Mentality of the Ukrainian people had been formed affected by complex historical circumstances with the principal role played by the fact of  the country’s ‘bordering’, that is, due to its territory located on the intersection of historical routes from the East to the West and from the North to the South. This reality stipulated a phantasmal interlacing in the worldview of a Ukrainian of the Western mentality (that is, active and rationalistic, individualistic and mundane) with that of the East (in other words, passively contemplative and directed at abstract matters). Thus, for instance, as a westerner, the present-day Ukrainian values highly the achievements of science and technology, but he believes strongly that they are used for humanitarian purposes.

Without stopping to think rationally, Ukrainian gives great priority to showing emotions and feelings, sometimes even seen as sentimental or even too lyrical. In particular, the phenomenon is reflected in the folk vocabulary where endearment forms are often present even for negative characters (e.g., vorizhenky (pretty foes)).

Side by side with lyricism, there is certain Ukrainian ‘detachment’ from the world and orientation at some truth of higher order. Thus, if forced to emigrate, it is often hard for Ukrainian to adjust to a new environment.

Ukrainian is tied very much to his family where he attempts to build strong and very close relationship. To care is characteristic for his mentality. As a rule, Ukrainians surround their kin with care of the motherhood sort giving support to their children until they reach maturity, and often also from then on. To some extent, such amicable relationship is also defined by the historical past:  wars virtually never ceased on the territory located on the crossroads of the Western and Eastern worlds. The land suffered from predatory raids, and it was dangerous to live here: those in power changed often, and to survive intact was only possible within the circle of close relations.

For quite a long time the society was divided into those who fed (peasantry) this land and those who defended it (Cossacks). This entailed two almost opposite forms of consciousness. The first is of a defender and fighter reckless, irrepressible and adventurous that is easily overcome by strong feeling and emotion resulted from a youth’s brawl and capable of affective, rash and heroic actions. It is as such they appear in the Shevchenko’s Kobzar and are depicted by the Ukrainian and Polish romanticists.

The other type of consciousness was marked by moderateness and peaceableness that permitted “to wait through” the numerous adversities and misfortunes of the historical fate. Such type of consciousness was the cause of insularity and defensive position against the world around, circumspection and directing mental powers inward upon oneself. The countryside habit of replying with a question is one of the traits of the style that allows avoiding contact.

The exclusive advantage of the class country folk during certain periods of the Ukrainian history affected the nationals’ mentality, however positively too: ruralism that makes one more dependent on the nature than on other people stirs up deep empathy with the nature and makes for restraint, elegiac, tender and introversive moods. These features also favored preservation of family and clan groups, goodwill and friendliness.

At the same time, such positive features as diligence, hospitality, yearning for education, sound optimism, manliness, universalism, and development of strong family ties are peculiar to Ukrainians.

For a Ukrainian family the dominating role of a woman, especially of a mother, is traditionally intrinsic. When husband dies, the wife advances to the forefront to become the head of a family even if remarried. The image of a widowing mother – sober-minded, kind, and at the same time rigorous, is depicted in classic literature. Ukrainian woman used to participate in all the family issues not only after her husband expired but during his life as well. “Husband holds the household by one corner with the remaining three left for his wife,” the popular saying goes. In ancient times, during the patriarchal society in Europe admissible was for a girl to seek marriage with a boy.

In formation of the Ukrainian mentality, the Church played pronouncedly great role. Historically, the popular worldview of the Ukrainians is made up of the following three basic layers: demonological, mythological, and Christian. The Christian religion that came to Ukrainian terrain at the end of the 10th century monopolized the pre-Christian hierarchic system of beliefs, trying at the same time as much as possible not to destroy but to adapt the old form to its needs. This opposition of ideas resulted in religious dualism (ditheism) which elements makes itself felt even nowadays in the form of customs and rituals.

With introductions of Christianity, the constituent of supernatural grew in the beliefs and pieties. Simultaneously, the fantastic and supernatural not linked to the official trust in God was forced out to the sphere of folklore tradition (that is, poetry, fairy tales, legends, etc.).