On a stage in Culver City, a soldier dressed in a combat uniform plays the bandura, a traditional Ukrainian stringed instrument. Taras Solyar joined the Ukrainian military shortly after Russia’s invasion and became a member of the so-called Cultural Forces. That’s a team of more than 80 active-duty Ukrainian soldiers who are also world-class artists: musicians, poets, writers, and puppeteers.
Usually, they perform on the front lines, but one group of musicians has been touring in the United States, from the East Coast, across the country, and recently to California, where they stopped to perform in Culver City.
“Art alleviates the grinding sameness of war,” Cultural Forces founder Mykolai Sierga explains. “When somebody brings you into a different world, it refreshes you. Culture prevents rust on the soul.”
On a recent stop at the Cold War-focused Wende Museum in Culver City, bandura player Liubov Shipiliuk was among the musicians from Ukraine playing for an audience of more than 200. Photo: Kerstin Zilm.
Art can also be a form of resistance, says Justin Jampol, director of the Cold War-focused Wende Museum in Culver City, where this performance took place.
“So many revolutions and so much change are driven by artists,” he said as he watched the musicians set up the stage for their performance. “The ideas, the visions are from people just like the ones we're looking at right now.”
Olha Rukovishnikova started playing violin at the age of 4 and performed for the National Philharmonic of Ukraine. On a combat mission, she lost an eye. Photo: Kerstin Zilm.
Opera singer Yuri Ivaskevich was a soloist at the Zaporizhzhya Philharmonic and volunteered early in the war for the Ukrainian infantry. He lost a leg defending his country. On stage, he belted out arias and popular tunes from the U.S. – including one he adapted to “I’m proud to be a Ukrainian.”
Opera singer Yuri Ivaskevich adapted a familiar American patriotic tune; he belted out, “I’m proud to be a Ukrainian.” Photo by Kerstin Zilm.
The only one not wearing his camouflage to perform was Oleksandr Bulich, whose stage name is Sasha Boole. He stepped in front of the audience in jeans, a Hawaiian shirt, and a Stetson, custom-made when he rolled through Texas a few weeks earlier.
Boole loves Western history, literature, and music. A Hank Williams tattoo covers the inside of his forearm. He almost couldn’t believe it when he got the chance to drink a beer and talk music with Williams’ great-grandson as the tour passed through the South. “We came to his place and had a great chat. He said that he would like to come to Ukraine and play for the guys on the front line. For me, that was an iconic moment.”
Country singer Sasha Boole is a big fan of Western culture. He got the chance to meet Hank William’s great-grandson, Coleman Williams, and discovered that they both have the same tattoo. Photo courtesy of Sasha Boole.
While on the road in their minivan, the Ukrainians followed the presidential election, but they say they are not in the country to talk politics. They are here to show the more personal side of Ukraine not seen in headlines from the war.
“Behind the news are guys like me who create music, who'd like to have families, who dream about a peaceful future,” says Boole. “But we are forced to fight because a bunch of psychopaths decided they wanted to kill us.”
While on tour, the Ukrainian Cultural Forces represented their country during the 46th Parade of Nations in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Photo courtesy of Cultural Forces, the cultural arm of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Sharing music, meals, and drinks with new friends they made along the way was the most beautiful part of the tour, says Cultural Forces founder Mykolai Sierga. He has a message for the people of America: Celebrate your differences. Don’t let your people be divided. “We're praying for the people of the United States,” he says, “because if the U.S. falls, democracy and freedom in the world will fall.”