In trying to destroy Ukrainian culture, Russia only proved how powerful it is

Ukrainian artist from the Nahirna22 art community, Sabina Magnitofon, stands inside the damaged building at the Kyiv Institute of Automation which houses the Nahirna22 studios, in Kyiv, on November 18, 2025, amid the Russian invasion in Ukraine. (Tetiana Dzhafarova / AFP via Getty Images) Prefer on Google Davis Richardson The more that Russia tries to kill Ukrainian culture, the harder it reemerges. In August 2025, Russian military forces struck the artist collective Nahirna22 in Kyiv, killing one civilian seeking shelter. The group, which includes a roster of incredible Gen-Z Ukrainian artists such as Lviv-born Yuriy Bolsa, rebuilt in under two months and reopened their studios to the public. They were hit again in November. Both attacks demonstrate systematic targeting by Russian military forces , not on drone facilities or military units, but on civilians or young civilian artists who represent Ukraine's future. Something interesting happened, however, after both attacks. This relatively obscure group of Gen-Z artists attracted global attention. The Art Newspaper, MutualArt, Artnet, and other international media outlets started covering the collective, pushing them into the mainstream. Nahirna22 received follow-on funding from the Goethe Center for a joint research studio, Lab207 , as well as new exhibitions backed by the European Union and the Government of Poland. This Gen-Z Kyiv collective is just one of many. Statistics indicate a surge of global interest in Ukrainian culture. Following the full-scale invasion in 2022, the number of books translated from Ukrainian to English more than doubled , and this year, Ukraine's Ministry of Culture is funding more than 100 translated works in 33 countries. These successes go on: Ukrainian hip-hop group Kalush Orchestra won Eurovision , Crimean-born boxer Oleksandr Usyk took the heavyweight crown last year, " 20 Days in Mariupol " received an Oscar , and just this week it was announced that Ukrainian actor Oleksandr Rudynskyi will appear in a Netflix series alongside America's star-of-the-moment Sydney Sweeney. Ukraine is everywhere in culture. And Ukrainian representation in music, film, sports, and literature will only continue to grow as private capital enters the country seeking exposure to defense and reconstruction initiatives. The whole world will benefit from this renaissance. People attend Spring Salon 2026 exhibition opening at the Palace of Arts on April 17, 2026 in Lviv, Ukraine. (Les Kasyanov/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images) The "Executed Renaissance" has its day The Kyiv Independent this month revisited Ukraine's " Executed Renaissance " — the generation of Ukrainian artists, writers, and intellectuals killed by Soviet authorities in the 1920s and 1930s. During this period, writers like Mykola Khvylovy urged Ukrainians to move “Away from Moscow,” and connect their own cultural heritage and traditions to European modernism. The Soviet state responded in force. In November 1937, more than 100 Ukrainian artists, intellectuals, and writers were executed. Contemporary Ukrainian painter Oleksandr Dubovyk's own family existed within the shadow of that destruction. His father, poet Mykhailo Dubovyk, was killed in 1941 after the first wave of Soviet executions. Now 93 years old, Dubovyk's philosophy centers on the notion of the " Great Ukrainian Idea ," a type of Ukrainian cultural renaissance set to emerge from Ukraine's defeat of Russia, coinciding with the Age of Aquarius. According to Dubovyk, all that was once suppressed in Ukraine under the Executed Renaissance will flourish internationally and give human beings new models for the future. Although this concept may seem far-fetched to U.S. and European audiences, this spring is starting to reveal the contours of such a world. After an awful winter, the worst Ukraine has experienced since 1991, complicated nationwide blackouts and critical infrastructure attacks, the country is not only still standing, but has recaptured hundreds of miles of territory . What we are witnessing today is, in many ways, the continuation of that unfinished renaissance. But this time, it is not isolated — it is globally networked, digitally documented, and economically reinforced. Last week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky published a video unveiling 56 new types of weapons systems , highlighting last year's breakthrough operation when Ukraine's Third Assault Brigade captured Russian troops using unmanned platforms for the first time in history. The U.S.-Ukraine Reconstruction Fund, meanwhile, is finally operational and just made its first investment in Sine Engineering . This is the architecture of a modern renaissance. The same global attention driving investment into Ukraine's defense industry is simultaneously driving interest in its culture. The same narratives that explain Ukraine's battlefield resilience are shaping its cultural perception abroad. And the same infrastructure being built to support reconstruction is creating pathways for cultural and creative industries to scale. For much of its modern history, Ukraine was forced to define itself in opposition to empire, to occupation, to external control. As Russia subverted Ukrainian genius for its own imperial ambitions (Russifying great Ukrainian artists such as Kazimir Malevich and Wassily Kandinsky), Russian authorities continually cut Ukraine off at the knees by murdering cultural figures and routing cultural conversations on the nature of Ukrainian art through Moscow. Debates still play out today in the Metropolitan Museum of Art and MoMA on whether Malevich and Kandinsky were Ukrainian or Russian. What is emerging now is different. Ukraine is defining itself proactively on its own terms: as a center of innovation, as a major cultural force, as a strategic partner in global security and economic systems. As United States and European countries embrace nihilism in culture, defaulting to tired "looksmaxxing" trends on social media and self-proclaimed postmodern gallery works that insult audiences, Ukraine is offering a genuinely positive vision for humanity; one rooted in everything from the warrior spirit of Kozak tribes, intricate pattern designs found on Vyshyvankas, and of course, blossoming flowers, from the Carpathian Mountains to Kyiv to occupied Crimea . Russia can destroy buildings. It can target infrastructure. It can attempt to terrorize a population. But it cannot suppress a movement that grows stronger through pressure. And unlike the Ukrainian Renaissance, which was executed nearly a century ago, this one is being built in full view of the world. Editor's note: The opinions expressed in the op-ed section are those of the authors and do not purport to reflect the views of the Kyiv Independent. Davis Richardson has written for VICE, The Daily Beast, NY Post, Interview Magazine, and WIRED. He previously covered U.S. foreign policy at the New York Observer and has published on art history and philosophy for the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, Australia. He sits on the Board of Directors of Art Shield, and oversees the U.S. communications firm Paradox Public Relations and the consultancy AUSP.