Maria Kostyniuk: Heart and Soul of a Ukrainian

by Fayeruz Regan 04.2022

When Maria Kostyniuk was 16-years-old, the Nazis invaded Ukraine. Civilians were torn from their families and forced to work in Germany to make up for their labor shortage. Maria was swept away and put to work in a German bakery. She never saw her mother again.

While in Germany, she followed the troubling news from her homeland. Stalin had stayed in Russia during World War II, and pillaged Ukranian crops and cattle to feed Russia’s army, creating a famine. Maria was devastated, but not shocked. Just a decade earlier was Stalin’s Holodomor, a famine which took the lives of 3.9 million Ukranians.

When the Nazis were defeated, Maria was moved into a camp for displaced Ukranians, run by the U.S. military. She met her husband in these camps. They married, had a son, and hoped to find a sponsor in the United States who would give them a new lease on life. A Nebraska couple obliged, but dropped their offer when Maria’s son contracted the measles. By this time, they were en route to the U.S. with their son quarantined on the ship. When they reached Ellis Island without a sponsor, they hoped for a miracle. That miracle came in the form of a family from Richmond, Virginia. 

The sponsorship family lived on an expansive farm in Goochland. Maria did the cooking and her husband worked the land. Within two years, she found work baking Girl Scout cookies at the FFV-Interbake cookie factory on Broad Street, and he secured a job at Haynes Furniture. Soon after, they moved into their own home and achieved the American dream.

Maria is now 97-years-old, and sits in distress while watching the news from her apartment near Willow Lawn. She appreciates the solidarity for Ukraine in her community, but like many Americans, worries that this solidarity will fail to manifest into any real change. President Zelensky’s leadership, and the moxy of his citizens, has created a newfound interest in Ukrainian culture. Luckily, small pockets of Ukranian and Eastern European culture exist in Richmond – mostly via food.

“I remember using a pin to pop tiny holes into eggs,” says Maria’s granddaughter Kristy Kostyniuk. Her family practiced the Ukrainian folk art of pysanky: painted eggs. “We’d blow the yolk out through a hole in the bottom, then paint the shell. You’d place the egg in a basket with Easter bread and bring it to the priest.”  

European Deli on Broad Street sells specialty foods from all around Europe, but Ukraine is at the heart of the operation. Owner Tetyana Nikolayeva moved to the U.S. from Ukraine over 25 years ago. From milk chocolates to ropes of sausage links, the offerings are unique. 

The Church of St. John the Baptist is a Ukrainian church in Lakeside where many generations of Ukrainian Americans have celebrated the Divine Liturgy according to the Byzantine rite. 

European Taste may be run by a couple from Transylvania, but Ukrainian influences run throughout. From Hungarian Goulash to cabbage rolls, you will revel in the flavors of Eastern Europe.

But Balkan restaurant takes the cake. The offerings span Eastern Europe through the Middle East, highlighting specialties from each region. They refuse to share their Balkan Potatoes recipe, but given how creamy and addictive the dish is, they’re likely doing me a favor. 

Maria still longed for a happy ending. In 1991, as soon as Ukraine was declared free from Russia, she returned to her homeland. With much of Ukraine obliterated by famine and war, her hometown and surrounding areas were unrecognizable. She knocked on doors, spreading word about the search for her family. She hadn’t seen them in about 50 years, and didn’t know who had survived. She went home unsuccessful.

Three months later, she got a call from her sister Stefania. Thanks to the efforts of locals continuing Maria’s quest (pre-Google, I might add), Stefania caught wind of her sister’s mission. The next year, Maria gathered her family for a second trip to Ukraine. Little did they know that Stefania was so elated to see her sister, that she contacted her siblings and extended family. They traveled from Crimea, Russia and beyond for the surprise reunion. 

When the train pulled into the Ivano-Frankivsk station, about 30 long-lost family members were waiting. Though Maria hadn’t seen her sister since she was 16, the recognition was instant, and the reunion was emotional. Villages and family homes welcomed her with open arms.

Lately, Maria spends her days following the headlines, and hoping that her family will have their happy ending too.