Slavs
Slavs can be further grouped by religion. Orthodox Christianity is practiced by the majority of Slavs. The Orthodox Slavs include the Belarusians, Bulgarians, Macedonians, Montenegrins, Russians, Serbs, and Ukrainians and are defined by Orthodox customs and Cyrillic script as well as their cultural connection to the Byzantine Empire (Serbs also use Latin script on equal terms). Their second most common religion is Roman Catholicism. The Catholic Slavs include Croats, Czechs, Kashubs, Moravians, Poles, Silesians, Slovaks, Slovenes, and Sorbs and are defined by their Latinate influence and heritage and connection to Western Europe. There are also substantial Protestant and Lutheran minorities especially amongst the West Slavs, such as the historical Bohemian (Czech) Hussites.
List of political scandals in Ukraine
Several major stand off has developed out of the Russia–Ukraine gas disputes into a real cold war between Ukraine and Russia which took most of Europe by hostage. The gas issues that existed since the fall of the Soviet Union became really acute in January 2009. Another continuously addressed and scandalous issue is one concerning a state language and status of the Russian language in Ukraine which is predominant throughout the country. Trying to reverse the process of russification of Ukraine, the Constitution of Ukraine recognizes the Ukrainian language as the only state language concerning government matters, while still granting the Russian language protection as a regional language. There is also an issue with the state borders which yet to be finalized, while the Mayor of Moscow (Yuri Luzhkov) continues to release statements in 2008 questioning the status of Sevastopol long after the signing of treaty on peace and friendship in 1997.