About the Ukraine (view map) Population: 44.9 million Languages: Ukrainian (official), Russsian Main religions: Ukrainian Orthodox (83%), Ukrainian Greek Catholic (8%) About Ukrainian-Americans Local population: About 2,400 of Ukrainian ancestry Why they came here: Early immigrants were looking for work; later immigrants were political refugees after the fall of the Soviet Union. When they came: 1880s and 1990s More resources: "Kobzar's Children: A Century of Untold Ukrainian Stories," by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch "The Winding Path to Freedom: A Memoir of Life in the Ukrainian Underground," by Roman Mac Then-Cardinal Lubomyr Husar, spiritual leader of the Ukrainian Catholic Church, visits Utica's St. Volodymyr Ukrainian Catholic Church in Aug. 2004. Credit: Michael Doherty/Observer-Dispatch

Parishioners prepare perogies for the St. Volodymyr the Great Ukrainian Catholic Church Festival in Oct. 2009. Credit: Dave Londres/Observer-Dispatch An annual festival helped the local Ukrainian community bounce back from an act of vandalism feed widget