Ongoing reconsideration of the use of Russian language
and music gathers new momentum following Russia’s full-scale invasion
Commemorative item empowers people to unite over the anxieties and victories of the war
comes from a Ukrainian-speaking family but has always spoken Russian with most of her friends
“I didn’t pay attention to the fact that our language space is filled with two languages.”
A month after Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine
"I stopped thinking about the comfort of my companion and started speaking only Ukrainian
Let him or her switch to Ukrainian as well," Lihodkina continued
Ukraine’s ongoing reconsideration of its use of Russian language
and music has gathered new momentum after Russia’s full-scale invasion began on February 24 this year
The process began in 2014 when Kyiv announced a process of “decommunisation” which included renaming public places named after communist-related themes
The policy resulted in the ban of three Ukrainian communist parties and the renaming of dozens of villages
the city of Dnipropetrovsk was renamed Dnipro
and Kirovohrad was changed to Kropyvnystkii
in honour of a nineteenth century Ukrainian dramatist
the authorities have taken steps to remove more remnants of past Russian influence
Kyiv authorities dismantled a sculpture representing the Soviet Union's Order of Friendship of Peoples
Online polls were held to rename to consult on the renaming of five Kyiv metro stations and more than 300 streets
This latest push encompasses not only a rejection of the communist past
but also historical and imperial Russian influence on Ukraine
Lihodkina said that her work had shifted in focus since the full-scale invasion
that the historic influence of Russian culture had restricted the development of Ukrainian talent
“Ukrainian artists recently created a flashmob where they portrayed fictional characters in vyshyvanka [traditional Ukrainian embroidery]in response to a Russian’s artist illustration of a character with the ribbon of Saint George that has become a symbol of Russia’s military actions,” explained Lihodkina
whose own work focuses on digital illustrations of horses
“Ukrainian artists are being bolder and began to oust Russian content,” she continued
We don’t have any common future with Russian culture anymore
Russians steal everything [from our culture] and make it their own
It has lasted for too long and we didn’t realise that we have awesome artists.”
“Russians developed the image of Ukrainians as incapable of creating their own state
true culture and literature,” explained Rostyslav Semkiv
an associate professor of literature at the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy
Semkiv said that the first stage of colonial influence was the coloniser creating such an image; the next was that the colonised acquire it themselves
Ukrainians had begun to see themselves this way due to the influence of such propaganda
Ukraine’s parliament recently voted through two laws that will place severe restrictions on Russian books and music
The ministry of education also made a decision to exclude Russian literature from elementary and middle school
you can’t convince them that good poetry comes from the same place where missiles fly from
had left Ukrainians so traumatised that it was better to remove its associated cultural symbols
“Monuments to Russian classic author Aleksandr Pushkin are everywhere..
They stood as a symbol of ‘here is Russian culture,’” he continued
“They are treated as symbols of the empire
There are plenty of activists who will just smash these monuments
so the authorities are trying to control people’s rage.”
said that Russian was the language invariably spoken amongst high-level Ukrainian entrepreneurs
“The business language is Russian and no one doubted it,” Chernyavskii said
“I have been in the advertising business for eight years and met only one top Ukrainian entrepreneur who spoke Ukrainian.”
as well as a general rebranding away from links to Russia or Belarus
Companies broke contracts with Russian agents or publicly announced that they would refuse to do business with Russian or Belarussian clients
Ukrainian brands had also strengthened nationalistic symbolism in their communications
he pointed to the Ukrainian ice cream brand Belaya Byaroza (White Birch)
which for nearly ten years had advertised using Belorussian milk and butter in their product
a hangover from the Soviet era when the country had a reputation for producing extra high quality products
“Belaya Byaroza produced an ice cream with a Belorussian brand vibe after the invasion started,” Chernyavskii continued
“I was about to create a scandal because of this
but then they made a banner where the brand got a Ukrainian version of the name.”
was a paucity of unique Ukrainian brand identities
With national culture devalued and suppressed during the communist era
it was often considered more attractive to create westernised instead of Ukrainian brands or artwork
“A friend of mine asked an illustrator to create a minimalist art for coffee cups that would have looked nice on Instagram,” he continued
“I paid 30 US dollars to artists at the National Museum of Ukrainian Pottery in Opishne and they created a paper cup design in a traditional Ukrainian decorative painting style – Opishnya painting
Opishnya painting style is used in ceramics and pottery
but the visual style is versatile enough to be painted anywhere.”
but “requires a lot of explaining to people who don’t know how modern creative industries work”
Experts acknowledge that it is not possible or desirable to permanently exclude centuries of Russian influence and interaction with Ukrainian language and culture
Semkiv said that the extreme nature of the current situation meant art
music and literature had become part of the conflict
it’s political and ideological,” he continued
“We can’t hold [Russian books and art] into our hands because it is toxic
But after time passes we will think it through again and make something out of it
Journalists need training and support to properly cover war crimes trials
Activists warn that vulnerable domestic workers risk abuse
often returning with serious health conditions
sacrifice and luck secured a vital early win in the south-eastern campaign
Some women face Adana's male-dominated traffic chaos for a living
Recent murder highlights widespread discrimination and violence against LGBTI people
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The organizer of the festival "Borscht in a Clay Pot" which took place on August 12 in Opishnya (Poltava oblast)
filed statements with the police against journalist Vitaly Ulybin ("Poltava Wave") and Olha Stenko (Gazeta.ua)
This was reported by the IMI representative in Poltava oblast
Shcherban accused the journalists of ivading her private space. Olena Shcherban posted a video of herself filing the statements on Facebook
"I am submitting a statement about a criminal offense by the employees of the TV channel "Suspilne"
violated a bunch of articles of the Constitution of Ukraine
Spreading false rumours," Olena Shcherban says in the video
the police officers who were on duty near the borscht festival venue said that Olena Shcherban files statements with the police repeatedly
study the described situation and identify the mentioned persons
gave the police their explanations regarding Shcherban's statement and claim that they had come to cover the public event "Borscht in a Clay Pot"
which was organized and announced by Olena Shcherban
journalist Olha Stenko said that she learned about the festival from an open source
And she was surprised to find she was not allowed to the event
"I learned about the date and place of the event from an open source
Olena Shcherban – I have the screenshots
I have perviously visited multiple ethnic food festivals which Ms
I know from my experience that these are mass events
At this address is the so-called "Lyalyna Svitlytsia" estate and the self-proclaimed "Cooked Borscht Museum"
Information on them is publicly available online
I was surprised that Olena Shcherban did not let me and others entering with me into the estate
Shcherban said that she was having a private wedding
that only invited guests were allowed to enter
and that and the newlyweds did not want journalists to be seen at the wedding," Olha Stenko said
The journalist added that there was a banner over the fence which said that on August 12
the estate will host the ethnic food festival "Borscht in a Clay Pot" and that she had photo proof
"People from different places were entering to attend the borscht festival – I have an audio recording of myself discussing this with the visitors
each person would pay 100 hryvnias and nobody would check their invitations
it was a mass commercial event taking place at the estate," said Olha Stenko
The journalist noted that she had collected evidence that it was the announced borscht festival
that was taking place at the "Lyalyna Svitlitsa" estate
"A woman invited me to come in and try their borscht
I accepted the invitation and entered the estate without hindrance
I saw commercial activity taking place: public catering
I collected photo and audio evidence of a mass event taking place at the estate owned by the citizen Olena Shcherban
which featured unauthorized commercial activity," said Stenko
The journalist considers Olena Shcherban's claims to be unfounded
I would like to note that the aforementioned person bullied me
as well as my husband Stenko Valentyn Heorhiyovych
said that he had come to Opishnya to report on the international borscht festival "Borscht in a Clay Pot"
Shcherban had invited everyone to the festival on her social media
"We had come to report on an open public event. These events were covered in the story by the 'Poltava Wave'
Despite Olena Shcherban's claims that the 'Lyalina Svetlytsia' estate is private property
she has repeatedly and publicly announced that it was a commercial venue which hosts tours
Shcherban said on the program "My Super Family" on the TV channel TET that the estate is her business where she does commercial projects
they saw that it featured preparation and sale of many various dishes which could potentially pose a danger to the consumers
since there was no ambulance on duty at the venue and the sanitary conditions had not been checked
He believes that the journalists in their reporting are recording violations that are of significant public importance
the journalists who were performing their professional duties at the venue of a public event where an entrance fee was collected did not violate the law
and their activities cannot be restricted," Vitaliy Ulybin said
saying that Olena Shcherban received no permit to host the event – moreover
she has been banned by the district military administration to hold mass events
Reprinting and disseminating our information is allowed
but under strictly condition of reference to the source