Understanding Ukraine’s Regional Diversity: A Six-Cluster Model - And how this relates to Russia’s Claimed or Annexed Territories

 

Ukraine is often described as a country of contrasts — linguistic, cultural, historical, and social. Yet it is not divided by simple East–West lines. Instead, Ukraine’s regional identities form a mosaic shaped by centuries of varied imperial rule, frontier dynamics, migration waves, industrialisation patterns, and evolving civic identity.

To understand Ukraine more accurately, this article groups its regions into six cultural–linguistic–historical clusters, each representing a coherent identity profile. This framework avoids stereotypes and respects the country’s internal diversity.

The model also helps explain why some regions claimed or annexed by Russia have different historical identity patterns than others, an issue addressed at the end of this article.

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The 10 Dimensions Behind the Clusters

To group Ukraine’s regions meaningfully, we apply a framework of cultural, linguistic, and historical indicators:

1. Primary language use (historical + contemporary)
2. Urban vs. rural linguistic differences
3. Historical empire affiliation (Austro-Hungarian, Polish-Lithuanian, Russian Empire, USSR)
4. Religious traditions
5. Urbanization level
6. Industrial vs. agrarian economic heritage
7. Historical identity orientation (Ukrainian, mixed, Russified, multicultural)
8. Post-2014 & post-2022 civic identity developments
9. Ethnic composition patterns
10. Regional cultural features (dialects, minority communities, frontier zones, Cossack legacy)

These dimensions — when layered together — produce six coherent clusters.

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The Six Cultural–Linguistic–Historical Clusters of Ukraine

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Cluster 1 – Western Ukrainian Cultural Core

Regions: Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Ternopil, Volyn, Rivne, Zakarpattia, Chernivtsi

This cluster forms Ukraine’s strongest Ukrainian-speaking and European-historical cultural zone.
Shaped by the Austro-Hungarian and Polish-Lithuanian legacies, it maintains strong Ukrainian traditions, high civic engagement, and a deep heritage in literature, church life, and national revival movements.

Key traits:

• Ukrainian dominant in everyday life
• Greek-Catholic and Orthodox traditions
• Strong national identity and cultural continuity
• Multiethnic pockets (Hungarian/Romanian communities)

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Cluster 2 – Central Ukrainian Heartland

Regions: Kyiv (city), Kyiv Oblast, Cherkasy, Vinnytsia, Zhytomyr, Kirovohrad, Khmelnytskyi, Poltava

The heart of historic Kyivan Rus’ and today’s administrative, cultural, and political center.
Mostly Ukrainian-speaking with bilingual cities, this cluster anchors the country’s cultural continuity from medieval to modern times.

Key traits:

• Predominantly Ukrainian-speaking
• Strong civic identity
• Balanced urban–rural cultural landscape
• Poltava region closely linked to the standard Ukrainian language

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Cluster 3 – Northern Ukrainian Borderlands

Regions: Chernihiv, Sumy

These regions share ancient Kyivan Rus roots and sit close to Belarus and Russia, producing some bilingualism but firmly Ukrainian cultural orientation. Rural communities are especially strong in preserving Ukrainian traditions.

Key traits:

• Ukrainian identity with some border influence
• Low urbanization
• Deep historical ties to early Ukrainian statehood

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Cluster 4 – Southern Multicultural Coastal Zone

Regions: Odesa, Mykolaiv, Kherson

A historic crossroads around the Black Sea, this region mixes Ukrainian, Russian, Jewish, Bulgarian, Greek, and Gagauz influences.
Cities such as Odesa have long been linguistically mixed, while surrounding areas are more Ukrainian-speaking.

Key traits:

• Multilingual port cities
• Diverse ethnic and cultural heritage
• Strong shift toward Ukrainian civic identity since 2014
• Maritime and trade-centered regional history

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Cluster 5 – East-Central Industrial Transition Zone

Regions: Dnipro, Zaporizhzhia

These regions bridge central and eastern Ukraine. Heavy industrial development created bilingual urban populations, while the countryside retained strong Ukrainian identity.
Since 2014, this cluster has become a symbol of bilingual but strongly pro-Ukrainian civic identity.

Key traits:

• Mixed linguistic environment
• Strong post-2014 shift toward Ukrainian nationality
• Industrial cities, agrarian hinterlands
• Cossack heritage especially strong in Zaporizhzhia

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Cluster 6 – Historically Russified / Soviet-Industrial Zone

Regions: Kharkiv, Donetsk, Luhansk

This cluster was shaped most strongly by Soviet-era migration, industrialization, and Russian-language urban culture.
While rural areas historically leaned more Ukrainian, the cities became heavily Russified.

Key traits:

• Predominantly Russian-speaking urban centers
• Heavy-industry concentration
• Soviet-era demographic reshaping
• Significant identity changes since 2014 and especially 2022

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Special Cases

Crimea (Autonomous Republic)

• Russian-speaking majority since Soviet population transfers
• Indigenous Crimean Tatar community with distinct cultural identity
• Divergent historical evolution compared to mainland Ukraine

Sevastopol (City of republican subordination)

• Strong naval identity
• Highly Russified urban population
• Long-standing base of the Black Sea Fleet

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Cultural–Linguistic–Historical Clusters of Ukraine (6-Cluster Model)

1. Western Cultural Core
2. Central Heartland
3. Northern Borderlands
4. Southern Coastal Zone
5. East-Central Industrial Transition Zone
6. Soviet-Industrial Russified Zone

      + Crimea & Sevastopol (special cases)  

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How Russia’s Claimed or Annexed Territories Relate to the Six-Cluster Model

Since 2014, Russia has declared the annexation of several Ukrainian regions. Crimea and Sevastopol were annexed first, followed in 2022 by claims over Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia. These territories remain internationally recognised as Ukrainian and are only partially under Russian control.

Viewed through the six-cluster framework, these regions fall into distinct identity profiles, not one uniform block:

• Donetsk and Luhansk lie within the Soviet-Industrial Russified Zone (Cluster 6), where urban centres developed strong Russian-speaking, industrial-worker cultures during the Soviet period.
• Zaporizhzhia belongs largely to the East-Central Industrial Transition Zone (Cluster 5), balancing bilingual industrial cities with strongly Ukrainian rural traditions.
• Kherson is part of the Southern Multicultural Coastal Zone (Cluster 4), a region historically influenced by trade, migration, and a diverse ethnic mix.
• Crimea and Sevastopol are treated as special cases in the model due to their distinct demographic history, Russian-majority profiles, military presence, and the Indigenous Crimean Tatar cultural landscape.

The cluster model shows that the territories claimed or annexed by Russia are not culturally homogeneous. Instead, they span very different regional identities shaped by diverse historical trajectories. Some experienced deeper Russification through industrial migration, while others — like Kherson or rural Zaporizhzhia — retained strong Ukrainian linguistic and cultural heritage.

This perspective helps understand the complexity of Ukraine's regional fabric and why cultural or linguistic patterns alone cannot predict political alignment or regional loyalty.

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Conclusion

Ukraine’s regional diversity is far more intricate than conventional maps suggest. The six-cluster model reveals a country composed of historically layered cultural zones — some strongly Ukrainian, some multilingual, some shaped by Soviet industrialisation, and others following unique regional paths like Crimea.

Integrating the regions currently claimed or annexed by Russia into this framework highlights the varied identities of these territories, underlining that they cannot be understood as a single “eastern” category. Instead, they reflect a mixture of frontier histories, industrial transformations, and evolving civic identities — all of which continue to shape Ukraine’s trajectory today.