The Ukrainian community in Brazil is the third largest Ukrainian diaspora in the world.
Any travellers heading deep into the southern Brazilian state of Paraná will likely encounter an unusual sight for the area.
For there, on a 5,000 square kilometre tract of rural land lives the bulk of Brazil’s 600,000-strong Ukrainian community.
The Ukrainian villages – known as colonies – function as something of a time capsule to 19th century Ukraine. Wooden, onion-domed churches dominate the countryside, alongside typical Ukrainian peasant houses. On Sundays, the churches are attended by vyshyvanka-wearing congregations.
