Shchedryk Against ‘the Russian World

Director: Oleksandr Nazarov

Country: Ukraine

Year of production: 2022

Duration: 84 min

Subject:

The citizen and the state
Human dignity
Human rights

Audience:

international audiences
Activists / NGOs

The war we can see today is not a coincidence. For hundreds of years russia has planned and dreamt of swallowing Ukraine. In the beginning of the 20th century, in the period of national liberation struggle, Ukraine did not manage to withstand. But that time, the seed of truth fell on ground and sprouted in reborn Ukrainian independence. And this truth consists in the fact that there is and there has never been “the one nation”. The film tells about the Oleksandr Koshyts choral chapel’s triumphal world touring in 1918-1924 which was a successful act by cultural diplomacy of Ukrainian People’s Republic, initiated by Simon Petliura. The film combines two storylines. The first one demonstrates the aspiration of Ukraine to justice and independence, to its proper place on the European map. The second one shows the aspiration of russia to destroy, deny, or appropriate everything. “The same people and the same culture” is a false manipulative narrative which was used by russia more than 100 years ago and which stays unchanged till today.

director

Oleksandr Nazarov

Oleksandr Nazarov is a Ukrainian documentary filmmaker, videographer, and editor. He works with historical and social themes, exploring Ukrainian cultural heritage, identity, and the experience of war. He is the director of the documentary films Shchedryk Against “the Russian World” (2022), The Tereshchenko Legacy (2021/2022), The Year of the Tiger (2023), and Looks Like Home (2016).