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> I am from Europe but have friends in Ukraine.. Ukraine is in Europe.
by lkozma 13y ago
> I am from Europe but have friends in Ukraine..
Ukraine is in Europe.
- hnriot 13y agoMaybe geographically, but it's not in the EU and nobody in/from Europe or the Ukraine would ever say it's in Europe. Just like Russia is also geographically (at least in part) in Europe, but it's by no means European. Google (or books) are your friend :)
- lkozma 13y agoI think your condescension is unnecessary, you know nothing about my reading (or Googling) habits. By any reasonable definition, Ukraine is in Eastern Europe, whether you use geographical, political or historical definitions. This is what Wikipedia says, as do most atlases and the CIA world factbook, in fact I've yet to see a source saying otherwise, but you can surely provide links to one. The EU is not the same as Europe, by that narrow definition, Switzerland is not Europe. Your statement that nobody in/from Europe or Ukraine would say it's in Europe can be disproved with a simple counterexample: I'm from/in Europe and I say so, just as a random sample of my Ukrainian acquaintances. No comment on Russia being "by no means" European. I guess you'll need to do a lot of Wikipedia editing to remove all references to Tolstoy from the pages on European literature.
- davorb 13y agoI'm from Europe and I would. In my experience it's only people from the US and possible the UK and/or Scandinavia that only think "Western Europe" when they say "Europe".
- draugadrotten 13y agoVery interesting. You are on to something - I am using Europe as shorthand for Western Europe. When I speak of Eastern Europe I always add Eastern. Just like when I speak of [North] America versus South America or [West] Germany vs East Germany. However I would say this type of shorthand is far more widespread than UK and Scandinavia. My German friends adds Eastern Europe when speaking of Ukraine, too, as does my Italian friends. The cultural differences in Europe are far more complex than an East-West divide. Saying that Ukraine has a European culture is like saying India and Japan have "Asian" cultures. It sure doesn't make them the same and frankly, it does not even very similar.
- daveid 13y agoGeographically yes, but politically and culturally the line gets a little blurry. I think parent meant to say "I am from the European Union".
- gngeal 13y agobut politically and culturally the line gets a little blurry Politically and culturally, it's in Europe. Greek Orthodoxy and Greek-derived scripts are something you find in Europe since the Middle Ages.
- mhau 13y agoPolitically and culturally Ukraine is in Europe. I'm polish, visited Ukraine several times, love the people (we're very similar nations) and I think that it has a great potential. I hope it joins EU some day in the future.
- draugadrotten 13y ago> I think parent meant to say "I am from the European Union". Not really. I don't know of anyone who identifies by EU citizenship. Not even EU top level politicians. We're all nationals, and even 3rd world refugees becomes citizen of a nation rather than EU. When speaking to people from US, I usually identify by from [country] or "from Europe". The latter seem to be enough for most mericans that think of EU countries as US states.