Help us find 5,000 new members. Bring one friend.

Share your personal link and make us stronger in 2027.

Culture

The Hidden Canon: Discover Ukrainian literary classics

A Kyiv Independent project backed by the Ukrainian Institute

Ukrainian InstituteLearn more
The cover of “Kvitky” by Old Khata and a drawing featured in the book.
Culture

Old Khata's 'Kvitky' — Tribute to beauty and enduring legacy of Ukrainian folk art

by Dinara Khalilova

Imagine your family has survived World War I, a nationwide revolution marked by brutal violence and constantly changing governments, and a famine. Then, less than a decade later, another, even more devastating famine strikes your land under its new rulers. You and the people around you have suffered for years, and many have died. No end to the suffering is in sight.   Yet, on the eve of an important religious holiday, you sit down and decide to continue one of your people's most beautiful and h

News Feed

Ukraine war latest: Starshield speed restrictions return, Zelensky says

Key developments on Nov. 12: * Starshield speed restrictions return, hampering efforts to intercept Russian drones, Zelensky says * Russia attacks Kyiv with ballistic missiles, drones hours after peace talks end * Russian colonel reportedly killed in car explosion near St. Petersburg * Ukraine captures first Indonesian prisoner of war as Russia steps up foreign recruitment * Electric shock, beating, choking — Russian commander tortured civilians in occupied Oleshky, prosecutors say Ukrain

Who will work Ukraine's farms as the workforce shortage deepens?

On my way back to Kyiv in October after visiting my partners in eastern Ukraine, I had to get off the train in the middle of the night because Russian drones were headed our way. The foundation I chair teaches displaced Ukrainian women to operate farm machinery through accredited schools, and lately I have been asking myself whether that work makes sense right now. Mobilization and emigration have pulled many of the men who drove tractors and combines out of the fields, and in May, Taras Vysot

A farm worker poses for a portrait at a dairy farm damaged by Russian attacks in Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine, on Aug. 16, 2024.

Europe wants a seat at the table with Russia. It can't agree on who gets it

"When it comes to European security, then the treaties are very concrete. It is (Council President) Antonio Costa, and it is the High Representative and Vice President (Kaja Kallas) who is representing Europe in security matters," Kallas said. French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, however, stopped short of endorsing the Costa-Kallas ticket.

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