Killed by russia: Figures of Ukrainian Culture

Presentation of the project “Killed by russia: Figures of Ukrainian Culture”

Representatives of the initiative monitoring losses among Ukrainian cultural figures who died as a result of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine will discuss the current situation. The Ukrainian PEN team began this monitoring work at the start of the full-scale war. In 2023, in collaboration with The Ukrainians, the project “Cultural Figures Taken by the War” was launched under the curation of Sasha Dovzhyk. In particular, Maryana Matveichuk created literary portraits of figures such as Kherson composer Yurii Kerpatenko, killed by occupying forces; director of the Kupiansk Local History Museum Iryna Osadcha; ancient languages translator from Irpin Oleksandr Kysliuk; poet Hliba Babich; and others.

In 2024, other state institutions and civil society organizations joined the monitoring effort to unite their work in preserving the memory of fallen Ukrainian cultural figures and advocating for their legacies. The project “Killed by Russia: Figures of Ukrainian Culture” is curated by poet and cultural manager Olha Olkhova. Radomyr Mokryk will provide historical context, explaining how Russian imperialism and the Soviet system destroyed creators of Ukrainian culture and how Ukrainian culture resisted in the 20th century.

Participants: Sasha Dovzhyk, Olha Olkhova, Maryana Matveichuk, Maksym Sytnikov, Radomyr Mokryk