Serhiy Zhadan: “If Russia wins, there will be no literature, no culture, nothing”
Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukrainian poet Serhiy Zhadan stayed in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, doing humanitarian work and conducting numerous interviews in the city he couldn’t leave behind. Writer, poet, musician, humanitarian worker, and political activist, Zhadan is on every front, avoiding labels as fast as he walks.
For Zhadan, the sole fact of writing in Ukrainian is political. By choosing what language to write in, writers indicate their political and ideological positions.
“That’s why even if you write love poems but do it in Ukrainian, you take a certain position in one way or another, it has a political connotation,” he said.
Zhadan predicts this war will divide Ukrainian literature into two periods — pre-war and post-war but it will take time to see a new opus emerge. “The reality is too close, too bloody, and too rough to easily talk about,” he said.
Zhadan always refers to Russia as “the empire,” a term suiting Russia’s colonial behavior towards Ukraine. For Russians, Ukraine is just a part of Russia, Zhadan said.
“Ukraine is just an appendix, a part of Russia, the same people that for some reason they constantly destroy, and Ukrainians have no right to their own independence,” he said.
“And Ukrainians see a history where they are their own people, an independent nation, who was always opposed to the empire.”
Ukrainians want to build an independent and democratic country, while Russians feel comfortable enough in totalitarian conditions, Zhadan added.
He believes writers have a role to play in the fight against Russia’s colonial attitude by building the country’s identity through art. As mediators, writers can’t stay idle in such times.
“We are a highly politicized society, which is understandable because we’re a postcolonial society, and we’re trying to build our own identity to escape the influence of the Russian empire.”
This is what distances Ukraine from Russia, he said. “And Russians know this, that is why from time to time, they try to destroy Ukrainian literature.”
…Russia’s invasion showed Ukrainians that they have no other option than to completely disconnect from Russians because any mingling with Russia ends up with the destruction of Ukraine, he said.
“I think Russians have done everything for Ukraine to be destined for its independence and freedom.”
…Russia’s invasion showed Ukrainians that they have no other option than to completely disconnect from Russians because any mingling with Russia ends up with the destruction of Ukraine, he said.
“I think Russians have done everything for Ukraine to be destined for its independence and freedom.”
