Concrete Sunflowers

Tag: social media

  • 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……

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • 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:…

  • 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 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,…

  • Chrystyna on folk heroes

    This interview took place whilst volunteering in a kitchen in Kyiv.  Part one: Chrystyna’s story Vic: Back when like Pes Patron was popular was that more for kids or? Chrystyna: Oh, no… Did you… Do you have an account on Twitter? Vic: I’ve got a Twitter, yeah. Chrystyna: So there was a, like, flash bulb,…

  • Jason on stories filtering into the US

    [Note: This interview took place whilst volunteering in a kitchen in Kyiv] Vic:  So that’s recording now. Hopefully it’ll pick you up, there’s definitely background noise here! But yeah, if you could tell me the characters that you’ve just mentioned? Jason: Yeah. I’m definitely not as immersed in this as the volunteers who have been…

  • 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…

  • Jane on food culture

    Jane is a Ukrainian Youtuber. This discussion took place after she released a video on Ukrainian Easter food: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUJaCS1NgFc Українською мовою: Джейн розповідає про культуру харчування Vic: Okay, cool. Um, yeah, so, I watched your video that you sent me about like the Easter food traditions. Jane: Mhm. Vic: So it’s something that people have…

  • Aidan on Ukraine pub talk

    Vic: First up, can you tell me your name and a little bit about yourself? Aidan: My name is Aidan Lynch. I’m from New Zealand originally. I went to volunteer in Ukraine in the winter of 2023 over the new year into 2024 for three months, mostly doing humanitarian work. Vic: Cool. As most international…

  • Ivan on folk heroes

    Українською мовою: Іван розповідав про народних героїв Vic: Okay, so first up, can you just give me like a brief “who are you”? Your name, where you live in Ukraine? Ivan: Okay, so I’m [Redacted] Ivan, Ivan [Redacted] in English, we say differently, because in Ukrainian, usually surname goes first. In English, usually first name…