Ukraine has frequently been a hot topic in international news over the last year. Politics, war, and claims of corruption make great headlines but they also, unfortunately, mask some of the human interest stories happening in the country. In fact, here are three major events that occurred in Ukraine in 2018 that you might not have heard about.
Vogue Ukraine Editor Suspended for Plagiarism
Olga Sushko, the editor of Ukrainian Vogue, was recently suspended due to possibly plagiarized copy written under her name. The texts were remarkably similar to a letter found in the 2006 copy of the Russian Harper’s Bazaar.
The Ukrainian Vogue editor claimed that she occasionally outsourced her content to a freelancer due to time constraints, but fashion fans were quick to refute that claim by citing several other instances of plagiarism found among her portfolio. Other potentially stolen content includes the majority of a piece by a Russian newspaper and comments by a Russian GQ columnist. Sushko has been suspended pending an investigation.
Ukraine Becomes A Technology Hub
The IT world is abuzz with discussion over Ukraine’s potential as the next Silicon Valley. Several massive tech companies like Google and Oracle are already outsourcing IT work to the country. One director of business development states:
“We have 100 thousand developers and IT-related people officially working for outsourcing companies in Ukraine, but you can easily triple that amount with freelancers and those who are not officially registered.”
Employees begin in entry-level quality control and customer service positions for U.S. and European social media companies, and then develop their skills in preparation for transition to high-ranking, high-salaried positions in the tech world. Enterprise and startup culture is thriving in Ukraine thanks to an attractive price to cost ratio. The country remains optimistic that a tech boom is just what it needs to help lift its floundering economy.
Ukraine Finished 6th in 2018 Paralympics
The Ukrainian Paralympics team amassed seven (7) gold medals in PyeongChang this passed winter earning them a sixth (6th) place overall finish and fourth (4th) place in most medals earned. The country officially collected 22 total medals including seven (7) silver and eight (8) bronze. A total of 26 countries competed in the games.
Unfortunately, a sixth place finish is not Ukraine’s best work. They placed fourth (4th) overall in the 2014 games in Russia, and second (2nd) overall in the 2006 games that took place in Turin, Italy.