Ukrainian borscht production was “inscribed today on Unesco’s list of intangible cultural heritage in need of urgent protection,” Unesco said in a statement on Friday. “Whether as part of a wedding meal, at the center of food-related competitions or as a guide for tourism, borscht is considered part of the fabric of Ukrainian society, cultural heritage, identity and tradition,” it added. He was careful to describe Ukrainian borscht as a national take on a dish eaten in many countries in the region. Even so, the decision to add Ukrainian borscht to a list that includes Neapolitan pizza and Georgian wine was quickly criticized by Moscow, with Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accusing Kyiv of trying to appropriate the soup for a nationality. “This is xenophobia,” he said. He later added in Telegram: “To give the world a culinary example of “modern Kiev nationalism”, I will mention a fact: hummus and pilaf are recognized as national dishes of many nations… But, as I understand, everything is subject to Ukrainization.” The borscht controversy erupted into public view in 2019 when Ukrainian chef Ievgen Klopotenko – outraged by the many restaurants around the world referring to borscht as a Russian soup – launched a campaign to have Unesco recognize Ukraine’s deep ties to plate. “I don’t really like to call it a war for the borscht, but in fact it is,” Klopotenko told AFP in 2020. As Klopotenko and others began to assemble hundreds of pages of evidence to support their claim, Russia became agitated. “Borsch is the national food of many countries, including Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Poland, Romania, Moldova and Lithuania,” the Russian embassy in the US tweeted. Subscribe to First Edition, our free daily newsletter – every morning at 7am. BST In announcing its decision on Friday, Unesco tried to strike a balance between those fighting for the borsch’s bragging rights. “Cooking with borscht is also practiced in communities in the wider region,” he said, adding that the UN agency’s designation “does not imply exclusivity, nor ownership of the relevant heritage.” The UN body said it had fast-tracked the application as it became apparent that displacement caused by the war “threatened the viability” of Ukrainian tradition. “People cannot not only cook or grow local vegetables for borscht, but also unite to practice the element, which undermines the social and cultural well-being of communities,” the commission noted in its decision. Unesco, however, noted that its decision to recognize the tradition as endangered could help mobilize attention and rally international cooperation to safeguard it – meaning the Ukrainian borscht could now have a foot in the other countries views on the dish. News of the designation was welcomed by the Ukrainian government. “Victory in the borscht war is ours,” Ukrainian Culture Minister Oleksandr Tkachenko said on Telegram. “Be assured that in both the war on the stock market and this war, we will win.”
