Ukrainian vs. Russian Women: Know the Difference

There is nothing more offensive to Slavic women than saying that their nations are completely identical. It has been proven by social historians that Russian and Ukrainian girls have little in common. Ukrainian women get heated when somebody calls them Russians at an international resort. Russian women will probably laugh in your face if you call them Ukrainians because they don't understand the Ukrainian language or speak it. 

So what is the difference between Ukrainian and Russian women?  How do you tell them apart visually and from a psychological standpoint?  Here are some things you might want to know about Russian and Ukrainian women.

They are resembling, but so different

Ukrainian and Russian women have a list of differences no one can ignore. You have to travel to both countries to tell them apart, although sometimes even other Slavic nations have no idea how to visually distinguish Russians and Ukrainians. Because they belong to the same original tribe, Slavic women look alike.

One thing you have to remember is that Russia is the biggest country in the world, so only some separate areas are homes to Ukrainian-looking Russian women. In places like Buryatia or the Republic of Tatarstan, women will hardly look like Ukrainians because they have distinctive Asian features. The same goes for Ukrainian women from the Carpathians who will hardly look like Russians.

Russian women vs. Ukrainian women

Because of the difficult situation in Russian-Ukrainian relationships, these will be politically neutral "Russian women vs. Ukrainian women" points that do not have any positive or negative connotations. Just like any other nation, Ukrainians and Russians have their advantages and disadvantages. Here are all the ways these Slavic nations are different:    

Culture

If we compare Ukrainian vs. Russian women both representatives are going to have completely different cultural backgrounds. No, Kievan Rus' doesn’t have much in common with actual Russia. Being heavily influenced by Tatar tribes, Russia became a multi-cultured mixture of Slavic and Asian traits. That is why Russians understand some of the Turkic languages but have no idea what Ukrainians are saying. 

Similarly, Ukraine was heavily influenced by Poland having been occupied by the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. That is why Ukrainians perfectly understand Polish words without having to learn the actual language. 

Although modern Ukrainian and Russian cultures are kinds similar because both of these countries used to be a part of the Soviet Union, Ukraine strongly tries to separate from olden-day traditions, seeking new ways of incorporating ancient customs into the new European reality. 

Appearance

On the contrary to people who still think you can’t distinguish between Ukrainians and Russians, these women have little in common. Why? Because again, Russia is a huge federation of many countries where women vary from tan to Asian to ivory-skinned blond girls. Depending on where you travel, these women will look astonishingly different. Women from central areas of Russia tend to have lighter hair, lighter eyes, fair complexion, and thinner physique (although most of them are prone to getting chubby an older age.) Buryat women look like Asian beauties with fair to tan skin and brown to black hair. Dagestan and Adygea women look Caucasian but have darker features.

Ukrainian women have different looks depending on what region they come from. Women from the Carpathians usually have blue eyes and naturally blonde hair while Odessa and all the southern areas are influenced by Moldova, so their girls have darker features and dark piercing eyes. A classic Ukrainian woman has darker hair than a Russian because, in Russian folklore, iconic beauties were described by “a blond braid” while some of the most beautiful Ukrainian women in legends and tales were characterized by having “black brows.” 

Traditional nature

Both of these Slavic nations managed to present their traditional view, for better or for worse. However, in recent years, Ukrainian women combine traditional attributes with modern elements to appear more “forward” and “European.” Ukraine is a country where the church doesn’t play such an integral part as in Russia; that’s why more people in this country are atheists and agnostics. Ukraine has strong traditions concerning family celebrations, such as weddings and birthdays. With the recent political course, Ukrainians started moving towards the most forward European countries where traditions and ancient systematic beliefs are considered “outdated” and “barbaric.” That is why Ukrainians are on the way to supporting feminism and the LGBTQ+ community. This political discourse can be seen in modern-day social media and the presence of minorities in the social arena.

On the contrary, Russia is a very traditional country, built on the ideas of patriotism and religion. This country is a republic, consisting of various components. While Moscow is considered the most forward-thinking city with some of the most modern inventions, places like Cuban are still very traditional. Here, a Caucasian man can still “kidnap” a girl they like, and she has to marry him within a month, most definitely having to drop college and being dictated to build a family in her early twenties. And while this practice would be called “out of the box” somewhere in Saint-Petersburg, many Russian nationalities still have tough traditions they need to follow.

Attitude to family and children

Both nations love their children to death. These women were born and raised to take care of babies and the elderly generation, so family bonds and generational ties are equally important for Ukrainian ladies and Russian women. 

Having a family is heavily praised in both Russia and Ukraine. Young women are often bullied for being single and not having kids in their thirties. Families are an attribute of power, and many things are defined by having a man to go by. 

The thing Ukrainian and Russian women have in common is their motherly role in families. Slavic women from the countrysides still don’t decide much in their households. They marry young and become mothers at a very young age, preferring to do the chores rather than pursuing careers. The good thing is, this tendency is slowly changing over the years. 

Emancipation and gender roles

Both of these notions are problematic subject matter in Slavic countries. In Ukrainian women vs. Russian women, there is no absolute winner, although Ukrainian women tend to break gender norms. Because the Ukrainian government launched campaigns called to normalize emancipation in women, we can now see more ladies who don’t want to agree to gender norms. Women from the biggest Ukrainian cities are pretty autonomous and self-sufficient while girls from the countryside don’t see anything bad in relying on their husbands and being primary caregivers in the family. 

Russian women have a similar situation with emancipation, though the Russian political agenda is rather aggressive and pushing towards conservatism. 

Mentality

Because Ukrainians and Russians have been under the Soviet regime for too long, they developed a rather indifferent mentality of distrust for politics and keeping their professional success a secret. Though, with recent actions, Ukrainian women became more defensive of their willpower, courageous, and bossy. 

What do they have in common?

Two similar traits Russians and Ukrainian women have in common is the obsession with proper courting and respecting the elderly generation. These women also like to take care of their appearance, going to salons and working at the gym. These women equally like attributes of lavish life and money, but can you blame them? 

These were major similarities and differences between Ukrainian women and Russian women. These girls are equally smart and beautiful and have a bright future ahead of them.