Resist
Apologies for the hiatus
First off, many apologies for the delay in writing. The past couple of weeks have been busy preparing and writing various materials, and also taking part in a panel discussion on the resistance in the Temporary Occupied Territories (TOTs).
This Substack will next year evolve into more of an ongoing newsletter on events in the TOTs, especially Russian information manipulation directed against the Ukrainian population and also other audiences.
Lvivski is dedicated to supporting Ukraine’s and the Ukrainians’ victory, and to supporting the freedom of all Ukrainians — including from information manipulation and coercive violence.
Key to Russian information manipulation is to promote the false idea that Ukrainians want to rejoin their supposed historical brothers, that they are somehow innately Russian. This is completely wrong and abhorrent. I have been struck over the past three years on the cultural differences between Ukraine and Russia, and how the very best Ukrainian material makes this clear.
Take this piece from Ukrainer on the Zla Mavka women’s resistance movement and how the Mavkas epitomise the internal freedom, and fun, of Ukrainian culture.
“You have more power in your hands than you think,” Mavka One emphasises. “You realise that every action you take matters; it’s inspiring. Ukrainians are amazing, really! And Ukrainian women are cooler than Marvel superheroes.”
In their struggle, the Mavkas have seen not only the strengths of Ukrainians but also their striking differences from the Russians. Mavka Three points out that Ukrainians don’t need what is foreign, only what is their own. Mavka One sees no similarities between the two nations.
It’s a very compelling and inspiring piece, and one of the reasons why and Lvivski want to do more to support the resistance movement in the TOTs, even if this involves raising awareness.
As talk of a potential ceasefire grows in international media (though to me still unlikely, given the distance between the two sides and their populations), it is vital to keep pressing the idea that Ukrainians in the TOTs are not Russians, do not want to be part of Russia, and are suffering a terrible repression of their culture.
It is crucial to keep pushing that idea, championing the enslaved Ukrainians who might not be able to express resistance safely, and push politicians not to concede the easy option. To give in to Moscow now would be a grave moral failure, and would abandon hundreds of thousands, if not millions, to an awful fate. We cannot forget them.
As the Ukrainer piece says:
Overall, Ukrainian culture and symbols help the activists maintain morale, even though preserving traditions in occupied conditions is incredibly challenging. The Mavkas mention that they only practise these traditions in family settings, never in public. For Easter, they decorated pysanky, and in winter, they celebrated St. Nicholas Day and Christmas. They do this quietly, as open resistance has disappeared in the occupied territories, unlike in the early days of the Russian invasion. The occupiers suppress any acts of resistance. However, Mavka Two points out that certain habits among people still persist.
I was asked at the panel what we can do to support Ukrainians. We can follow and repost the material from the brave resistance groups, such as Zla Mavka, Atesh, the Popular Resistance of Ukraine, the Berdiansk Partisan Army, the Yellow Ribbon, and the Fighting Seagulls. Disseminate their material, and let them know we support them and that we shall not give up on them.
More on this over the next few days.
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