According to 32-year-old Nadia Kibenko, books will be recycled and paper utilized for printing Ukrainian texts. The profits will be donated to support the Ukrainian army. Since July last year 75 tons of books have been processed in this way – about 150 1000 volumes. Oleksandra Kowalenko, a student from Kiev who brought books for recycling, admits that she wants to get free of all books in Russian, and alternatively buy fresh ones – in Ukrainian. She hates Russian, lost quite a few loved ones in the war. Witnesses from Russia’s occupied territories say that Ukrainian books were discarded and replaced by Russian books in schools. Putin's programme foresees teaching that Ukrainians and Russians are “one nation” and the PEN America study published in December 2022 states that the Russian leader plans to “not only take control of Ukraine's territory but besides erase Ukrainian culture and identity.”
Ukrainian books were hidden
Olga Kozirieva lives in the Kharkiv Oblast. He says that during the business the Russians brought their own books to teach children Russian language and literature. Ukrainian books were hidden in homes. Most Ukrainians are bilingual, but since the outbreak of the war they have not spoken Russian – even those for whom Russian is the first language.
Dr. Marnie Howlett, a polytolist from Oxford University investigating the national identity in Ukraine, explains that Ukraine is not divided east and west. It is about Ukraine's opposition to the aggressor – Russia. Street names were changed and russian leaders' monuments were overthrown. In 2019, a bill was passed according to which the Ukrainian language became the authoritative language of all government activities. Since the invasion, the “derusification” process has accelerated. This initiative is mostly bottom-up. The polls show that Ukraine turns distant from Russia and turns towards the West. Archer explains that erstwhile there is simply a threat to identity, people begin to defend it and appreciate it and culture becomes a shield.
AI and Ukrainian Culture
Ukrainian technological start-ups participate in the cultural war. Respeecher is simply a Kiev voice synthesis company. Prior to the outbreak of the war, she gained global fame by playing the voice of young Mark Hamilla in the function of Luke Skywalker in the movie "The Mandalorian". As missiles fell on Kiev, the company – from shelters – continued to work on large Hollywood projects.
Her manager Alexander Serdiuk says the war taught everyone what immunity truly means. He sought ways of utilizing artificial intelligence to draw attention to Ukrainian culture. This is how the "Share UA voices" initiative was born, which uses artificial intelligence to transform into Ukrainian words of support from celebrities. The Ukrainian voice was already spoken by Bear Grylls, Maye Musk and Abby Savage.
The architects at Balbek's office are planning to rebuild the country. Slava Balbek, co-founder of the studio, says that present more than always we see the value of the work of architects who want to preserve the characteristic kind of Ukrainian construction. Russia's invasion has turned life upside down. any company employees enlisted in the army, others started volunteering, many fled. erstwhile commercial orders disappeared at the start of the war, Balbek and the second co-founder of the company, Boris Dorogov, switched to social projects. The first was “RE: Ukraine Housing” building “worthy temporary accommodation for displaced persons”. Then a digital tool “RE: Ukraine Villages” was created to preserve the unique architecture of Ukrainian villages and make projects in the spirit of the region’s architecture.
Andrij Klen, CEO of Petcube, who produces digital cameras for animals, believes the military wins battles, but the economy wins wars. The company launched the "Spend With Ukraine" initiative. Its aim is to stimulate the economy by providing Ukrainian products to consumers from all over the planet so that they can express solidarity with the Ukrainian people through regular shopping.
