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The Hidden Canon: Discover Ukrainian literary classics

A Kyiv Independent project backed by the Ukrainian Institute

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How Ukraine's annual radio dictation brings a nation together, one word at a time
Culture

How Ukraine's annual radio dictation brings a nation together, one word at a time

by Kate Tsurkan

As it turns out, dictation exercises are not just for schoolchildren. On Oct. 27, hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians — from diaspora communities abroad to service members on the front lines — will take part in an annual tradition: listening, writing, and testing their mastery of the Ukrainian language. Organized by Ukrainian Radio since 2000, the annual Radio Dictation celebrates the Day of Ukrainian Writing and Language, bringing participants together to transcribe a text broadcast live acros

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Tuesday, October 27

Export hurdles and visa waits for Ukrainian companies force Pentagon to slow its drone contest

One morning in June, the head of export at Ukrainian drone company Stellarion found himself unexpectedly in need of a U-Haul outside the Detroit Metro Airport in Michigan. Stellarion was set to test its drones in front of American soldiers at a competition organized by the Pentagon at Camp Grayling, a military base three hours away. But while many of its 48 invited competitors were American companies that had had weeks to modify, prepare, and fit warheads onto their drones, Stellarion was facin

soldier holds a drone controller near a GARA UAV in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine, on Oct. 16, 2026.

Starving residents of Oleshky must not become props in Russian propaganda

For months, desperate civilians remaining in the southern Ukrainian city of Oleshky have been blockaded inside, as Russia severed food and medicine supplies to the city amid constant shelling, food shop closures, and reports of looting; many of the city's elderly and less mobile residents have been forced to forage for weeds and eat grass in order to simply survive. Oleshky is starving. The stories of the residents have been well documented. Now, there seems to be light at the end of the tunne

Putin addresses the public amid the Wagner Group’s armed rebellion in Russia on June 24, 2023.

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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