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The Hidden Canon: Discover Ukrainian literary classics

A Kyiv Independent project backed by the Ukrainian Institute

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100 years ago, Kyiv's young writers sought artistic freedom. Stalin's purges cut their experiment short
Culture

100 years ago, Kyiv's young writers sought artistic freedom. Stalin's purges cut their experiment short

by Kate Tsurkan

A century ago, some of Kyiv's most talented young writers had the idea to push back against the pretension and mediocrity they worried were taking root in literary circles. Yet, with the start of mass repression that began under Soviet leader Joseph Stalin shortly after, many of those writers never had the chance to discover what such a project could have become. The Maisternia Revoliutsiinoho Slova (MARS), or Workshop of the Revolutionary Word, was founded in Kyiv on Nov. 7, 1926, by some of

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Everyone is talking about World War III. Sweden is preparing for it

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Swedish soldiers take part in a military exercise in Kivilompolo, Finland, on March 9, 2024.

Neighbors from hell — How one Oleshky family survived living next to Russian soldiers

For years, the Samarsky family lived in the embattled, occupied Oleshky alongside neighbors no one wished to have — Russian soldiers. Serhii Samarsky, his wife Olha Liutikova, and their son Vladyslav remained in the town after Russian forces occupied it during the early stages of its full-scale invasion until October 2026, when a humanitarian mission, mediated by U.S. First Lady Melania Trump, allowed them to be evacuated. Together, they survived relentless air attacks, cold winters without he

Vladyslav Samarsky at the Ukraine-Belarus border in Chernihiv Oblast, Ukraine, on Oct. 31, 2026.

About Culture

Our reporting on literature, films, art, and traditions from Ukraine and the latest news on culture in Eastern Europe.

Ukrainian culture
Ukrainian culture has survived centuries of Russian attempts to appropriate Ukrainian art, silence Ukrainian artists, and erase the Ukrainian language. Modern Ukrainian writers, filmmakers, and musicians — some of whom are serving on the front lines — continue to develop Ukrainian culture and fight for Ukraine’s future.
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