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The Hidden Canon: Discover Ukrainian literary classics

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100 years ago, Kyiv's young writers sought artistic freedom. Stalin's purges cut their experiment short
Culture

100 years ago, Kyiv's young writers sought artistic freedom. Stalin's purges cut their experiment short

by Kate Tsurkan

A century ago, some of Kyiv's most talented young writers had the idea to push back against the pretension and mediocrity they worried were taking root in literary circles. Yet, with the start of mass repression that began under Soviet leader Joseph Stalin shortly after, many of those writers never had the chance to discover what such a project could have become. The Maisternia Revoliutsiinoho Slova (MARS), or Workshop of the Revolutionary Word, was founded in Kyiv on Nov. 7, 1926, by some of

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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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