This soup, which is extremely well-liked in Central Europe and caused a political dispute between Kiev and Moscow, has been recognized as Intangible Cultural Heritage in Danger.
Despite losing the actual battle on the battlefield, Ukraine defeated Russia symbolically on Friday, July 1. UNESCO had acknowledged that the Russian invasion was endangering the Ukrainian tradition of borsch, a soup that is consumed on both sides of the border. Following the UN announcement, Oleksandr Tkatchenko, the Ukrainian Minister of Culture, exclaimed, “Victory is ours in the borscht fight.” He said on his Telegram account that Ukraine “will win the borscht war as well” as the ongoing struggle with Moscow.
Minister Tkatchenko had said more restrained things in front of the UNESCO Heritage Commission. He noted that despite the conflict, “many Ukrainian families are going to have Ukrainian borsch today.” “The Ukrainian borsch is a gourmet icon of our national identity in the destroyed cities and in the other nations that embraced the Ukrainian populace.” Beet and cabbage soup known as borchtch is widely popular throughout Central Europe, but notably in Russia. It is frequently served with fresh cream. This dish is typically thought to have Ukrainian roots.
While vehemently battling the Russians after being invaded on February 24 by troops from Moscow who slaughtered thousands of citizens and multiplied the destruction, Ukraine increased diplomatic offensives against its enemy. One of them has to do with borsch. Since the conflict started by Russia threatened the “viability” of the tradition surrounding this meal, Ukraine formally requested that this soup be added to the list of intangible cultural heritage in peril in mid-April. A UNESCO committee on intangible cultural treasures concurred with Kiev during an extraordinary session two months later.
Pier Luigi Petrillo, rapporteur for the dossier evaluation committee, stated on Friday, July 1, “The existence of this soup (…) is not in danger in itself, but it is the human and living heritage which is associated with borsch which is in immediate danger because the capacity of the populations to practice, to transmit their intangible cultural heritage is seriously disrupted due to the armed conflict (and) in particular the forced displacement of communities.”
«Victoire»
He said, “People are no longer able to make, or even produce, the local veggies that are needed to make,” borsch, nor can she come together to make this dish. According to Mr. Petrillo, the violent conflict further harms “nature, fauna, and flora.” “Given all of these reasons, this aspect needs to be urgently safeguarded,” Ievgen Klopotenko, the president of Ukraine, congratulated the country on its “certainly a win on the cultural front” on Facebook. “We had thousands of pages of proof that borsch culture was unmistakably Ukrainian, but all the Russian propaganda was against us,” said one person.
However, Unesco has not in any way claimed that Ukraine is the origin of borsch. Angered, Russia condemned the “nationalism” that Ukrainians were displaying through the spokesperson for its Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova. “If it becomes necessary to describe to the world what modern Kievan nationalism is, I will point out that hummus and rice pilaf are acknowledged as national foods in a number of nations. But from what I gather, everything is subject to Ukrainianization,» she remarked.
“What’s coming up next? Will pigs be acknowledged as a national product of Ukraine? spokesperson, who had earlier charged Kiev with “xenophobia,” “Nazism,” and “extremism” for his politicization of borsch, was launched. Muscovites questioned by AFP on Friday were less sarcastic. Irina Velijantseva thinks Unesco “made the right judgment” since Ukrainian borsch with pampushka (garlic bread, editor’s note) and bacon is similar to a trademark. But I also make my own borscht, and I have to say it’s not terrible either, this 68-year-old retiree continues.