Ukrainian artists are fighting Russia’s ongoing attempt to destroy their culture and are using their art to call the world’s attention to Ukraine’s resilience.
At least 95 Ukrainian artists have been killed since the start of the war, according to the United Nations and PEN (the acronym that stands for the international association of poets, essayists, novelists, playwrights, editors and nonfiction writers). At the same time, Russia’s relentless attack has destroyed hundreds of museums, libraries, churches and archives, in what a statement by U.N. experts says “suggests a deliberate campaign of destruction.”
Russia killed another Ukrainian poet. Maksym Kryvtsov joined the army as a volunteer. He managed to publish only one book. Maxim died together with his cat. When you ask why we don’t have Ukrainian Nobel laureates in literature, then know that Russia killed them. pic.twitter.com/qVKqfWKK16
— Oleksandra Matviichuk (@avalaina) January 8, 2024
“Destroying our culture is the purpose of everything the Russians are doing,” Marjana Varchuk, director of communications at the Khanenko Museum, said to PEN America. “Culture and language strengthen our nation, they remind us of our history. That’s why the Russians are shelling our monuments, our museums, and our history.”
Putin frequently justifies his unlawful invasion of Ukraine by falsely claiming that Ukraine lacks a history, culture and identity separate from Russia’s. On the eve of the 2022 full-scale invasion he called Ukraine “an inalienable part of [Russia’s] own history, culture and spiritual space.”
Russian state-owned outlets have even called for the total elimination of Ukraine as a country and identity, saying that Russia needs to carry out “reeducation” of the Ukrainian people “and strict censorship, not only in the political sphere, but also in the field of culture and education.”
These are not just words. Russian forces are destroying Ukraine’s art and, in turn, its rich cultural heritage.
Ukraine reports that Russia has stolen its art and looted more than 30 museums, the biggest art theft since the Nazis in World War II. In Kherson, Ukrainian authorities report Russian soldiers cutting paintings from frames, stealing priceless antiques and plundering more than 10,000 works of art.
Russian bombing and shelling have also devastated Ukraine’s historical culture, with UNESCO confirming the destruction of 337 cultural and artistic buildings since the start of the war.
‘Relentlessly creating’
In the face of Russia’s destructive war, Ukrainian artists all over the world are using their work to preserve and advance their culture, defying Putin’s attempts to erase their country’s unique cultural identity and replace it with Russia’s.
The best form of resistance we have is “relentlessly creating,” said Ukrainian composer Ihor Zavhorodnii, who lives and works outside Kyiv, in The Guardian. “We are now in a place where our culture cannot be interrupted. … We have to think of our culture like capital — we have to invest in it.”
They are not alone in their efforts.
Nations across Europe and around the world are organizing traveling art exhibitions featuring modern Ukrainian art. These exhibitions showcase Ukrainian art to an international audience and protect the work from destruction and theft by Russian troops.
We are providing “concrete support to the Ukrainian artists who, in these dramatic hours, are fleeing from the horrors of war to find refuge in Italy,” said Italian Minister of Culture Dario Franceschini when he signed a 2 million-euro grant for 20 Italian cultural foundations to host Ukrainian artists in residence. “Allowing them to continue in their creative work is an important gesture of solidarity: a sign that culture truly unites the world.”
Despite all the loss and destruction, Ukrainian artists remain optimistic about the future of Ukrainian culture.
“We had a Ukrainian renaissance once and now it can be the same,” Ukrainian poet Lyuba Yakimchuk told The Guardian. “You feel this energy; there are a lot of stories created by this war. We need to write them. People can grow after trauma — and it can happen with a society, too. I believe we will create something new.”
We put our kid to sleep in a safe place, opened the windows to prevent the break by the shock wave, and remained where our tourniquets were. After this, we cut off pieces of cake and ate. Homemade cheesecake with currant mousse. Under missiles bombing.
Happy New Year from Kyiv!— Lyuba Yakimchuk (@YakimchukLyuba) December 31, 2022