Elements of Ukrainian identity

Three years of resistance, pain and loss. Eleven years of war on the territory of Ukraine. Years of indomitability and struggle for the existence of the Ukrainian people. Today, in the conditions of a war of annihilation, it is more timely than ever to talk about national identity.
On February 26, 2025, the advisors of the academic groups of the Faculty of Finance and Business Management considered the elements of Ukrainian identity.
In an informative and educational report, Associate Professor of the Department of Financial Management Oksana Zakhidna noted that the number of our citizens who identify themselves as Ukrainians is constantly changing. According to the World Values ​​Survey, in 2011, about 60% of Ukrainians were proud of their citizenship, in 2020 – about 80%, and in August 2022 – over 90% (this is the highest indicator for the entire time of sociological monitoring conducted during the independence of Ukraine). At the same time, the number of Ukrainians who began to communicate in Ukrainian and, interestingly, began to consider it their native language is increasing. In 2012, 66% called Ukrainian their native language and 32% – Russian. In 2020, 77% consider Ukrainian their native language and 22% – Russian. Language is a key sign of Ukrainianness.
Associate Professor of the Department of Financial Management Lyubov Petyk, in her report “Code of the Nation”, introduced the audience to the history of the Ukrainian embroidered shirt. In ancient times, thanks to an embroidered shirt, it was possible to identify a person’s region, social status and family situation. In the regional aspect, embroidery served as a genetic code of your land, and for people it was a talisman that protected it and had symbolic meaning. At the beginning of the 20th century, when the Ukrainian nation began to fight for its political rights, the embroidered shirt began to be used as patriotic and cult clothing, a symbol of Ukrainian identity. This is a declaration: we are not just residents of some territory, we are Ukrainians! In conclusion, the advisors noted that Ukrainian identity is very diverse. For each of us, ethnic culture (folklore, language, customs and traditions), religion, history and awareness of our place in it are important. By multiplying it, we will be able not only to defeat the enemy, but also to build our state for contemporaries and for future generations.