A friend of Ukrainian ancestry sent me this song, which is unlabeled but authentic Ukrainian music.

I guess that makes it the mystery tune of the day. If I am lucky, some knowledgable blogger will come to my aid once again, and tell me what it is.

Listening to it, I was intrigued by the deliberate harmonic dissonances, and I attempted to research Ukrainian music, but found very little information, either on the Internet or in my home library.

Ukrainrian history, however, is incredibly rich. I had heard about the ancient Sythians (the legendary Amazon warriors came from the same area too), but I hadn't known that the oldest human house yet discovered was in the Ukraine. This site discusses that, and much more.

Something else I had not known about was that the Viking ancestry of the Varangians (founders of Kiev Rus) is disputed by certain Ukrainian nationalists, who understandably resent Russian domination, and do not wish to promote any theory that advances it. I think the Scandinavian origin of the Varangians is a settled matter for most historians, though. There are a number of web pages, and this one gives a pretty fair summary. However, for a contrary view, you can read this. Much as I favor the evidence for a Scandinavian origin of the Kiev Rus, I am fascinated by historical debates. A bit like blogging; people are kept honest.

Forgive my ignorance, but I also learned a few things about the religious split in the Ukraine, which has persisted to this day. While Ukrainian Christians have long tilted heavily towards Eastern Orthodoxy, in 1596 Orthodox Christians and their clergy were allowed to join the Roman Catholic Church, yet retain their Orthodox rites. They are called "Uniates" or "Greek Catholics." Among other things, beards and marriage have long been (and continue to be -- except in the United States in the 19th Century) allowed for the clergy. For a fascinating discussion of the latter, including a marvelous account of Father Alexis Toth, a Greek Catholic priest whose struggle with intolerant American Catholic bishops made real trouble in the 19th Century, read this. The hounding of Father Toth caused him to defect to Orthodoxy -- and take a number of American followers with him.

Under Communism the Greek Catholic Church was hunted nearly to extinction, with much of its properties confiscated and handed over to the Orthodox Church. While it may seem odd that Communists would actually favor one church over another, the Orthodox Church was considered the lesser of the evils because it was traditionally Russian (as opposed to being controlled in the West) -- and Russian nationalism had a way of raising its ugly head regularly.

It never ceases to amaze me how complicated these religious disputes can get. Most of us are familiar with Northern Ireland, but reading about details like this was a real eye-opener.

Then there is the fate of Ukrainian Jews. As if it wasn't bad enough that they were persecuted for centuries, then almost completely exterminated by the Nazis, the few remaining Ukrainian Jews face a new blitzkrieg -- this time by well-financed American fundamentalists fond of swooping down on vulnerable, religiously-naive Jews in former Iron Curtain countries (where Judaism was suppressed) then tricking them into thinking that "Messianic Judaism" (aka "Jews for Jesus") is indeed true Judaism. I was glad to see that the Greek Catholic Church was joined by other Christian and Jewish churches and organizations in opposing this cruel form of snake-oil fraud. (If any of you are as offended as I was by these heavy-handed tactics, here are a couple of links.)

I have, of course, barely scratched the surface of Ukrainian history, steeped as it is in its own classical values. Yet independent, modern Ukraine is just celebrating its twelfth anniversary.

Pretty young for such an old place!