Ukraine, An Old Country Searching For A New Soul

Ukraine has emerged as the "it" country in the global spotlight. With 56 international delegations at the inauguration of Ukraine president Petro Poroshenko and a noticeable spike in cultural and intellectual life prompted by the revolution in Kyiv, Ukraine stands out as an old country with a new soul—just what the West needs.

Across the street from the ancient Monastery of Lavra in Kyiv – a nearly 1000 year-old center of Orthodox Christianity – an avant-garde jazz concert took place one quiet evening in late May. The performance closed a month-long art and culture marathon, the ArtForum festival. The new artistic venture – integrating music, theater, art and brainy discussion — is the result of the Maidan revolution and the need for artistic and intellectual freedom, not only in Ukraine but outside the country, on both sides, East and West.

"Right now, I think Kyiv can become that breath of fresh air, the escape," said Yevgeny Utkin, a Ukrainian businessman who, together with his wife Irina Budyanskaya, organized the ArtForum and hosted it at their Master Class cultural and educational center near the monastery. Utkin says that his Master Class was created as an "island of freedom and creativity" for artists and thinkers before Maidan. But now, with Russia oppressing creative freedoms next door, having a democratic platform has gained new importance.

On the closing night, an experimental jazz vocalist, Nazgulya Shukaeva, sang a tribute to Ukrainian protesters who gave their lives during the winter's violent clashes. The Open University of Maidan held a lecture in one of the education rooms. The basement displayed Maidan-themed installations and photos.

Nazgulya Shukaeva performs at the ArtForum festival in Kyiv

 

Utkin, Russian by origin, is a famous IT-entrepreneur in Ukraine who reportedly invested up to $100 million in venture capital in 2012. Back in the Soviet days, he worked at the Science and Research institute outside of Moscow. Later, after profiting on microelectronics, he shifted his focus towards investing and remained at the top of the list of Ukraine's richest, as compiled by Forbes local edition.

The businessman and his family –– including both his sons – participated in the protests in Maidan throughout the entire winter. Together with other Ukrainians they lived through all the phases of the uprising, from the peaceful gatherings in December to Molotov cocktails and deadly clashes in the square in February.

Today, the cultural activities in the Master Class center resonate with Kyiv's current mood: recovering from traumatic events and looking to the future. In addition to flourishing as a European capital, Kyiv is trending as world cultural hub that not only serves as an example of fledgling freedom among post-Soviet countries but also brings much needed freshness and sincerity to an old Europe.