While Belarusian is one of the two official state languages in Belarus, the decision to speak, read, and write it can be a dangerous choice for Belarusians. Growing up, the Belarusian poet and translator Valzhyna Mort was aware of how the Belarusian language was perceived in her country. “Belarusian was
The prominent Belarusian artist Ales Pushkin died in prison in Belarus "under unclear circumstances," his wife Janina Demuch reported on July 11.
Episode #15 of our weekly video podcast “This Week in Ukraine” is dedicated to Ukrainian culture, the important role it plays in war, and why it has been a target of Russian dictators for decades.
When Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, many in the West, and in the Kremlin too, expected the Ukrainian state to crumble in weeks, if not days. The government would flee, the state would be carved up – some lands absorbed by Russia, the rest perhaps being made into a
The writers' association PEN Ukraine said in a statement that Ukrainian writer and war crimes researcher Victoria Amelina died on July 1 after she was critically injured in a Russian missile strike on Kramatorsk.
The 90s is an overlooked period in contemporary Ukrainian literature – unlike Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine – and the setting alone makes Oksana Lutsyshyna’s award-winning novel “Ivan and Phoebe” an achievement. Now available in Nina Murray's English translation from the U.S. publisher Deep Vellum, Lutsyshyna’s novel is
American author Elizabeth Gilbert ignited a heated online debate when she decided to postpone the release of her new novel, “The Snow Forest,” which is set in Russia. Many Ukrainians (and not only) thought that it was insensitive for a bestselling author to choose Russia as the backdrop to their
Appropriating and rewriting foreign history has been a key aspect of Russia's imperialist narratives. This is especially true about the history of Ukraine, which Russia has sought to subjugate for centuries. Crediting Russia as being the sole successor of the medieval Kyivan Rus and laying claims to all of the
BERKELEY/KYIV – When Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, few expected resistance to last longer than a few days. In both Russia and the West, Russian troops were expected to sweep into Kyiv, parade uniforms in hand, install a proxy government, and effectively end Ukrainian statehood.
Russia's war against Ukraine began in Crimea. In February 2014, as the pro-Russian regime in Kyiv was killing protesters on the barricades of the EuroMaidan Revolution, thousands of Russian troops without insignia began occupying strategic locations and military bases in the Crimean Peninsula. Within a month, Russia had illegally annexed
Since the start of the full-scale Russian invasion, many Ukrainian writers have refused to participate in any cultural events that featured Russian writers. Despite thousands of civilian casualties, billions of dollars in infrastructure damage, and countless stories of human rights abuses committed by Russian forces, Ukrainian writers keep having to
EDMONTON, Canada – This time last year, Oleh Psiuk felt a little nervous. The 28-year-old from the small western Ukrainian town of Kalush was about to do something he had never experienced before, but he was ready to give it his all. Psiuk and his band, Kalush Orchestra, were set to
Editor's Note: This is episode 3 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
Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has galvanized Ukrainians into action, compelling them to figure out how they can contribute to their country’s victory. Oftentimes, it has called for a radical departure from the known comforts of their daily lives. That’s exactly what happened to Ukrainian writer Victoria
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
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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