One of the cascading effects caused by Russia's war is the unprecedented rise of patriotism in Ukraine. Those who spoke "surzhik" or Russian, now speak and write Ukrainian. They say that this is how the final formation of a nation usually happens. For example, the American nation was also formed through the crucible of war. Human nature is such that it is not the freedom that is given a priori that is valued more, but the one for which a great price has been paid.

And also, a vivid example from my personal life: I was one of the first to sell portraits of the Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko at OLХ, starting sometime in 2015. Now there are more than 1000 (!) ads for this request. And I wondered why I haven't been asked about Shevchenko's portraits for a long time...

The same applies to music. In 2022-2023, we saw a new wave of Ukrainian music: both patriotic and military-themed, as well as the most diverse.

Today I suggest you listen to a new remix of the Ukrainian folk song "Red viburnum" ("Червона калина"). A video clip with beautiful Ukrainian women who are currently serving in the armed forces of Ukraine (now we have more than 50,000 women at the army).

  • The slang word "surzhik", which I used at the beginning, means a mixture of Ukrainian and Russian, which many of us spoke before the war (local dialects that differ slightly in each region). Now a lot of people have switched to the pure Ukrainian language. The war forced many to decide on their affiliation.

✍ Bogdan Karasiov, September 11, 2023.