Concrete Sunflowers

Tag: kharkiv

  • Ghost of Kyiv merchandise

  • Johnsonuk merchandise

  • 3D printing characters for fundraising

    V: Can you ask him if they didn’t 3D-print things like the “Ghost of Kyiv” or “Pes Patron” [Patron the Dog]? R2: Pes Patron? Nah. We do universal prints. No one ordered stuff like that. V: People don’t like them? R2: No, why? I wouldn’t say they don’t like ’em. First off, we’ve been at…

  • A supply hub tour

    R: Let’s take this one, here’s its number. See? It’s all there. And this one was shot down literally about a year ago. I: Is it made of cardboard or what? R: Yeah, sorry, as we say, it’s made of shit and sticks, no other way to put it. That’s just how it is. But…

  • Street interview 3

    I — InterpreterR — Respondent Українська: Запис вуличного інтерв’ю 3 R: I believe that without exception, all of them — my comrades who are carrying out tasks related to the defense of the Kharkiv region and Ukraine as a whole — are heroes. And God willing, everyone will return “with their shield, not on it”…

  • Street interview recording 2

    I — InterpreterR — Respondent *Due to strong wind noise, there may be some inaccuracies in the recording. Українська: Запис вуличного інтерв’ю 2 I: Have you heard anything about local heroes? For example, like the Ghost of Kyiv — maybe someone here who stood out or stayed in people’s memory? R: Honestly, no. I: You…

  • Aliona on language and swearing

    Aliona: [starts speaking Ukrainian] We know, that our reality has a great impact on our language, and language impacts our reality just as much. When the full-scale invasion started, I was in the middle of research, for my dissertation, on invective [swear] lexis in Ukrainian language, in a political discourse. Because of that, certainly, I…

  • Ana on wartime culture

    Part 1: Ana on wartime culturePart 2: Ana on superstitionsPart 3: Ana on stamps Ana: Well, again, before, like when it started in 2022, I guess we get more stories like the Ghost of Kyiv or Chornobaivka, if you heard about that. Like it was a village in Kherson which was- the Russian troops, they…

  • Amy on what was in that jar

    Note: This quick interview took place after more than a few drinks during a group dinner. Vic: So what was in the jar that the old lady threw at the drone? Amy: Pickled tomatoes. Vic: Where did you hear that it was tomatoes? Amy: In an interview she did. Vic: You think there was actually…

  • Daria on folk heroes

    Vic: So first, can you tell me your name, please? Daria: My name is Daria. I’m a Ukrainian from Kharkiv, 26 years old. Vic: Thank you. So have you got any stories that you might want to share about heroes you’ve heard that have emerged in Ukraine since the start of the full-scale invasion? Daria:…

  • Kraken soldiers on beliefs and intuition

    Vic: How familiar are you with the Ghost of Kyiv? Has the story come to Kharkiv a lot? Roman: Should I answer in Ukrainian? Vic: Whatever you prefer. Roman: Personally, I don’t know the Ghost of Kyiv. Of course, I heard about him at the start of the war, even before I arrived in Ukraine.…

  • Ostap on premonitions

    Part 1: Ostap on his experiences with Kraken Ostap: Anything could happen. There just weren’t that many people around—many had left. And, generally, a lot of people were allowed to pass, let go. Though some were simply shot in their cars right in the middle of the road. Everyone was scared, not knowing what to…

  • Ostap on his experiences with Kraken

    Part 2: Ostap on premonitions I: Just so you know, I’m the interpreter. I can translate if it’s easier for you to speak. If you want to add anything in Ukrainian later, I’ll translate it. [translates into English] Ostap: I’ll try in English first, and we’ll see how it goes. I: If you need help,…

  • Maksym on language

    I: We tried to get some street interviews yesterday. We approached all kinds of people – young, old, men, women. Most of them turned us down. Why is that? Maksym: Eighty percent of the population in Kharkiv right now are displaced people. See them over there with the bags? [Points to a group at a…

  • Maksym on the unique position of military volunteers

    I: What meaning do flags have at the frontline? What do soldiers say if they have a flag? How do they feel if they don’t have one? Does it carry a specific meaning, or are there traditions tied to them? Maksym: I’m not sure I follow the question. I: I put a lot into that…

  • Iryna and the bullet

    Iryna: Okay, so back in 2022 when they still had the security checkpoint in Kharkiv train station. We were going back from Balakliia, it’s like the- it was a recently liberated area. It was probably liberated within the last couple of weeks, and you could see all these different, you know, bullets on the ground,…

  • Chrystyna’s story

    This interview took place whilst volunteering in a kitchen in Kyiv.  Chrystyna [name changed] was born in the USSR in territory which is now Russia.  Her family moved to Ukraine when she was a child, and she is solely a Ukrainian citizen. TW: This story contains references to suicide. Part two: Chrystyna on folk heroes…

  • Olha and her café under occupation

    H: Henry, I: Iryna, O: Olha H: Does she remember my fish? [Iryna and the fish] I: [in Ukrainian to Respondent] Do you remember that fish we brought you? It was a huge fish. That was back in ’22. O: Honestly, I don’t remember that any more. So many people have passed through, so many…

  • Bogdan on folk heroes and idiot soldiers

    Part 1: Bogdan on his time in captivity: Part 1 Part 2: Bogdan on his time in captivity: Part 2 Part 3: A smoke break with Bogdan Part 4: Bogdan on the Civilian Prisoners of War organisation V: When I talk to people from Lviv and Kyiv, they’re quite far from the front. Especially in Lviv, where you…

  • Bogdan on the Civilian Prisoners of War organisation

    Part 1: Bogdan on his time in captivity: Part 1 Part 2: Bogdan on his time in captivity: Part 2 Part 3: A smoke break with Bogdan I: Do you feel like it’s history repeating itself, like when you were a kid and you looked after him and took care of him? Now you have…

  • Bogdan on his time in captivity: Part 2

    Part 1: Bogdan on his time in captivity: Part 1 Українською мовою: Богхан про свій час у полоні: Частина 2 B: What else is interesting from 2022 that really stuck in my memory, and now I think I probably wouldn’t do something like that again. When the road was being heavily shelled and the last…

  • Bogdan on his time in captivity: Part 1

    Trigger warning: This post contains descriptions of torture, including sexual violence. Oral interpretation provided during the interview has been omitted from the transcript for brevity, except where the interpreter provides additional cultural context or clarification. I: Vitaliy was telling me, I think… It [the city] was occupied in March, right? Or something like that? B:…

  • Brian from New Hampshire

    Brian: When I moved to Kharkiv full time, April 2024, I had brought my Springer Spaniel Annie, with me. We nicknamed her Humanitariannie, and they used to have these little billboards by the sidewalk with Patron photos warning kids about unexploded ordnance and that type of thing. So I got some great photos of my…