Albanians in Ukraine

In 1911, Albanian Orthodox priest and national awakening figure Fan Noli met there with members the community in Odessa, and held a mass in the local church. In 1979, Friar Arthur Liolini of the Albanian Orthodox Church of Boston held mass in the same church. Their most important religious feast is that of St. George, which is in veneration of George Castriot.

During the Stalinist regime in USSR, better off members of the community were deported to Siberia, none returned alive. In many cases, some of their population was shipped to different regions of the USSR in order to promote assimilation. Thus, the Albanian village communities in Ukraine is one of the poorer communities in the country. Their utensils and supplies speak of their backwardness in comparison to the rest of the country. However, their culture is not fully assimilated to the greater Ukrainian culture, many still claim to be Albanian, and buy and drink Albanian beers and raki. Use of Albanian is also less common than previously but still apparent, many continue to wear traditional costumes and keep to old traditions, such as the giving of homemade bread to guests.[4]

The first who studied the Albanians in Ukraine since 1914 was a Soviet philologist (Slavic studies) and historian Nikolai Derzhavin[2] who was born on the territory of modern Zaporizhzhia Oblast (at the time Taurida Governorate). In 1930, he published his monograph, "Albanians in the Ukraine", in Russian. After World War II, the major study on Albanians of the Southern Ukraine was conducted by the academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences Yulia Ivanova.[2] In 1957 with help of the academician Agnia Desnitskaya at the Saint Petersburg State University was opened the Department of Albanian language.[2] Alas, in contemporary Ukraine Albanian studies are not being conducted.[2]

By the late 20th Century, only a few years before the fall of the USSR the Albanian of Ukraine were mainly concentrated in Zaporizhzhia Oblast in Pryazovske Raion: Geandran, today (Hamivka), Taz (today Divnyns'ke) and Tuiushki (today Heorhiivka). There is also an Albanian village in Budjak, Bolhrad Raion of Odessa Oblast: Caracurt (Karakurt in Albanian, Caracurt in Romanian, Karakurt / Каракурт in Ukrainian and since 1947 Zhovtneve / Жовтневе).

In 1958 they numbered 5,258 in the entire Soviet Union. Their number had fallen to 4,402 by 1970.