Olga Korobova Ukraine-born, Canadian raised.

In part eight of a series on the many nationalities that have made the Cayman Islands a true international melting pot, Cayman Net News Staff Writer Steven Knipp takes a look at the Ukrainian community.

Long a part of the old Russian Empire, Ukraine was absorbed into the communist Soviet Union soon after the 1917 Russian Revolution. For more than 50 years it was called the “bread basket” of the USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) because of its vast fertile steppes, which provided millions of tonnes of wheat and barley. Today, Ukraine is the second largest nation in Europe and has a population of more than 46 million. Its capital is the ancient city of Kiev, famous for its beautifully ornate churches, including the thousand-year-old Saint Sophia Cathedral.

Ukraine finally became fully independent after the collapse of the Soviet Empire in 1991. For more than a decade afterwards, however, Ukraine’s people struggled mightily to transform their country from a stagnant communist system to a vibrant capitalist market economy, and during this difficult time many Ukrainians emigrated to other nations.

According to official Cayman Government statistics, there are at least three Ukrainian nationals living and working on Cayman. But there are believed to be many more, holding a dozen different passports – the sons and daughters of those bold migrants who departed Ukraine for a better life in the West.

Olga Korobova is such an example. Ms Korobova, who works as a waitress at Rackam’s Pub and Restaurant on the Waterfront, was born in Ukraine, but moved to Canada when she was just 13. She has been living in Cayman for about seven months now, but already feels comfortable and well settled.

It was through a friend in Canada who was involved in the construction industry here that she first discovered Cayman while on a holiday visit. Then, on her very last night here, she received a job offer from Todd Paidel, the manager of Rackam’s. Previously she has worked in retail, and had no experience in the food and beverage industry, but was open for an adventure and so said “yes” to moving to Cayman without a moment’s hesitation.

It took her almost two months to move down from Canada, including the wait to obtain an official police clearance, which is required of all expatriates planning to work in the Cayman Islands.

Though she enjoyed returning to Ukraine several years ago, and plans to go back for another visit in October, she said: “Although I really enjoy visiting, I would not want to live there. It’s true that the country has changed a great deal since my family left. And in many ways, things are much better, (but) it is still a hard place to live, especially compared to countries in the West. Opportunities there are getting better but they are still limited.”

She said that in Toronto many Canadians were quite familiar with Ukrainians as “there is an international community there, including lots of Ukrainians, and Jamaicans, and Chinese and Iranians.” But when her family moved to northern Ontario, few people even knew where Ukraine was.
Here in Cayman, Ms Korobova said that many people, especially tourists, try to guess where she’s from.

“Some say I’m Russian, and a few guess Ukrainian, but others say Spanish, or even Italian. Some Ukrainians are fair haired and blue eyed and so look typically Russian, but other Ukrainians are not like that at all, so it’s not easy to guess,” she says.

“But there are so many different nationalities here, that you could probably guess for 20 minutes and still not be right. For a small place, this is really an international community.”