Tag: post in english

  • Grandfather’s war

    [This post is part of the larger one A supply hub tour] R: I have a very interesting story, I can tell it [takes out a Soviet military ID]. Here, honey, open it and take a look. Read it carefully, then you’ll see it’s not as simple as it seems. Read the year. I: 1898.…

  • 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…

  • Oleh on heroes and the future

     <we had been chatting prior to starting recording> Vic: So you said you believe in the Ghost of Kyiv? Oleh: I did believe. Vic: You did believe? Oleh: I did believe, like first couple of months of the war. I really thought it was a real person. But then it like became, became obvious in…

  • 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…

  • Andrey on propaganda

    Vic: What is it? Conway: It’s an ancient superstition. So if you’re giving an example of an injury that happened to someone else and you point at your own body where it happened, then you’re bringing that onto your own body, that injury. Andrey: Yes, I agree. Conway: But this is ancient. Andrey: I also…

  • Vlada’s story

    Part 1: Vlada on folk heroes Part 2: Vlada’s story Vlada: Okay. Um… Ask Vic if I should tell her about… about the experience of the full-scale invasion. Valeriia: Do, do you want to hear about her experience of the start of the full-scale invasion? Vic: Um. I mean, if… if you’re happy to speak…

  • Vlada on folk heroes

    Valeriia, a friend of Vlada, originally joined to be a translator between Vic and Vlada. Half of Vlada’s responses were in Ukrainian and half in English Part 1: Vlada on folk heroes Part 2: Vlada’s story Vic: First, could you tell me your name and your age roughly? Valeriia: You are not required to answer…

  • Ivanna on folk heroes

    Note: This interview took place via a call with very bad signal. Vic: Can you please tell me your name? Ivanna: Uh, I am Ivanna. Vic: Cool. And, um… Can you think of any examples of, um, contemp… of, modern heroes that have emerged since the start of the full-scale invasion? Ivanna: Um, yes. Um……

  • 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…

  • Ira from Kyiv: Part 2

    Part 1: Ira from Kyiv: Part 1 Part 2: Ira from Kyiv: Part 2 Vic: So back in 2022, Ghost of Kyiv. As a person from Kyiv, did you follow the news about him at all? Ira: Yes, of course. We all were, we all were. We were so proud. We discussed it, we tried…

  • Ira from Kyiv: Part 1

    Part 1: Ira from Kyiv: Part 1 Part 2: Ira from Kyiv: Part 2 Ira: So, a superstition which I’m not sure I will be able to translate into English exactly, but I will try. So, it started with the pilots. The pilots never tell something like “my last flight”. Because “last,” [останній, ostaniy] it…

  • Sometimes the Russians just disappear

    Mary: <start cut off> just, disappeared overnight. I remember my- Vic: So they occupied it [Sievierodonetsk] in 2014, 15? Mary: Yes, it was occupied.  Basically, um, yeah! It just happened overnight. People woke up in the morning and the Russians were gone. So, that’s a great legend: you can wake up in the morning and…

  • The generator in Balakliia

    Henry: Also, this was the only spot that had a Starlink. So people from all over different villages, they would come here, because nobody had any connection. Like even the railroad signs and all that. I don’t know if I told you this before, but there was a sign that literally said, it was so…

  • Henry’s Balakliia stories

    Iryna and I were- the whole time she was telling me, like, Oh, she could drive. She could drive. Okay, cool. Mind you, she doesn’t have a- she doesn’t have a Ukrainian driver’s license. So what happens if we get stopped at a block post? But anyways, I didn’t let her drive. Nobody let her…

  • Human shields in Izium

    Iryna: <start cut off> were kept as captured and the parents didn’t have access to their kids, because Russians kept the kids as a like shield against Ukrainian drones and missiles. Because they knew that Ukrainians wouldn’t target them. I don’t have the picture right now because I changed my phones, but there was a…

  • Tank friendly fire incident

    Iryna: So, in the beginning of the war when Russian tanks and echelons were just entering Kyiv, I was acquainted with a guy. He’s very young, he’s younger than me. He was probably 19 or 18 at that moment, and he joined the military forces right away. The Russian troops were already getting closer to…

  • Ana on stamps

    Part 1: Ana on wartime culturePart 2: Ana on superstitionsPart 3: Ana on stamps Ana: Okay, so when we enter the university in Ukraine, like after the school, we should pass the exams. And it’s usually history, math, literature, and English, I’m not sure. So there was a question in 2024 during the exam, and…

  • Ana on superstitions

    Part 1: Ana on wartime culturePart 2: Ana on superstitionsPart 3: Ana on stamps Ana: I remember you asked about the superstitions, so I tried to think about some of them, but actually I don’t know. Vic: It feels like Ukrainian people have a lot of the same superstitions as British people, like black cats…

  • 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…

  • Mary on folk heroes

    Vic:  So can you tell me about Pes Patron? Mary: I’ve always loved Pes Patron. When I first came to Lviv in December of 22, there were Pes Patron posters everywhere, and I just thought it was amazing. I have young refugee friends in Berlin. I purchase Pest Patron books for them. I purchased Pes…

  • 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…

  • Oksana on folk heroes

    Oksana: Yes, so when the war started in- when there was this explosion in Dubai, in Ukraine already appeared some funny videos. Well not funny but such videos about which we have the jar of pickles, and now there is such an anecdote of story that in Dubai a woman hit the missile by the…

  • Valeria on Johnsonuk

    Vic: Can you explain Johnsonuk to me? Valeria: It’s a very funny phenomenon because, well- I don’t know about him much, but I only know that he was in a position of power, some power in the UK. At the time, well, at the start of the full-scale invasion war he was coming to Ukraine…

  • Max on his experiences and the stories he’s heard

    Trigger warning: This story contains mentions of sexual violence Max: So, my name is Max, I’m 19 years old, I was born here at Lviv oblast, in small town named Zhydachiv, but later I moved to another region named Rivne oblast and almost for 12 years I lived here before moving. Vic: Thank you. So,…

  • 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:…

  • Iryna on runes and playing cards

    Vic: So as a Ukrainian person, when you see people with the rune amulets or rune chevrons or tattoos, do those have any connotations for you? Iryna: Well, I grew up in a family where tattoos are banned <laughs>. So I think that people can, you know, have as many tattoos as they want because…

  • 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.…

  • Valeria on folk heroes: part 2

    Series: Valeria’s story Valeria on folk heroes: part 1 Valeria on folk heroes: part 2 Vic: Do you think that language barriers contribute to people’s decisions? Valeria: Yes, because you know, Russian propaganda works really well, and they think that- well, there are indeed some people like this. But in truth, most of Ukrainian speaking…

  • Valeria on folk heroes: part 1

    Series: Valeria’s story Valeria on folk heroes: part 1 Valeria on folk heroes: part 2 Vic: Did you ever see any Ghost of Kyiv mentions on VK? Valeria: No, I don’t think so. I think I just exited it soon enough, you know, just in the first day of war, I was like, “No, I’m…

  • Valeria’s story

    Series: Valeria’s story Valeria on folk heroes: part 1 Valeria on folk heroes: part 2 Vic:  Can you tell me your name first and where you’re from? Valeria: I’m Valeria from Donetsk region, the town of Avdiivka. Vic: And roughly how old are you? Valeria: 20 Vic: And you’re currently living in Lviv? Valeria: Yeah,…

  • 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…