Ukrainian Borscht: The Most Political Soup on Earth

Borscht — beetroot soup — is claimed by both Ukraine and Russia, and the dispute has become geopolitically charged since the 2022 Russian invasion. In 2022, UNESCO inscribed Ukrainian borscht on the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding — a direct acknowledgment that the tradition is Ukrainian and that the war threatens it. The soup predates both modern nations: beet-based soups have been documented in the region since at least the 14th century. But the Ukrainian version — built on a pork-stock base with beets, cabbage, potato, carrot, onion, garlic, tomato paste, dill, and finished with a spoonful of smetana (sour cream) — is the canonical preparation.

• Polish barszcz (the Polish version — clear, strained beetroot broth, often served in a cup at Christmas Eve with uszka — tiny mushroom dumplings), Russian borscht (similar but the Ukrainian version is