Alert, Soledar, and Prygozhyn: What Ukrainians Most Often Searched for on Google in 2023

The Google search engine has summarized the results of 2023. On Monday, December 11, it became known what Ukrainians searched for most often in the past 12 months.

According to a special report published by Google, the first place, just like last year, is occupied by the query "air alert map". But the second most searched for query was the schedule of power outages. This issue was so important for the citizens of our country that it remained in the top despite the fact that the blackouts stopped in February. The top three is rounded out by the late head of the Russian PMC Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin.

In total, the top ten topics that became the "defining moments of 2023" were as follows:

1. Air alert map
2. Schedule of blackouts
3. Prigozhin
4. ChatGPT
5. Oppenheimer
6. Deep state
7. Israel
8. Soledar
9. Kakhovka hydroelectric power station
10. Eurovision 2023

Person of the year

Judging by this list, Ukrainians have stopped being interested in Russians and have focused on their own countrymen. Only one representative of the Russian Federation, its dictator Vladimir Putin, was in the top. He lost out on the list to Ukraine's new Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, scandalous bloggers Spartak Subota and Oleksiy Arestovych, and boxer Oleksandr Usyk. The top ten people who interested Ukrainians the most in the past year are as follows:

1. Rustem Umerov
2. Spartak Subbota
3. Oleksii Arestovych
4. Oleksandr Usyk
5. Volodymyr Putin
6. Mikhailo Mudryk
7. Kirill Budanov
8. Dmytro Linartovych
9. Iryna Farion
10. Garik Bircha

Losses of the year

Traditionally, the death of a celebrity causes a surge of interest in his or her person. This is the way of life. And this year, the death of the head of the Wagner PMC, Yevhen Prigozhin, caused the greatest excitement among Ukrainians. Our compatriots were actively looking for confirmation of this news and were interested in the circumstances of his death. The second position was taken by singer Nina Matvienko, who died suddenly for her fans in early October. Here are the top ten deaths that attracted the most attention from Google users in Ukraine:

1. Yevhen Prygozhin - Russian war criminal;
2. Nina Matvienko - Ukrainian singer;
3. Denys Monastyrskyi, Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine;
4. Vladlen Tatarskyi - Russian propagandist and military blogger;
5. Valentyn Yudashkin - Russian fashion designer;
6. Matthew Perry - American actor, star of the TV series "Friends";
7. Toto Cutugno - Italian singer;
8. Serhii Syvokho - Ukrainian actor and comedian;
9. Vakhtang Kikabidze - Georgian singer;
10. Tina Turner - American singer.

What it is.

Of course, Google remains the main source of information about unknown and incomprehensible things. In the "what is?" category this year, the first line was occupied by the query "what is hepatitis A". At the end of the year, there was an outbreak of this viral disease in Ukraine. Ukrainians also wanted to learn more about the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas and electronic warfare (EW). The top five most popular queries included "ryodan," a teenage subculture that emerged from the Hunter x Hunter anime, and the acronym for guided aerial bombs, which Russians have been using more often to attack Ukraine.

1. Hepatitis A
2. Hamas
3. Electronic warfare troops
4. Redan
5. Фerial bomb
6. Gaza Strip
7. Industrial zone
8. Makeba
9. Psychological operation
10. Cluster munitions

Purchase of the year

The war also affected the list of products searched for by Ukrainians on Google. The rumors about a nuclear explosion led to the top spot for the drug potassium iodide, which is used to protect the thyroid gland in case of radiation damage. Doctors warn that it is not necessary to buy it for self-consumption, let alone drink it for prevention. The second most popular "commodity" query was an electric generator, and the third place went to railway tickets. Here's the full top ten of what Ukrainians bought this year.

1. Potassium iodide
2. Generator
3. Ukrzaliznytsia tickets online
4. iPhone 15
5. Verbank
6. Nimesil
7. Aerogrill
8. Starlink
9. 20 UAH to the anniversary of the war
10. Battery operated lamp

Movies of the year

Two Ukrainian films are among the top most popular movie queries on Google: the animated feature Mavka and the comedy Luxembourg, Luxembourg by Antonio Lukic. They took third and eighth place respectively. The winner was Christopher Nolan's biopic Oppenheimer, based on the life story of the "father of the nuclear bomb" Robert Oppenheimer. The Russian premiere of the feature film Cheburashka also made the list. Here are the top ten films that Ukrainians were most interested in in 2023.

1. "Oppenheimer"
2. "Avatar 2
3. "Mavka"
4. "Fast and Furious 10"
5. "John Wick 4
6. "Barbie"
7. "Five Nights at Freddy's
8. "Luxembourg Luxembourg"
9. "Cheburashka"
10. "Guardians of the Galaxy 3".

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