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Ukraine may be an ancient land but as a sovereign goverment it is a relative newcomer to the international scene. As a newly independent country it is engaged in a process of defi ning its identity, and many of Ukraine’s celebrities have taken a leading role in this process. Together they are helping to foster a new, Ukrainian national identity for the 21st century.

The first big popular culture breakthrough

 

 
for independent Ukraine came in the field of sports, an arena in which the country has always excelled. In Soviet times many of the top performers climbing the Olympic podium in their distinctive CCCP tops were actually Ukrainians (Serhiy Bubka being the most famous), while the Soviet football team was often an extension of the Dynamo Kyiv sides of the era. Following independence this has translated into a wide range of world-

beating performers who have helped raise the country’s profi le internationally, starting with a string of Olympic triumphs. Dynamo Kyiv, meanwhile, have been joined by Shakhtar Donetsk as Eastern Europe’s two top club sides, with both teams regular fixtures in the UEFA Champions League.