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Modern-day Ukraine is the largest country entirely within Europe, bordering Russia to the east, Moldova and Romania to the southwest, Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary to the west, Belarus to the north, and the Black Sea to the south. It's varied terrain and interaction with neighbors have defined the specific regional characteristics of Ukraine's folklore. Traditional Ukrainian music fits into one of two broad categories: ritual and non-ritual. Ritual folk songs are generally older and include incantations, lamentations, calendar songs, and wedding songs. Non-ritual songs include dumy, or historical and political songs, and lyric songs of love, family life, and lullabies. This collection of 34 folk songs was recorded prior to the breakup of the Soviet Union and the subsequent independence of Ukraine in 1991.