#9. The Ukrainian Issue
"A nation's culture resides in the hearts and in the soul of its people." - Mahatma Gandhi
I can’t believe it’s 2022 and Europe is at war. It’s like the world couldn’t wait one second to celebrate the imminent end of the global pandemic before assailing humanity with another tragedy.
Like most of you I imagine, I’d never really given Ukraine much thought before. Now it’s all I can see in my feeds. But what I see is tragic and traumatic and that’s not the only way Ukraine should be seen.
Ukraine, despite Russia's best efforts, has its own unique culture, which I have spent the last few days seeking out so we can know and appreciate the beauty and humanity of the people behind the headlines and what they are fighting for.
Ukrainian Reads
Have you ever heard the Ukrainian national anthem? Well, one of the world’s leading baritones, Kyiv-born Yuriy Yurchuk, stood outside Number 10 Downing Street this week and gave a rendition against a backdrop of peace protestors and it is incredibly moving: https://www.classicfm.com/music-news/videos/opera-singer-ukraine-national-anthem-protests/.
He was joined by his countrymen in Ukraine and across Europe proving, as ever, the universality of music and its power to unite and amplify the voices of the oppressed: https://www.classicfm.com/music-news/russia-invades-ukraine-musicians-play-for-peace/
Ukrainian Sounds & Visions
In the west and particularly in the UK we find competitions like X-Factor and Eurovision a bit cheesy and commercial. Somehow they manage to undermine the talent rather than celebrate it. But in other countries, perhaps with less established music industries, these competitions are a legitimate route to mainstream success and credibility.
‘Alina Pash’, for example, placed third in the Ukrainian X-Factor in 2016 and was selected to represent her country at this year’s Eurovision. She also just won the 2022 Music Moves Europe award, the EU’s prize for upcoming artists who “present the sound of today and tomorrow.”
Her debut single ‘Bitanga’, which is Ruthenian dialect for 'hooligan', was shot in her native village of Transcarpathia where she was raised amongst ancient Carpathian traditions that influence her cutting edge music today. It is, frankly, a banger!
Yuko were manufactured on the Ukrainian version of ‘The Voice’ in 2016 when Yulia Yurina and Stas Koroliov were paired up by their mentor Ivan Dorn. Together they mix traditional folk songs with electronics and startling visuals to create something thrillingly contemporary.
Preserving their threatened culture in modern forms is common across Ukrainian pop culture, as further demonstrated by the band Onuka who arise from a musical dynasty.
Onuka translates to ‘granddaughter,’ which is a tribute to lead singer Nata Zhyzhchenko's grandfather and renowned folk-instrument maker, Oleksandr Shlionchyk.
She believes, through her music, she can revitalize old traditions and classic folk instruments such as the bandura and sopilka, which disappeared during the Soviet period.
DakhaBrakha are my favourite new discovery, somewhat avant garde they are like nothing I have ever seen or heard before, which just goes to show how restrictive the algorithm’s that control our tastes are. With the entire world’s music at our fingertips, why are we so often served the same old dross?
Finally, with over 403 million YouTube views ‘Plakala’ by Kazka is probably the biggest hit Ukraine has ever had. Appropriately enough the title translates as ‘Cry’ and is accompanied by a powerful video.
Ukrainian Art
Maxim Dondyuk is a Ukrainian visual artist working in the field of documentary photography and was a finalist at the 2020 Singapore International Photography Festival for his book ‘Culture of Confrontation’, which captured the 2014 Ukrainian revolution.
Since 2016 Maxim has been leading expeditions into Chernobyl’s restricted zone, searching for undeveloped film, photos and letters abandoned by former residents. So far he has explored 20 resettled villages and found more than 15,000 artefacts that he is painstakingly archiving in his ‘Untitled Project from Chernobyl’. Dive in for a glimpse into a lost world rendered all the more strange by the effects of radiation: https://maximdondyuk.com/works/untitled-project-from-chernobyl.
This is just a tiny glimpse into a distinctive culture that Ukrainians are proud of and wish to preserve. If you want to help them you can make a contribution to any of these organisations providing essential support: https://www.gq.com/story/where-to-donate-in-ukraine.
Peace. Nx