Killing Ukrainian artists is Russia's century-old tradition
On May 22, 1979, thousands gathered in Lviv to bid farewell to Volodymyr Ivasyuk, one of the most influential figures in modern Ukrainian music.
Weeks earlier, the composer had disappeared under mysterious circumstances before being found dead in a forest near the city of Lviv, in what Soviet authorities declared a suicide. Yet for Ukrainians, Ivasyuk's death became inseparable from the broader machinery of Soviet repression aimed at silencing Ukrainian culture and identity.
His funeral transformed into a rare and powerful public act of defiance against the Soviet regime, which is, as many believe, responsible for the murder of Ivasyuk.
I was born in 1988 in the city of Cherkasy, nine years after Ivasyuk was killed by the KGB. Yes, I know this fact was never proven in court, but under Soviet occupation, proving such crimes was impossible.
Weeks earlier, the composer had disappeared under mysterious circumstances before being found dead in a forest near the city of Lviv, in what Soviet authorities declared a suicide. Yet for Ukrainians, Ivasyuk's death became inseparable from the broader machinery of Soviet repression aimed at silencing Ukrainian culture and identity.
His funeral transformed into a rare and powerful public act of defiance against the Soviet regime, which is, as many believe, responsible for the murder of Ivasyuk.
I was born in 1988 in the city of Cherkasy, nine years after Ivasyuk was killed by the KGB. Yes, I know this fact was never proven in court, but under Soviet occupation, proving such crimes was impossible.
