Concrete Sunflowers

Tag: soviet union

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • 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:…

  • 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…