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The Culture of Ukraine
Presented by Rosamund Bartlett

Rosamund Bartlett took us on a journey through the history of the rich and colourful culture of Ukraine up to 1917 when the country gained independence.  We learnt about the importance of the folk art that is old, vibrant and still present throughout the country, with its intricate and pretty floral designs that can be seen not only inside but also outside the home adorning the walls of the houses.

The complicated history of Ukraine saw many different influences on its art and culture and we learnt about these different influences and the effect they had.

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Christianity came to the Ukraine in 988 and the stunning St Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv was built between 1011 and 1037, a Christian Church with Byzantine and Greek influences and filled with amazing mosaics, frescoes and icons.

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The influence of the Cossacks is also strong in Ukraine.  Not only were they horsemen and warriors but their looks and clothing portrayed their origins close to oriental lands.  They were also musicians and played the ‘bandura’, much like a lute, singing ballads. The First leader of the Cossacks was called Bohdan Khmelnytsky who ruled from 1649.  The history of the Cossacks encouraged artists to paint scenes from their battles and wars. The artist Ilya Repin painted the famous Reply of the Zaporozhian Cossacks finished in 1891 in which the Cossacks are drafting a manifesto to the Turkish Sultan.

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Ivan Mazepa was the last ruler of the Cossacks.  A cultured man, he was instrumental in the restoration of many Churches.  He formed an alliance with the Kingdom of Sweden which in turn influenced the nation of Ukraine.

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Catherine the Great in the late 18th Century, was keen to dominate the country and created what she referred to as “Little Russia”.  In 1775 she sent in her army to destroy the headquarters of the Cossacks, as part of her centralist policies towards Ukraine and other non-Russian peoples in the empire.

 

Dmitry Levitsky, born in Kyiv in 1735 went to St Petersburg where he become an important and well known portrait painter, including painting Catherine the Great.  The composer Dmitry Bortnyanksy (1751-1825) was known as a famous Russian composer but came from the Ukraine. 

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The beginning of the 19th century saw the beginnings of the Ukrainian cultural identity and in 1873, Ukrainian became the official language.  Nikolai Gogol (1809-1852) wrote tales of Ukrainian life and Taras Shevchenko (1814-1861) was a poet, writer, artist and national hero and considered one of Ukraine’s most important writers. 

Pysanky is the Ukrainian tradition of painted eggs, often at Easter time.  The marks and decorations have symbolic meanings which can also be seen in embroidery on shirts and scarves.   A Rushnyk is a beautiful embroidered shawl, normally 1-4 metres long and used for a decorative or ceremonial purpose. 

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In 1906 the Kyiv Art School was started and the artist Heorhiy Narbut was one of Ukraine’s most prominent graphic designers and illustrators of the first half of the 20th Century.  Alexandra Exter (1882-1949) an artist based in Kyiv, studied in Paris where she met Picasso, Braques and Leger.  Their influence can be seen in her work.

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In 1917 Ukraine declared independence and for a few years the country’s culture flourished before being swallowed up by the new Soviet Union.

Vicki Cowan

© 2025 The Arts Society Alton

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