Ukraine Links taking you to people, places and things.

A collection of three video clips centered around Zaporozhye. The presentation is dedicated to Ela Besedena, a Ukrainian girl orphaned in Zaporozhye.

To many friends of Ukraine the Cossacks are the heart and soul of Ukraine and there is history to support the feeling.

The link takes you to a 5 min 37 second YouTube clip of seriously great music honoring the Cossacks of old.

Please click on the famous painting by Repin, "Reply of the Zaporozhian Cossacks to Sultan Mehmed IV of the Ottoman Empire". (1880-91)

You will be treated to "The Ride of the Cossacks" - Franz Waxman - Duo Tengstrand-Sun live at Helsingborg Piano Festival, Sweden 2007-08-05.

Taras Bulba (J. L. Thompson, 1962) The Ride of the Cossacks

Here is the scene with the music, The Ride of the Cossacks, from the film Taras Bulba, said to be the greatest horse scenes ever filmed, and probably one of the the last. Nothing faked here, all real horses and real men.

New! History from a special perspective

Not only does Ukraine have some of the richest soil on the planet, the land has been exposed to invaders from the East headed West, from the West headed East, From the North headed South and from the South headed North. It has been assaulted, run over and occupied repeatedly. The latest episode was of course World War II. Here are three YouTube clips from the early 1940s.

The above three war links are not to open old wounds or raise questions about any nation or people. They are an example of what has been the history of Ukraine. To make this history up close and personal please scroll back up to the Chernobyl heading and click on elenafilatova.com.

At Elena's website click on two tabs, "The Serpants Wall' and "Videos of Military Archeology". She will make some of the history of her country very real for you.

Also in her short bio please note that cooking is one of her interests - go to the World's Best Borsch tab on the menu bar of ukraineorphans and you will find a most excellent recipe sent to us by Elena.

YouTube section one has YouTube clips that are grouped into categories such as Ukrainian Sport, Music, Dance, Trains and other things.

YouTube section two links to clips about Ukrainian Cities and Regions.

YouTube section three concentrates on clips of Western Ukraine with some focus on Village Life.

I hope you enjoy each section and you can link out at the bottom of each page at any time.