Ukraine is independent, talented and victorious: the cover of Woman Magazine
Cover of Woman Magazine: Ukraine is independent, talented and victorious
Ukraine is her. It is the feminine image of our Motherland that has permeated Ukrainian culture for a long time. And in the 20th century, in Ukrainian literature, it is inextricably linked with the fate of our state and its formation. The idea of a new issue of Woman Magazine became a successful and strong Ukraine as a woman.
Ukraine is independent. She remembers her past, knows what a difficult path she has overcome and values her sovereignty above everything else.
Ukraine is talented. She accumulates achievements in creative and scientific fields and learns new things in order to develop and be modern and competitive on the world stage.
Ukraine is victorious. She knows who her friends are and who are not. Therefore, she is confident in her goals and is ready to achieve them side by side with her partners, overcoming difficulties one by one.
This is how we imagine our Ukraine and believe in its future and prospects, the first of which is victory and peace. In this article for the cover of Woman, together with Ukrainian opinion leaders and industry experts, we will show how an independent, talented and victorious Ukraine achieves its goal in various spheres of its existence, why it is important and what awaits us in the future.
HISTORY
Heiress of the great Kyivan Rus, Ukraine has experienced many trials during its long history. The Mongol-Tatar invasion, serfdom, the eradication of the language, the Red Terror, artificial famine, two world wars, repression of cultural and scientific figures, an atomic disaster, the annexation of Crimea and a hybrid war in an already independent country. All this, convinced historian and former head of the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance Volodymyr Viatrovych, hardened Ukraine, forged its indomitability to become stronger every time.
«The problem of those who thought that Ukraine could not withstand the challenges of modernity is that they simply do not know Ukrainian history,» – Vyatrovych emphasizes.
Ukraine has been fighting for its rights and freedom for years. After the Mongol invasion, the destruction of the Cossack state, imperial enslavement and Soviet occupation, an independent Ukrainian state was emerged. They tried to convince us that we are worth less, that we are only someone’s «fringe», but we’ve always shown that we don’t accept this.
«This was most evident in the 20th century, when they tried to erase Ukraine in every possible way. This is its occupation by the Bolsheviks, and Kholodny Yar, and the Holodomor. Millions of Ukrainians rose up again and again because they knew who they were and that they were worthy of being independent. Since the 18th century, we have officially declared that we are heading for a democratic state, having created the first constitution in the world – the Constitution of Philip Orlyk. We always knew what we wanted. Children of Ukraine have it in their genes».
LANGUAGE
Language is another memory of Ukraine about its roots and its modern tool for victories and stepping into the future, linguist Oleksandr Avramenko is convinced. According to Duolingo, an international online language learning platform, the popularity of Ukrainian language has increased by more than 200 percent over the past few month. And in March, Ukraine received membership in the European EFNIL project, which officially recognizes it as a future language of the EU. Ukrainians want to know the language of the Motherland and improve it to such an extent that the number of copies of textbooks has to be multiplied for this purpose, Avramenko states.
«When I write posts on social networks about the status of our language, I notice how much activity such posts cause among people. The language of our Ukraine is our identification as Ukrainians. As an author of Ukrainian language textbooks, I receive five times more orders than a few years ago. There are a lot of requests among foreigners, particularly among Americans. The Ukrainian language is a brand of Ukraine, thanks to it, Ukraine enjoys great respect in the world,» – comments Oleksandr Avramenko .
MUSIC
Ukraine is developing and musically announcing itself to the whole world. All achievements of our national song creativity are officially included in the historical heritage of UNESCO, where Ukraine ranks first in terms of the number of compositions – more than 15 thousand. No nation has ever had such a legacy. Ukrainian hits are increasingly being heard abroad. In 2015, ONUKA headlined the British Knights Europe Stage at the Sziget European Festival, and “DahaBraha” was played for the first time on the famous radio station KEXP and appeared on Later on BBC Two. In 2018, the whole world was impressed by the song “Cry” by the band KAZKA, which was performed in 25 countries and topped the music charts. Recently, “Stefania” by Kalush Orchestra reached the 38th place in the top-100 Official UK Charts. More than once, modern Ukraine managed to show itself on the international music stage of the Eurovision Song Contest, where our artists Ruslana Lyzhychko (2004), JAMALA (2016) and the Kalush Orchestra (2022) won first place among the best artists in Europe. JAMALA ‘s triumphant hit “1944” still touches millions of people in Europe, the singer herself says:
«Probably the most important achievement of recent years is the final acquisition of authenticity by modern Ukrainian music. I think the future of the music industry is going to be very bright. At least because now the world’s attention is focused on Ukraine and, accordingly, on Ukrainian culture. I can say with confidence about the growth of interest abroad, since I have been watching for the third month personally in different countries – during charity events, where I perform “1944”. A new opportunity for Ukraine can be precisely the entrance of a larger number of our artists to the world stage».
cover of Woman Magazine: JAMALA
This year, Ukrainian artists can already boast of hit collaborations with foreign colleagues: “Antibodies” was sung with Ed Sheeran, “Boombox” was played together with Pink Floyd, and the release of an entire album co-authored with European artists was announced by Jerry Heil and Alyona Alyona. Yana Shemayeva (Jerry Heil) shared which modern songs of Ukraine she is proud of.
«The fact that Ukrainian community is part of the DNA of our nation is not news. The Ukrainian people have more than 200,000 songs. And according to other sources, more than 500 thousand! In the last few months alone, we have had so many new compositions breaking the charts. The new generation of performers is loudly announcing itself. And I am happy to glorify Ukraine together with them. These are Kalush Orchestra, Alyona Alyona, Artem Pyvovarov, TAYANNA, Maks Barskikh, YAKTAK, KOLABA, Vitaliia. And these are only those whom I remembered at first!», – said Jerry Heil .
CINEMA AND THEATER
Cinematography of Ukraine triumphs once again. The film “Why I’m Alive” by our director Willen Novak in May 2022 won in the Silk Road Film Award program at the Cannes Film Festival in the nomination “Best Director of a Feature Film”. Ukraine has been receiving the main and special prizes of this competition and festivals in Venice, Berlin, Locarno, Rotterdam and dozens of other European film cities since the middle of the last century. And the best times for Ukrainian cinematography, as well as for the theater, have not only already come, but are also waiting ahead, the Honored Artist of Ukraine, actress Olga Sumska is convinced.
cover of Woman Magazine: Olga Sumska
«I would like to see new Ukrainian cinema, talented and powerful, which will make an even louder statement. And it will happen! Cinema and theater will develop, this is a living word, and it has always helped us overcome difficult stages and build the future of Ukraine. Historical films, which have already achieved success at the box office, and the genre of comedy and musicals, as it once was in the USA after the victory in the Second World War, are on time. We will see very unusual genres in the future, such that will make us reflect and think deeply. For instance, such recent Ukrainian film as “Stop. Earth” directed by Kateryna Gornostay — I was very impressed. Ukraine and its film industry and drama deserve attention, and it is well understood in the West», – Olga Sumska is convinced.
GASTRICULTURE
Ukraine is famous not only for borscht. Although his folk recipe was already published in The New York Times and was eventually officially recognized as the signature original dish of Ukraine. Hamula, teterya, gombovytsy, kvasha, shpundra, vereshchaka – these are also gastro hits of Ukraine, which have a history of several hundred years. In recent years, Ukrainian cuisine has been particularly confident in asserting itself, convinced restaurateur and chef Yevhen Klopotenko . In particular, in the center of the Ukrainian capital, for three years now, it has become quite common to eat bee soup or a salad with stinging nettle. In 2019, Evgeny Klopotenko’s restaurant “100 years ago forward” even became a filming location for the world-famous National Geographic project about national cuisines of the countries of the world. For the first time in history, Ukraine entered the influential world restaurant rating 50 Next, and Ukrainian cuisine received recognition at the World Influencers and Bloggers Awards 2022. And the popularity of Ukrainian gastroculture is only approaching its peak, says Yevhen Klopotenko:
«Today we can present Ukrainian cuisine to the world as modern, creative, strong and unique – without stereotypes and Soviet myths. We have something to surprise you: firstly, with high-quality local products. Ukrainian chernozem gives them unique properties. Secondly, creativity and modern approaches to cooking. We are not afraid to start our gastronomic rules and look at familiar things from a different angle. And thirdly, by our bosses. A whole generation of chefs has grown up in Ukraine, which is able to offer dishes at the level of the best world establishments. Ukraine will become a global trend».
Ukraine invests deep meaning in everything it does. Therefore, it is not surprising that the fashion of Ukraine inherited its own ethno-code, which was born as early as the 6th century. The embroidered motifs of the Ukrainian folk dress long before the world’s most famous fashion houses declared their identity and brand, and nowadays they have become elements of the outfits of Dolce & Gabanna, Gucci and Valentino catwalk shows. In 2016, this was once again recognized by the well-known publications Vogue and The New York Times, calling Ukrainian embroidery the trend of the year. And from 2020, UNESCO is preparing to accept the famous Poltava embroidery as its national heritage. The popularity of our national dress is also emphasized by Ukrainian designers, who increasingly go to work on international markets.
cover of Woman Magazine: Svitlana Kubrak
«Vyshyvanka is unique in that this clothing is closely related to Ukraine and its destiny, Vyshyvanka tells not just about a trend, but about deep meanings. Why are there so many black threads in the world’s most popular Borschiv embroidery? Because in times of war, when men died for Ukraine, women immortalized their memory thanks to embroidery on these shirts. The most popular elements of vyshyvanka: viburnum is the image of a Ukrainian woman, her revival, grapes are a talisman of the family, rhombic signs are fertility” – emphasizes the designer of the ethno-brand SVITLO Svetlana Kubrak .
INNOVATIONS
According to the international ranking of innovations in 2021, Ukraine took 49th place out of 132 and entered the TOP-3 innovative countries of its economic level. Experts are convinced that intensive implementation of electronic technologies in the life of the state occupies a prominent place in the country’s development. Ukraine was the first in the world to equate an electronic passport with a physical one, and certificates and state payments can now be issued in a few clicks on a smartphone. Ukraine is modern and digitized thanks to the national digitization project called Diya , which has been operating since 2020. The initiative already has dozens of subsidiary projects that allow you to receive electronic analogues of documents at the official level, become an entrepreneur online, pay taxes and register real estate construction. This is a big step in the future of Ukraine, which a number of leading European countries are already targeting, says Mstislav Banik , head of electronic services development at the Ministry of Digital Transformation.
cover of Woman Magazine: Mstislav Banik
“Ukraine already occupies a leading position in the world in terms of the development of digital products. We already have government services in our phone, which do not even exist on paper, in particular, there is Support, which worked very quickly for people in wartime. You can receive financial assistance at any point in Ukraine by phone and in the shortest possible time. And even in crisis conditions, we continue to create new digital projects: eDocument, status of IDPs, television, radio in Diya. These achievements of ours already allow us to be proud of Ukraine, its innovation”.
SECURITY
In times of modern challenges for Ukraine, when it once again proves that it is strong, and difficulties only strengthen it, our security is primarily guaranteed by our Armed Forces. February 24, 2022 became another test for Ukraine, which is used to fighting for its rights. 700,000 sons and daughters of Ukraine are now defending our country from the Russian invaders at the front. The coalition of the Western world in defense of Ukraine proves that they believe in it and consider its future as the future of the whole world.
«The Army of Ukraine is the border that separates light and darkness, progress and genocide. It is not surprising that from all corners of the world, from Canada to Australia, from Japan to Spain, everyone helps the Armed Forces. Our gunners, infantrymen and intelligence officers have perhaps the greatest and most difficult experience in the world. We stopped and chased away the “second army of the world”. Now it is difficult to estimate how many weapons come from NATO countries. But it seems that already in June-July we will be several times stronger than in February. And we will begin the final liberation of our lands» – convinced Yevhen Karas , a participant in the Russian-Ukrainian war, a military man and public figure.
Women have long become the prototype of Ukraine at the front, which stands firm in its positions. 15 percent of the personnel of the Armed Forces today are Ukrainian women. One of them is Alla Martyniuk , an actress and singer in peacetime, and now a reliable support in battle.
“Indeed, the number of women in the Ukrainian army has increased, because the Ukrainian nation has an invincible force of unity, regardless of whether you are a man or a woman. We differ from the enemy in that the Russian army is covered by women, and our men cover women like a steel shield, while we rescue them and supply them with ammunition,” says Alla.
Woman Magazine cover: Alla Martyniuk
With a huge experience of self-awareness, implementation in many spheres and nation-building, Ukraine is ready not only for victory, but also for phenomenal changes, the adviser to the head of the President’s Office Oleksiy Arestovych is convinced.
cover of Woman Magazine: Oleksiy Arestovych
«The Ukrainian nation has matured. Ukraine makes conscious adult decisions and knows how to stand up for itself. She succeeded in this thanks to the constant struggle for independence, self-belief and knowing who she is – Ukraine. Our state is already a brand that is independent and in demand in the world. Not only victory awaits us, but also cultural upliftment, social, economic, and political changes. Ukraine has already become different, and it has a lightning-fast future ahead of it, I guarantee you that.»
Text: Victoria Pokatilova
Cover: artist, cover illustrator Darya Pavlyuk
Photo: personal archives and press service of the heroes
