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Culture

The Hidden Canon: Discover Ukrainian literary classics

A Kyiv Independent project backed by the Ukrainian Institute

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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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Exclusive: Zelensky’s ex-chief of staff Yermak ran 'troubling' back-channel with Trump's Susie Wiles

U.S. President Donald Trump's former Chief of Staff Susie Wiles had a "troubling" back-channel with Andriy Yermak, the controversial former head of the President’s Office, the Kyiv Independent can exclusively reveal. The back-channel began after Trump's inauguration in January 2025, when President Volodymyr Zelensky tasked Yermak with establishing contacts with high-level American officials. Yermak and Wiles spoke frequently in the following months, two Ukrainian officials told the Kyiv Indepe

Andriy Yermak poses for a portrait in Kyiv, Ukraine, on April 25, 2024.

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.
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