Editor's Note: This is episode 2 of "Ukraine's True History," a video and story series by the Kyiv Independent. The series is funded by the Institute for War and Peace Reporting within the program “Ukraine Forward: Amplifying Analysis.” The program is financed by the MATRA Programme of the Embassy of
Editor's Note: This is episode 1 of "Ukraine's True History," a video and story series by the Kyiv Independent. The series is funded by the Institute for War and Peace Reporting within the program “Ukraine Forward: Amplifying Analysis.” The program is financed by the MATRA Programme of the Embassy of
Intellectuals from across the globe took part in a three-day online conference to raise funds for the Center for Civic Engagement, a newly established project at the Kyiv Mohyla Academy. “‘The pen is mightier than the sword’ is true only if all the people with the swords die and the
The first Russian bomb hit the outskirts of Mariupol an hour after video journalist Mstyslav Chernov arrived to the city on Feb. 24, the first day of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. For 20 days that followed, Chernov’s team captured Russian blows strangling the city block by block.
Following a three-month break after the start of Russia’s all-out war, the National Opera of Ukraine resumed its performances. With some of its members serving in the army, and having dropped all Russian pieces from the repertoire, the theater team argues that art is always political. Culture Ministry: Russia
A hundred years after it was heard for the first time by a North American audience, the famous Ukrainian carol Shchedryk,' also known as 'Carol of the Bells,' once again rang in the halls of Carnegie Hall in New York City. Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovych’s carol was
“Breaking: This lettuce outlasts Russian annexation of Kherson,” reads a meme posted a few hours after Russia announced its retreat from the city of Kherson. This is a remake of a joke about the former U.K. Prime Minister Liz Truss, whose short term in power " was compared to "the
KHERSON — Housed in a grand imperial building with a view out onto the Dnipro River, the Kherson Fine Arts Museum once hosted one of the richest collections in all of Ukraine. As with the rest of Kherson, which had its electricity infrastructure destroyed by withdrawing Russian forces in early November,
MILL VALLEY, California – Director Evgeny Afineevsky is best known for bringing to the screen one of the most pivotal moments in the modern history of Ukraine – the 2013-2014 EuroMaidan Revolution – in the film known as "Winter on Fire." Now he is putting a spotlight on a no less historic moment
MYKOLAIV – The bunker under the Mykolaiv academic theater was packed, with the last preparations well underway for an evening show 30 kilometers west of the front line. It was a special night. The theater's first film festival since February was about to begin in early August despite yet another night
As Igor Martiniouk, 20, looked around the Soyuzivka Ukrainian Heritage Center in Upstate New York, the Catskill Mountains and lush green forests reminded him of the Ukrainian Carpathian Mountains. This was just as the center’s founders had intended. From the choice of location in mountainous Kerhonkson, New York, to
The Kyiv Independent joined forces with journalists Frédéric Ploquin and Maria Poblete to publish “The Kyiv Independent: Diary of Ukrainian Resistance” ("Carnet de bord de la résistance ukrainienne"), a first-hand account of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine. In the book, the Kyiv Independent newsroom recounts reporting on Russia's preparations
Ukrainian traditional beetroot soup, borshch, is now inscribed on UNESCO’s list of endangered intangible cultural heritage. On July 1, UNESCO approved a decision to add borshch to the list after Ukraine requested the agency fast track the procedure amid Russia’s war. The UN cultural agency said in a
“C’mon, this way,” Serhiy Zhadan said, climbing the stairs of Kharkiv’s Puppet Theater. We follow the writer’s black cigarette jeans and iconic leather jacket through a maze of corridors, almost running after his lean silhouette deep into the cool darkness of empty seats. Every theater dreams of
Anatoliy Vasylenko had the rare talent of being able to transform Ukrainian politics, with its endless supply of corrupt officials and controversial events, into a laughing matter. He spent most of his life with a brush in hand, drawing cartoons and illustrations for Ukrainian newspapers and books. For his achievements,
In 1937, Pablo Picasso, widely acknowledged as one of the greatest painters in history, said after visiting an exhibition in Paris: “I bow down before the artistic miracle of this brilliant Ukrainian.” He was talking about the folk painter Maria Prymachenko and her paintings in the “naive art” genre. Eighty-five
The 2022 documentary “Navalny” opens with filmmaker Daniel Roher posing a question to Alexei Navalny, a Russian opposition figure whose notoriety is just shy of that of a folk hero and construed by many as the metaphorical “anti-Putin”, the possible vehicle of Russia’s redemption: What message would Navalny leave
Our picks of the best art, music, film and more in the capital. Listed venues require one of the following: certificate of vaccination, negative PCR or antigen test, or proof of recovery from Covid-19. * Paul Thomas Anderson’s nostalgic 1970s love story about self-discovery and this year's Oscar nominee for
Our picks of the best art, music, film and more in the capital.
Our picks of the best art, music, film and more in the capital. All listed venues require one of the following: certificate of vaccination, negative PCR or antigen test, or proof of recovery from Covid-19. * Traveling carnivals with stomach-turning attractions, exceptional psychoanalysis, and blood-curdling violence scenes is only a small
Editor's Note: The selection was provided by Takflix, a Ukrainian streaming platform, and approved by the Kyiv Independent. This isn't sponsored content. Although Russia’s war against Ukraine has been going non-stop since 2014, many around the world have just learned about Moscow’s aggression due to the growing threat
Our picks of the best art, music, film and more in the capital. All listed venues require one of the following: certificate of vaccination, negative PCR or antigen test, or proof of recovery from Covid-19. * A portrait of the generation Z, yet timeless in its empathy for the teenage experience,
From an artist’s response to his city’s water mismanagement in 1995 to a work reflecting the world decline in 2022 – the "Fountain of Exhaustion" by Pavlo Makov has come a long way. Its ultimate destination is the oldest international Venice Art Biennale, where it will represent Ukraine in
Ukrainian singer and rapper Alina Pash received the Music Moves Europe Award, the European Union’s prize for upcoming artists who "present the sound of today and tomorrow." "I’m so honored. It means a lot to me and those people who believe in my heart," Pash said on Instagram
Our picks of the best art, music, film and more in the capital. All listed venues require one of the following: certificate of vaccination, negative PCR or antigen test, or proof of recovery from Covid-19. * British action film “The King’s Man,” set as a prequel to the Kingsman franchise,
One early September 16 years ago, U.S. Presbyterian minister Robert Gamble got off the train in Odesa, Ukraine’s biggest port city, where he had chosen to spend his sabbatical. He did not speak any Ukrainian or Russian, and had neither relatives nor friends in the region. His only
Dozens of people plunged into the icy waters of the Dnipro River on Jan. 19 in Kyiv's northern district of Obolon to celebrate Epiphany. The tradition to bathe in the freezing water of a river or lake comes from a popular belief that on this day, the water brings health
Ukrainian electronic duo Artbat will perform at one of the world’s biggest and most influential music festivals, Coachella. The festival announced its lineup on Jan. 12. It shows that the Kyiv-based duo of Artur Kryvenko and Vitaliy Limarenko will perform on Fridays during the dual-weekend event, alongside world-known musicians
Our picks of the best art, music, film and more in the capital. All listed venues require one of the following: certificate of vaccination, negative PCR or antigen test, or proof of recovery from Covid-19. * Ukrainian hip-hop pioneers Tanok Na Maidani Kongo, or TNMK, will yet again play a show
An ignorant shoplifter with bad fashion sense – that’s how the hit Netflix romantic comedy series "Emily in Paris" portrayed a character named Petra, who happens to be a Ukrainian. This creative decision caused outrage in Ukraine. Criticism from social media influencers, public officials and ordinary Ukrainians poured in after
Despite the double threat of a looming Russian invasion and the new variant of Covid-19 virus, Omicron, Kyivans are making the most of the holiday season with the city’s Christmas markets. Like every year, Kyiv's two main Christmas markets are open on Sofiivska Square in the heart of Kyiv
The Ukrainian government has entered the city of Odesa as a contender to host the World Expo in 2030. Odesa will compete against four other cities for the spot: Moscow, Russia; Rome, Italy; Busan, the Republic of Korea; and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. "Holding a world exhibition can become a powerful
The latest on literature, films, art, and traditions from Ukraine and the region. 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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