to jilted women. There were old ones among them and ...
7
votes
1
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1k
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Was a pumpkin a symbol of rejection of a suitor?
From The Tale of the Guelder Rose Flute in Your Ad Could Go Here:
Hannusia honestly did not feel she was being too choosy with the lads - she always refused the matchmakers, who, during the first ...
1
vote
1
answer
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Did Effie receive insulin shock therapy?
At the school reunion in Girls, one former classmate recounted having seen Effie:
Last summer, Marinka says, by accident, on the street, "I didn't recognize her." She says that you, Effie, ...
2
votes
1
answer
111
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When did the Soviet government start admitting that people were killed in Afghanistan?
Early on in the Soviet war in Afghanistan, the Soviet government went to great lengths to cover up the exact nature of the war, telling everyone that the troops were planting trees, building bridges, ...
1
vote
0
answers
35
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Was pigskin leather easier to acquire in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic than cattle leather?
In Girls (part of Your Ad Could Go Here), Darka's mother had the "little joy" of getting a leather coat:
Everything that followed in her life was fine with her: marriage, poverty, children, ...
7
votes
1
answer
319
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What is a "more bankable nationality"?
The short story Girls by Oksana Zabuzhko (in Your Ad Could Go Here) features Darka meeting a girl of apparently high social status:
Rivka... smelled of homemade vanilla cookies, vacations at a spa in ...
2
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0
answers
41
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Do history majors at Ukrainian universities typically have to do archaeological field work?
In Voroshilovgrad, when Herman and Ernst met at the airport at the first time, they had the following discussion:
"... What'd you major in?"
"History."
At this, his expression ...
1
vote
1
answer
56
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Was there a book written about jazz in the Donetsk region?
In Voroshilovgrad, the Presbyter gave Herman a book called The Development and Decline of Jazz in the Donetsk Region. Olga expressed some degree of surprise that they played jazz there at all, and ...
1
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1
answer
40
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Is there an abandoned Soviet airport near Luhansk?
In Voroshilovgrad, Ernst Thalmann lives at an abandoned Soviet airport that he's trying to resurrect. I'm a little unclear about the exact location of this in the book, but I would assume that it's ...
2
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1
answer
53
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What is the Ukrainian equivalent of a community college?
At one point in Voroshilovgrad, Injured and Herman go from the old airport to what's referred to in the books as the community college dorms.
I'm slightly confused by this translation, since I don't ...
3
votes
0
answers
36
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Is there actually a "railroad to nowhere" on the border between Ukraine and Russia?
In Voroshilovgrad, Herman had the following discussion with some smugglers about some rail on the border of Ukraine and Russia:
"There's a railroad here?" I asked.
"Well, yeah," ...
0
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0
answers
53
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How do you move a factory by rail?
In Voroshilovgrad, Herman meets someone who owns his own train. He mentioned that there were certain tracks that were built in case there was a war, so that they could move factories east:
"Do ...
3
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0
answers
38
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Why does the translator's introduction to "The Complete Kobzar" claim that Ukraine has the sixth-highest per capita consumption of alcohol?
The translator's introduction to The Complete Kobzar briefly describes some social problems in Ukraine; among other things, the translator claims that:
According to the World Health Organization, ...
4
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1
answer
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Why did the priest arrive in an ambulance?
In Voroshilovgrad, Herman and a few of his friends attended a funeral. At one point, a priest evidently arrived in an ambulance:
An ambulance rolled up to the building a bit later. A young man hopped ...
8
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Why would a Ukrainian police officer speak broken Ukrainian?
From Stalking the Atomic City,
The police might be lying in wait, ready to ambush you, or they might not. I might notice the glow of a cigarette or the silhouette of their car. I might hear them ...
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What was this dubious medical facility by the salt lakes?
When Herman and Olga were trying to straighten out the paperwork for the gas station, they realized they need to track down a director of an oil depot for some help with some paperwork. However, they ...
1
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0
answers
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How is this an imitation of Communist Party convention speeches?
Chapter 5 of Stalking the Atomic City contains the following quote:
Then an hour of walking to the highway and another hour to Tamil Town Hall - a furnished building with a couch, a stove, a couple ...
3
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1
answer
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Can you actually be arrested for public smoking in Ukraine, like this passage implies?
Chapter 5 of Stalking the Atomic City contains the following quote:
I'm standing at the bus station, in the corner, next to a trash can. That way, the patrol officers won't notice me and arrest me ...
4
votes
1
answer
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Why does "Stalking the Atomic City" use English units?
The following quote appears in chapter 4 of Stalking the Atomic City:
Once, it was ninety-five degrees Fahrenheit, and my backpack weighed twenty-five pounds, on top of that.
Why does the book use ...
3
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1
answer
45
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Is Markiyan Kamysh at risk of radiation-related illness?
In Stalking the Atomic City (which was published in English yesterday), Markiyan Kamysh reports visiting the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone multiple times per year starting 2010, often for a week at a time ...
2
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0
answers
52
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How did Herman and Ernst know how many Tiger tanks were produced?
The following dialog occurred in Voroshilovgrada:
"Herman, you're a history buff, right?"
"Sure."
"Then you probably know how many Tigers were produced in the Reich?"
&...
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0
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Why did Herman claim that there's no racism in Africa?
"Herman," he said. "What would you do if you came into a lot of money? Like a million..."
...
"I'd buy a house... in Africa."
"What would you want to do with a house ...
4
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1
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Why did Injured tell the other players to focus on trapping the ball cleanly?
In Voroshilovgrad, when Herman and his team were about to play soccer against the "gas guys", Injured urged his teammates to focus on trapping the ball cleanly:
"All right, guys," ...
1
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0
answers
33
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Why did the Accountant's poor vision preclude him from playing soccer?
In Voroshilovgrad, when Herman and his friends played soccer against the "gas guys", the gas guys has 12 players, including their accountant (who they didn't let play due to his poor vision):...