I was already at work on an analysis of the Ukrainian word svoï, a little worried that it might be received as merely a linguistic exercise, a bit of pedantry, when I was unexpectedly assisted by the Ukrainian historian, writer, and public intellectual Olena Stiazhkina (whose novel, Cecil the Lion Had to Die, a linguistic puzzle of another kind, was recently published in the United States). In August 2025, she chose to give the closing lecture at the International Literary Festival Frontera in Lutsk on the theme The Formula for Our Nationalism Is The Word “Svoї.” This untranslatable word was exactly what I had been pondering, because I believe it has the potential to reveal a great deal about the Ukrainian character, and more.
Svoї, or The Perks of Being Untranslatable
