Ukrainian soup culture is listed as endangered cultural heritage

Ukrainian soup culture is listed as endangered cultural heritage

Published: Less than 30 minutes ago

full screenMan in Ukraine handing out borscht to Ukrainian refugees. Stock Photography. Photo: Kristopher Radder / AP / TT

The Ukrainian culture around the beetroot soup borscht has been inscribed on the UN cultural agency UNESCO’s list of endangered intangible cultural heritage in need of protection.

The decision to classify the cultural heritage right was made unusually quickly, due to the war in Ukraine, which the organization considers risks having a negative impact on the mushroom culture.

The soup is common in several other former Soviet countries and while it is celebrated in Kyiv, angry voices are raised from Moscow. Maria Zacharova, a spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, says it is xenophobic to link the right to a nationality.

“The victory in the borscht war is ours!”, Says Ukraine’s Minister of Culture Oleksandr Tkachenko on Telegram.

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