Help us keep bringing the truth to light, even when Russia turns the lights out.

Shop and support

Culture

The Hidden Canon: Discover Ukrainian literary classics

A Kyiv Independent project backed by the Ukrainian Institute

Ukrainian InstituteLearn more
“This Cursed Beautiful Land” by Gershkovich, and charred trees in Voronezh, Russia, on Aug. 1, 2010.
Culture

The trouble with loving Russia: Evan Gershkovich's memoir seeks sentimentality in a lost country

by Kate Tsurkan

By the end of his pre-trial detention at Moscow's infamous Lefortovo Prison, American journalist Evan Gershkovich had developed a curious rapport with the FSB investigator tasked with proving he was a spy. "Most people break after four months or so, but you're still holding strong — a year in," the investigator told him, and the two raised their cigarettes in a toast to "having tried to find common ground." Gershkovich writes about many such moments in "This Cursed Beautiful Land: A Russian-Am

News Feed

From emergency repairs to resilience in the housing sector: How Transitional Development Assistance contributes to Ukraine's social recovery

When Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, Iryna Simakina was in Enerhodar, a city in southern Ukraine, home to Europe's largest nuclear power plant. As Russian forces advanced on the city, staying became increasingly dangerous. Simakina, who uses a wheelchair because of a disability, eventually left her home behind, uncertain whether she would ever return. Simakina found refuge in Zhytomyr, northwestern Ukraine, in 2023, where she initially stayed with a friend. In Decembe

SUR project members visit a construction site in Zhytomyr, Ukraine, on May 6, 2026.

Analysis: No Elon Musk, Russian soldiers in Ukraine are not 'kids' who have 'no choice but to fight and die'

"We should (have) some sympathy for the poor Russian conscripts too. Those kids have no choice but to fight and die in drone strikes." For anyone watching and understanding Ukraine's years-long struggle for survival, the words of SpaceX founder and world's richest man Elon Musk ring with deep moral bankruptcy. But more importantly, Musk's post on Oct. 25 — made in the middle of a hurricane scandal around the near-trillionaire's throttling of Starlink internet terminals used by the Ukrainian mi

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.
News Feed