As Russia advances further into Ukraine, Putin attempts to eradicate Ukrainian culture from existence. He claims that the Ukrainians and Russians are “one people” and that everything that is Ukrainian is fundamentally Russian culture.
Russian missiles blew up pop concerts, band performances, statues, and any other form of art that involved Ukrainian culture. They are specifically targeting places of worship, theaters, libraries, and etc. However, despite all of the physical damage done, including destroying buildings, burning artwork, shattering sculptures, a new generation of young Ukrainians sprang into photography, design, film, and music.
Ukrainian volunteers are now taking artwork out of museums and buildings in order to protect them. They are also taking photographs of objects and buildings to show how to rebuild them. Sandbags are being used to protect statues from Russian attacks.
“You see how many historical fake justifications there are in the Russian motivation for this war,” said Anton Drobovych, a Ukrainian philosopher, now a soldier fighting in the trenches of Ukraine. He now takes classes on Zoom on the battlefield. “History is no less important than the army,” he said. “If I felt that it was less important, I would deal only with my anti-tank affairs.”
Between air raid sirens and warnings on phones, cultural life still goes on in Kyiv. At concerts, everyone’s phones were buzzing with alerts about attacks in new parts of the country. Yet, everyone just continued to dance and enjoy the music.
“It is contagious, and it spreads to the rest of the world,” Mr. Drobovych noted. “It seems that this truth and justice, which is violated, simply explodes in people who create art. And I think that’s a huge part of why we’re going to win this war.”
The war is threatening Ukraine’s cultural legacy, and the culture of a country is what makes it unique from others. The main priority of the citizens of Ukraine is to preserve the culture and savor every moment of it. The war isn’t all about death, it’s about feeling alive and happy in dark times like these, to look on the bright side of things, and preserve what makes Ukraine the country that it is today. If a country doesn’t have its own culture, what makes it a country? What makes it different from others? There is nothing to distinguish the pros and the cons and everything that is worth living for if culture didn’t exist.
Russian missiles blew up pop concerts, band performances, statues, and any other form of art that involved Ukrainian culture. They are specifically targeting places of worship, theaters, libraries, and etc. However, despite all of the physical damage done, including destroying buildings, burning artwork, shattering sculptures, a new generation of young Ukrainians sprang into photography, design, film, and music.
Ukrainian volunteers are now taking artwork out of museums and buildings in order to protect them. They are also taking photographs of objects and buildings to show how to rebuild them. Sandbags are being used to protect statues from Russian attacks.
“You see how many historical fake justifications there are in the Russian motivation for this war,” said Anton Drobovych, a Ukrainian philosopher, now a soldier fighting in the trenches of Ukraine. He now takes classes on Zoom on the battlefield. “History is no less important than the army,” he said. “If I felt that it was less important, I would deal only with my anti-tank affairs.”
Between air raid sirens and warnings on phones, cultural life still goes on in Kyiv. At concerts, everyone’s phones were buzzing with alerts about attacks in new parts of the country. Yet, everyone just continued to dance and enjoy the music.
“It is contagious, and it spreads to the rest of the world,” Mr. Drobovych noted. “It seems that this truth and justice, which is violated, simply explodes in people who create art. And I think that’s a huge part of why we’re going to win this war.”
The war is threatening Ukraine’s cultural legacy, and the culture of a country is what makes it unique from others. The main priority of the citizens of Ukraine is to preserve the culture and savor every moment of it. The war isn’t all about death, it’s about feeling alive and happy in dark times like these, to look on the bright side of things, and preserve what makes Ukraine the country that it is today. If a country doesn’t have its own culture, what makes it a country? What makes it different from others? There is nothing to distinguish the pros and the cons and everything that is worth living for if culture didn’t exist.
