Etiquette in Ukraine

Ukraine is an Eastern European country located just north of the Black Sea. With a landmass of over 600,000 square kilometers, it is the largest country in Europe and has a population of almost 46 million.

The official language is Ukrainian, although Russian is widely spoken, especially in the eastern and southern regions.

Ukraine is a republic under a mixed semi-parliamentary semi-presidential system with separate legislative, executive, and judicial branches.

The dominant religion in Ukraine is Orthodox Christianity, with a small representation of followers of Eastern Rite Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church.

The currency in Ukraine is the hryvnia, abbreviated грн and identified by the symbol ₴. The hryvniais subdivided into 100 kopiyok.

Common Etiquette

It is common to be invited to your contact’s home. Bring a gift such as a bottle of wine or vodka (best quality), a box of fine chocolates or bouquets of fresh flowers
If you give flowers as a gift there are things you need to know. Always give an uneven number of stems because even numbers of flowers are reserved for funerals and are bad luck
Shake hands outside the doorway or inside the house. It is bad luck to shake over the threshold
Take your shoes off before entering the house. Your host will probably provide slippers
On public transportation it is expected that you will give up your seat for the elderly, disabled and mothers with children in tow
When you take out snacks, gum or cigarettes, it is expected that you will offer some to everyone around you before you start eating, chewing or lighting up
A rude gesture to avoid is putting your thumb between your index and third finger
It is thought that if you whistle indoors you are shooing away money from the home

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Director of Marketing and Business Development Naden/Lean, LLC

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The AML Group, San Francisco, CA

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President VerbaCom® Executive Development

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Association Director Association Management Group, McLean, VA

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President & Chief Image Officer

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Founder/President