Alyosha (Альоша; real name Olena Kucher, Олена Кучер) is a well-known contemporary Ukrainian pop singer and songwriter who has written hits for both herself and other artists. She is known both for her male name—“Alyosha” is usually a diminutive of “Aleksey”—and, of course, her singing. Her website introduces her thus: “In her character, as well […]
Brothers. The Last Confession (Брати. Остання сповідь) is a 2013 Ukrainian drama film. Though its source material—the novel Sweetness by Swedish writer Torgny Lindgren—is foreign, the film adaptation has turned it into a fully Ukrainian work of art. The film tells the story of two brothers, Voytko (Войтко, played by Oleg Mosiychuk, Олег Мосійчук) and Stanislav (Станіслав, […]
Aurora (Аврора) is a 2006 Ukrainian drama that puts a human face on the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. The film is in both Russian and Ukrainian. The film takes place in the 1980s and tells the story of adolescent Aurora (played by Анастасія Зюркалова), who lives in an orphanage in Pripyat, Ukraine (Прип’ять), and dreams of […]
Illusion of Fear (Ілюзія страху) is a 2008 Ukrainian drama/thriller film. It is the screen adaptation of a novel by Oleksandr Turchynov (Олександр Турчинов), a Ukrainian politician—he is currently the head of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, and was the acting president of Ukraine after Yanokovych’s ouster, before Poroshenko took office. In terms of […]
Firecrosser (Той, хто пройшов крізь вогонь; also written ТойХтоПройшовКрізьВогонь, or “one who passes through fire” when translated directly) is a Ukrainian drama/adventure film from 2011. The film is based on the life story of Ivan Datsenko (Іван Даценко)—or rather, the version of his life that a comrade-in-arms supposedly uncovered. (You can’t make this stuff up, after all.) […]
Lama (Лама; they usually use the Latin transliteration, though) is a Ukrainian pop-rock band founded in 2005. They sing exclusively in Ukrainian. The current members are singer Natalya Dzenkiv (Наталя Дзеньків), guitarist Andriy Alekseev (Андрій Алексеєв), bass guitarist Zurab Rogava (Зураб Рогава), synthesizer-ist Zheka Kobzaruk (Жека Кобзарук), and drummer Dmitro “ZI” Suprunyuk (Дмитро “ZI” Супрунюк). […]
Gaitana (Ґайтана; real name Ґайта-Лурдес Ессамі, or Gaita-Lurdes Essami, which means “strong and great” in the Lingala language) is a Ukrainian/Congolese jazz, funk, soul, and pop singer. Her biggest fame may have come from representing Ukraine at Eurovision in 2012, but she also has a slew of successful albums to her name and is one of Ukraine’s most […]
Svetlana Loboda (Світлана Лобода) is a contemporary Ukrainian pop singer. Though she sings mainly in Russian, most of her career has taken place in Ukraine, and she is widely esteemed in her country. She was named a Distinguished Artist of Ukraine in 2013. Loboda grew up in Kyiv, where her parents encouraged her musical leanings […]
DakhaBrakha (ДахаБраха) is a contemporary Ukrainian folk- and world-music quartet. They actually call themselves an “ethno-chaos group.” Its current members are Marko Halanevych (Марко Галаневич), Iryna Kovalenko (Ірина Коваленко), Olena Tsibulska (Олена Цибульська), and Nina Garenetska (Ніна Гаренецька). All sing and play a variety of traditional folk instruments. Unlike many other Ukrainian bands, they are very much […]
Ani Lorak (Ани Лорак; real name Karolina Kuyek, Кароліна Куєк) is a multitalented Ukrainian pop singer. Lorak isn’t shy about her contributions to Ukrainian pop culture—her website describes her as “a singer who was fated to become the nation’s idol.” Born in Bukovina, Lorak wanted to be a singer from the time she was four years […]
Controversial, bizarre, and talented, there is no one quite like Ukrainian singer/comedian/actor/drag queen Verka Serduchka (Верка Сердючка). Serduchka is the drag persona of Andriy Danylko (Андрій Данилко) and frequently performs and sings at concerts and in films. Danylko himself is a wide-ranging actor, composer, singer, and performer who was born in Poltava, Ukraine, to rural roots. […]
Shadowboxing 3: The Final Round (Бой с тенью 3: Последний раунд—the name sounds quite dramatic in Russian, but the actual meaning is less exciting) is a 2011 Russian action/drama film, the third and last in the Shadowboxing franchise. The series started with 2005’s Shadowboxing and continued with 2007’s Shadowboxing 2: Revanche (Реванш). In real life […]
