Paganism in Ukraine: Beliefs, Encounter with Christianity, and Survival After

The article examines the theme of paganism as the leading religion in Ukraine before the advent of Christianity with the goal of describing the period of the encounter between paganism and Christianity and evaluating the reasons for the present growth of interest in paganism. The article shows that the traditions of Ukrainian paganism were connected with ancient Asiatic religions brought to the area by means of trade routes from India and China to the Roman Empire that crossed the present territory of Ukraine. It is further asserted that Ukraine was already partially Christian before the official baptism of Kievan Rus through the influence of the missionary journeys of the apostle Andrew, Greek colonies, and also the political influence of Byzantium and Rome. In the conclusion, a short overview is given of neo-paganism in Ukraine and the main reasons for the growth of interest in it