Ukrainian Immigration To Chicago By Stephen Jones

Ukraine Smaller than Texas, it is the largest Eastern European country. The southeast has steppe regions with over 23,000 rivers. The Dnieper River is navigable for large ships. The Crimean Peninsula extends into the Black Sea. The “breadbasket of Europe.”

History Rich, dark soil and humid continental climate are perfect for farming. Early Slavic groups settled the area. Vikings moved in around AD 800 and established Kiev, the modern capital. They accepted Eastern Orthodox Christianity and built a prosperous civilization. This attracted invasions from Mongols, Poles, Lithuanians, and lastly the Russians.

Kiev

Modern Ukraine Joseph Stalin nationalized farms in the early 1930s, causing a famine that killed millions. The Nazi invasion in World War II killed millions more. Today, Ukraine has about 50 million people. 75% are ethnic Ukrainians; 22% are Russian. Most live in cities, practice the Eastern Orthodox faith, and speak Ukrainian.

Discussion: Why do people leave their home country to settle elsewhere?

Early Immigration The first wave arrived between They settled around Division, Racine, Orleans and Roosevelt Streets in west central Chicago. Modern home in Ukrainian Village

Early Immigration continued Others settled in the south side near Packingtown erecting a church soon thereafter. It featured the typical three barred cross common in Eastern Europe.

Modern Ukrainian Village

A Cultural Landmark St. Nicholas Cathedral was finished in It serves as a cultural center of modern Ukrainian Village. Ukrainians modeled it after St. Sophia’s Cathedral in Kiev.

St. Sophia’s Cathedral—Kiev

Twentieth Century Immigration Its completion marked the beginning of the second phase of Ukrainian immigration. Following World War I, Ukrainians with industrial skills began arriving in Chicago. They sought to escape the turmoil of Ukraine’s recent independence. In 1933, they participated in the Chicago centennial celebration and built a pavilion for that event.

Post World War II Persecution following the Second World War drove many other Ukrainians to leave their homeland. These immigrant were dedicated to ensuring Ukraine’s eventual independence from the Soviet Union. For the first time, large numbers of professionals and highly educated Ukrainians settled Chicago.

Religious Division In recent years, there has been friction between Ukrainian Catholics and Orthodox worshipers. They each have separate churches. Orthodox Christians attend St. Volodymyr Church.

Ukrainian Village Today The fall of Communism in Eastern Europe has spurred an influx in Ukrainian immigration throughout the United States and Chicago. Many of the new arrivals are entrepreneurs and have opened numerous ships in and out of Ukrainian Village. Statue at Ukrainian National Museum, Chicago

Works Cited pening/village.html pening/village.html Richard Boehm, and others, eds. Geography: The World and its People. New York: Glencoe McGraw- Hill, village-walking-distance-to-metra-wicker-park/ village-walking-distance-to-metra-wicker-park/ All photographs courtesy of Stephen Jones.