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Ukraine’s
geographical location between Europe and Asia meant that much of its early culture was
a synthesis of Eastern and Western influences. When a developed culture emerged in the
medieval, or Kievan, period, the influence of the Byzantine Empire was paramount. In early
modern times, major European currents such as the Renaissance reached Ukraine via Poland.
A cultural dichotomy today exists within Ukraine, with western regions reflecting European,
especially Polish, influence, while in the eastern regions the impact of Russian culture is
evident.
The well-developed and colorful folklore of Ukraine has helped Ukrainians retain a cultural distinctiveness in the face of strong assimilatory pressures from neighboring lands. In the late 1920s and especially in the early 1930s, the Soviet regime began enforcing socialist realism as the only acceptable artistic style. Socialist realism mandated that all artists and writers glorify the Soviet regime and its goal of attaining communism. The collapse of the Soviet Union brought new freedoms for Ukrainian artists, but it also meant a sudden drop in government subsidies. Today government support is minimal and a funding crisis exists. The Westernization of cultural activity is moving ahead rapidly, with commercialized and previously taboo activities such as pop concerts becoming commonplace. |
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Literature The literature between the 11th century and 13th century was primarily religious and based on Byzantine and Balkan models. It was written in Old Church Slavonic, and dealt with gospels, psalms, sermons, and lives of saints. Historical and other secular topics were treated in chronicles, notably the Primary Chronicle. The works of this period, produced in the East Slavic state of Kievskaya Rus, are also the literary heritage of Belarus and Russia. The second, or cossack, literary period began in the 16th century, when the epic songs (dumy) of the Ukrainian cossacks, who developed an independent society along Ukraine’s southern steppe frontier, marked a high point of Ukrainian oral literature. The cossack chronicles describe the tumultuous history of the 17th and 18th centuries. Meanwhile, the rich polemical literature of this period reflects Polish influence. It is concerned with the religious controversies of the time, and sermons are a favorite topic. The 19th century ushered in the third, or vernacular, period. Reflecting the influence of Western romanticism, it is characterized by the use of spoken language for literary purposes, a development pioneered by the classicist poet-playwright Ivan Kotliarevsky, and by depictions of peasant and cossack life. In the mid-19th century, Ukraine’s most renowned cultural figure, romanticist poet-painter Taras Shevchenko, wrote Kobzar (The Bard, 1840), a collection of poems demonstrating that the Ukrainian language could be used to express a full range of emotion and profound thought. In the late 19th century and early 20th century, realist and modernist trends set in. From 1863 prohibitions imposed on the use of the Ukrainian language by Russia’s imperial regime greatly impeded literary development. In western Ukraine, which was then part of the Austrian Empire, writers Ivan Franko and Vasyl Stefanyk, among others, continued to develop all literary genres. The most dynamic era in Ukrainian literary history came in the 1920s, when a brief period of Soviet cultural leniency allowed for the appearance of dozens of prominent writers and a great variety of literary trends. Pavlo Tychyna emerged as the most renowned Ukrainian poet of the period. Soviet rule under Joseph Stalin brought this literary renaissance to an abrupt and brutal end when his regime imposed the doctrine of socialist realism. In the 1960s the so-called shestydesiatnyky (sixtiers), including poets Lina Kostenko and Vasyl Symonenko, rejected socialist realism and managed to revitalize Ukrainian literature. However, renewed political pressures in the 1970s forced most authors either to accept Communist Party controls or suffer repression. Only in recent years has literature obtained the opportunity to evolve freely. |
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Art and Architecture
Although prehistoric and Greek paintings have been discovered in Ukraine, the first major style to develop was the religious iconography of the Kievan period. Between the 16th and 18th centuries, long-standing Byzantine traditions gave way to European influences during the Renaissance and the baroque period, when secular, non-religious themes were introduced. Portraits were especially popular. When eastern Ukraine lost its autonomy under Russian rule in the late 18th century, many Ukrainian painters, such as Dmytro Levytsky, moved to Russia in search of training and wider markets. Renowned for his poetry, Taras Shevchenko is also considered the father of modern Ukrainian painting. Historical themes and landscapes were a popular genre through much of the 19th century. Realist tendencies appeared in the final decades, represented most notably by Ilya Repin. Meanwhile, Oleksander Murashko and the versatile Vasyl Krychevsky adopted impressionism. In the early 20th century, Kazimir Malevich and Vladimir Tatlin were leading representatives of the avant-garde, while Mykhailo Boichuk and his followers sought to provide art for the masses by combining Ukrainian traditions with European models. After the cultural renaissance of the 1920s, the state-imposed dogma of socialist realism limited artistic freedom and experimentation. The collapse of the Soviet Union gave the artists of Ukraine a chance to join the international artistic mainstream. Ukrainian folk art is especially rich, particularly in the Carpathian regions of western Ukraine. Outstanding examples of folk art are the famous intricately designed Ukrainian Easter eggs, called pysanky, and embroidery. Among the earliest sculptures are the numerous stone babas, life-size female figures that Turkic nomads erected in the steppe between the 11th century and 13th century. Sculpture was not well developed in the Kievan and early modern periods. In the 19th century sculpture in parks, squares, and other public places became popular, such as the statues of Saint Volodymyr (Vladimir) and the cossack leader Bohdan Khmel’nyts’ky in Kyiv. Ukraine’s most famous sculptor, Alexander Archipenko, was a pioneer of the cubist style. He emigrated early in his career, eventually settling in the United States in 1923. Architecture in Ukraine has a rich history beginning with structures built by Greek colonists in the Crimea in the 6th century BC. The importance of Kyiv as a political and economic center from the 10th century AD encouraged the building of major Byzantine-style structures there, most notably the Cathedral of Saint Sophia in the 11th century. The impact of the Renaissance was especially strong in western Ukraine, reflected in structures such as the Dormition Church in L’viv. A synthesis of Ukrainian, Byzantine, and European styles, called Cossack Baroque, produced a series of unique churches in the 18th century. Ukraine also was influenced by the lavish rococo style that originated in France; examples include the Church of Saint Andrew in Kyiv and the Cathedral of Saint George in L’viv. Ukraine’s ornate wooden churches are especially renowned in world architecture. During the Soviet period, functionalist and constructivist tendencies predominated, resulting in new structures such as the Derzhprom office complex in Kharkiv. |
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Music and Dance
Ukrainians possess a remarkable repertoire of folk songs, and singing is an important part of their culture. In the 17th century they developed an innovative form of choral singing a cappella (without instrumental accompaniment). Important composers of church music in the late 18th century included Maksym Berezovsky, Dmytro Bortniansky, and Artem Vedel. In the 19th century, Semen Hulak-Artemovsky wrote a popular comic opera based on folk themes, Zaporozhets za Dunayem (Zaporozhian Beyond the Danube, 1863). A high point in musical creativity came in the early 20th century when Mykola Lysenko established a school of music that drew heavily on folk songs for inspiration. Many of the dynamic and colorful folk dances of Ukraine reflect a rural or cossack lifestyle. The oldest dances are the khorovody, agricultural dance games associated with the cult of the sun. Originally, folk dances were either accompanied by songs or by instruments. They were also exclusively female, such as the metylytsia, or exclusively male, such as the arkan or the famous hopak; today both males and females participate in the same dances. Numerous Ukrainian dance troupes cultivate the traditional folk dances. Introduced in the late 18th century, classical ballet developed under Russian and European influence and attained high standards. Ukraine has six theaters for opera and ballet performances. Theater and Film In early modern times, the vertep (puppet theater) was widespread and popular. Mykhailo Starytsky, Ivan Karpenko-Kary, and Marko Kropyvnytsky laid the foundation of modern Ukrainian theater in the late 19th century. Despite repression under Russian rule, it continued to develop. The high point was reached in the early 1920s when the avant-garde Berezil Theater in Kharkiv, under Les Kurbas, staged such plays as Mykola Kulish’s Narodnii Malakhii, Myna Mazailo, and Patetychna Sonata. Stalinist repression cut this revival short, and socialist realism stifled further innovation. Only in recent years have innovation and experimentation been possible. Filmmaker Oleksander Dovzhenko, often called “the first poet of cinema,” gained international recognition for his silent motion pictures Zvenyhora (1928) and Arsenal (1929). His Zemlya (The Earth, 1930) is considered one of the best silent films ever produced. Stalinist repression and socialist realism had a devastating effect on Ukrainian filmmaking. Not until the 1960s did signs of a revival begin to appear, demonstrated by the film Tini zabutykh predkiv (Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors, 1964), which won numerous international awards for the outstanding work of Armenian director Serhiy Paradzhanov and Ukrainian cameraman Iuriy Illienko. The collapse of the Soviet Union brought an end to government subsidies, and in recent years filmmaking has been practically paralyzed by lack of funding. |
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Libraries and Museums The largest library in Ukraine is the Central Library of the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences (founded in 1918) in Kyiv. The academy’s scientific library in L’viv (1940) is the country’s second largest library. Other prominent libraries are the Scientific and Technical Library of Ukraine (1935) and the State Public Library (1866), both in Kyiv, as well as numerous university libraries. The Historical Museum of Ukraine (1899) in Kyiv is the country’s largest museum. Its branch, the Museum of Historical Treasures (1969), is noted for its collection of ancient Scythian artifacts. The Museum of Ukrainian Art (1936) in Kyiv contains the largest collection of Ukrainian art, including medieval paintings and wood carvings. Exhibits of architecture and artifacts dating from the 11th century can be found in Kyiv in the museums affiliated with the Saint Sophia National Preserve, as well as the Caves Monastery Museum. Ukraine also has a number of open-air museums that preserve native architecture.
Source: Microsoft Encarta 98© |
