KI short logo

Culture

The Hidden Canon: Discover Ukrainian literary classics

A Kyiv Independent project backed by the Ukrainian Institute

Ukrainian InstituteLearn more
Burned Ukrainian books at the site of a Russian missile attack on a publishing factory in Kharkiv, Ukraine on May 23, 2024.
Culture

Ukrainian publishers stand strong despite enormous financial losses from Russian attacks

by Kate Tsurkan

The moment Svitlana Paveletska, co-founder of Knyholav, received the news that the mass attack on July 19 had wiped out her publishing house's warehouse in Kyiv, she felt an overwhelming wave of grief that was difficult to put into words. "Every book represents months, and sometimes years, of work by our entire publishing team, including the author, translator, editor, proofreader, designer, and printer," Paveletska told the Kyiv Independent. Books are not military targets, but according to th

More from Culture

NewsLetters

News Feed

Few thought Russia could build a surveillance state. Here’s how it did it

In the summer of 2016, Russia's security services gained unprecedented access to citizens' private calls, messages, and photos. The so-called Yarovaya laws demanded that telecoms companies store user data and hand it over to Russia's security services on request — even without a court order. For activists, the danger of such laws was obvious. The illegal annexation of Ukrainian Crimea had taken place two years prior; politician Boris Nemtsov had been gunned down in view of the Kremlin in 2015,

Zelensky's Trump meeting produced one possible breakthrough — and it wasn't Patriots

President Volodymyr Zelensky's meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump took place in what Ukrainian officials described as a warm atmosphere, but it produced few results for Kyiv, people familiar with the discussions told the Kyiv Independent. The one breakthrough may have been persuading Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner — Trump's two main envoys on Russia and Ukraine — to finally visit Kyiv after months of shuttling to Moscow. One U.S. official familiar with the planning cautioned that the tr

'A shirt that lasts a lifetime' — Kyiv Independent staff members on their first vyshyvanka

Editor's note: This article has been adapted from stories we shared on social media and via email for the launch of the Kyiv Independent's first vyshyvanka, one of the items featured in the Old Patterns, New Stories: Embroidered Collection. You can see the collection here, and sign up to get updates on new collections and special discounts from our store here. Ukrainians have worn vyshyvankas — traditional embroidered shirts or dresses — throughout history, particularly for special occasions li

Three women wearing different styles of vyshyvanka, traditional embroidered shirt in Ukraine

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.

Read more

Most Popular

Editors' Picks

News Feed