The Role of Ukrainians in Russian Society

A lot of Ukrainians joke, knowing Russian is both a curse and a blessing because you know more than the typical Westerner does about Russians. The idea of coming from a small village or being a farmer meant that you were definitely sort of a second-class citizen in Soviet society. As a Ukrainian, as predominantly Ukrainian speaking child, I was ashamed to be using Ukrainian. And even like five years ago, when a guy started hitting on me in Kiev and he spoke Russian, I replied in Ukrainian.