#woman in vyshyvanka

[w-armansky-blog]

Ukraine's big folk-electro music sensation: Nata Zhyzhchenko, the lead singer of Ukrainian electronic pop band Onuka

[mijoons]

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[folklorespring]

Happy vyshyvanka day!

"Portrait of a girl in vyshyvanka" by Mykhailo Bryanksy/"Peasant woman from Ternopilshchyna" by Marta Makarenko

Both paintings were stolen by russians from Kherson Art Museum.

[hirkyy]

reposting this year old art by me with some close ups. ukrainian woman in a vyshyvanka and namysto.

[happilychee]

songs I associate with fairy tail characters but it gets more and more random pt.2

zeref dragneel -> fairytale by alexander rybak

LISTEN I KNOW THIS ONE IS BASIC. but sometimes basic is best. zeref loves mavis and ultimately it's what kills both of them :,))

sting eucliffe -> livin' la vida loca

yes I'm including sting again bc he's babygirl. he so flirts with guys at the bar and drives them crazy. he stops by an inn during a mission and becomes the life of the party with his sweet charm. ironically, if you flirt back with the blonde and you really mean it, he'll turn to putty in your hands.

erza scarlet -> I am not a woman, I'm a god by halsey

erza is so. so. she's this song because everyone else deifies her. "I am not a martyr, I'm a problem. I am not a legend, I'm a fraud." erza isn't perfect, but she's aware of her reputation and that makes her act a certain way. she doesn't feel as free to express herself, and the amount of praise she gets for her fighting prowess often makes her feel like a soldier.

lucy heartfilia -> akasaka sad by rina sawayama

another lucy one, as a treat. "cuz I'm a sucker, sucker, so I suffer. akasaka sad, just like my father." specifically about lucy's complicated relationship with her parents (mostly her dad). there's so much distance and time between them, but she can never fully recover from the effects her childhood has on her. part of her will always be a sad, crying little girl in the corner of the library, hiding from her father.

alzack connell -> disko boy by shantel

specifically when he's pining after bisca. bisca is outgoing and fun and friendly and she loves to dance. alzack is shyer and prefers quieter, more personal activities like reading or drawing. he's never liked having the spotlight on him, but the way bisca lights up when he asks her to dance makes the embarrassment fade away, replaced by fuzzy warmth.

gray fullbuster -> dodomu by kalush (feat. skofka)

gray is soooooo ukrainian to me. he would shred on the dance floor doing gopak. also dodomu is about never forgetting where home is, and gray never forgets about ur, lyon, or deliora. even though fairy tail is his family and his home, he always remembers and honors where he came from by making traditional dishes and wearing traditional clothing. gray in a vyshyvanka and sharovary??? on the floor rn.

jenny realight -> bijin by chanmina

it just. fits. u can't expect jenny as a model to not have thoughts on how women are treated because of their looks. she will scream the last lines of bijin because it's cathartic.

lisanna strauss -> maggots by ashnikko

I think lisanna has a lot of pent up rage. she's had her life and identity reinvented so many times, she cannot be normal. she usually lets her anger out during missions with juvia and gajeel and lily or during sparring matches with mira (elfman refuses to fight her, understandably.) still, if you piss lisanna off, she will verbally tear you a new one. you didn't know such horrible words existed until lisanna cursed you out with them.

laxus dreyar -> kotik by alexander rybak

yes, another alexander rybak song. this one only makes sense if u put it in the perspective of laxus searching for an exceed. then it's hilarious.

[vintage-ukraine]

Embroidered woman`s shirt, Kosiv, late XIXth century

Happy Vyshyvanka Day!

[comradevo]

good morning/noon and happy Pascha to the following icons I saw this morning:

the little girl who pointed at a picture of Jesus and Mary and said "look, it's Jesus and Mommy Jesus!" Later she interrupted the proceedings to announce "mommy I love you." Very cute and wholesome 10/10

The family that consisted of a mother, two little girls in vyshyvanka dresses and glittery cowboy boots, and a father in vyshyvanka shirt and cowboy hat and boots. Fashion icons.

The little boy who realized he wouldn't be able to get to the back without going through the crowd, monologuing the whole time about it. Went away briefly, came back and realized with despair that there were even more people than before.

The old woman with short pink hair, tropical jungle green dress, and pale lavender toenails. Unironically a 10/10 look.

A young woman in the prettiest red lace skirt and vyshyvanka shirt and, you guessed it, bright red cowboy boots. I love it but GIRL WHERE

Chubby little infant in vyshyvanka onesie 😭😭😭

[andrearrrrr]

Putler and his puppet Lukashenko sadly watch as a woman in vyshyvanka (Ukrainian traditional blouse) is leaving

[saintemaria]

Portrait of a woman in an imaginative vyshyvanka 🌸 by @saintemaria​

[cyberbenb]

Young, Ukrainian, and black – a woman working out her identity in wartime

Editor’s Note from Tim: Every single issue of The Counteroffensive starts with a story about a person experiencing the news. We believe that empathy and autocracy are incompatible, which is why we are bringing a human-centered perspective to what’s happening in the war. Subscribe free or paid if you agree with our methods!

In this vein, we are so proud to feature our friend Terrell’s story today. We are able to provide it to our readers free because of our paid subscribers. Thank you!

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Alice Zuravel loves being Black, but  as a young child her little Afro gave her the fits. 

Born in 1995, Ukraine was four years removed from the fall of the USSR and hair care products designed for Black girls hadn’t made their way to her native Kharkiv. 

Zuravel’s mom did the best she could to style it, but the results were always terrible. 

“This experience with my hair was the main reason I didn’t identify myself as absolutely Ukrainian,” she told me on a video call from New York, where she is conducting research on Ukrainian diasporas. “I wasn't white and I wanted to be white and wanted to have straight hair like everyone around me.” 

A portrait of Alice Zuravel.

Zuravel doesn’t recall any major dust ups with racism during her school years, but says not having her African father around during her teenage years made it tough to navigate her identity. 

It took years of self-discovery to appreciate that she was unique. 

It was around the age of 15 that she started feeling good about being Black, she said. 

She started reading the works of Black American civil rights figures like Frederick Douglass who gave her historical insights into the power of Black leadership and self-pride. And music played, perhaps, the most critical positive reinforcement when she was unsure of how to view the Black child staring back at her in the mirror.

“Hip hop helped me to survive these periods," Zuravel told me. “That's why my time was better because it helped me reflect a lot about my own identification.” 

From that point on, the discomfort around being a Black kid passed.

Zuravel, 28, is now on a personal journey to better understand her Blackness and how that fits with a multicultural Ukraine that centers on its own history, instead of the Moscow-centric narrative that has worked for centuries to erase Ukrainian identity. 

The war really made Ukrainians rethink their connections to Russia. In the east, where Zuravel was born, Russian was the dominant language. Now, many Ukrainians are resurrecting their Ukrainian. Traditional Ukrainian folk attire known as vyshyvanka are worn now more than ever. The nation is undergoing something of a cultural renaissance that Zuravel is exploring in her own unique way.

Zuravel founded Tozhsamist last year, a social initiative that features Ukrainians telling their stories about their culture and decouple it from Kremlin disinformation campaigns. Tired of headlines in Russian propaganda accusing Ukraine of being racist, the initiative gives a platform to Ukrainians who can tell their own truth about the war and life here in general.

Of course, Africans experienced racism fleeing the war last year and, yes, there is racism in Ukraine. What bothered her then and now is that Russia has long controlled the narrative of what Ukraine is. 

So she started interviewing Ukrainians of Korean, Crimean Tatar and other ethnic backgrounds and posting the stories on the initiative’s website. In a matter of a year and a half, Zuravel went from being an unwilling subject of Russian disinformation to becoming a storyteller of her national heritage. 

A screenshot of the Tozhsamist website.

A lot of Ukrainians began revisiting their relationship with Russia after the 2014 invasion, but many will tell you it was the second, full-scale invasion in 2022 that made them realize Russians weren’t their brothers and that their bond was a product of colonialism. 

Usually, when colonialism is discussed, especially in the West, it features Europe or the U.S. targeting people of color, namely the Global South or the Middle East. People struggle to fathom Russians colonizing Urkainians because they are “white.” 

“We had to understand that same-[race] colonialism is different (from white on Black colonialism), but produces the same harmful results for people and future generations who want peace,” Zuravel said. “I didn't understand back then because it was from my childhood when I was a Russian speaker.”

Essentially, to be friends with Russia was to erase anything Ukrainian. That is the power of colonialism and its impact on her and many Ukrainians' lives, she said.

Ukrainians have had their language and culture suppressed by the Russian Empire, the U.S.S.R. that followed it and currently by the Russian Federation in occupied territories. As a child Zuravel remembers not learning much about Ukrainian culture in school. Russian literature and language were the primary courses of instruction, and anything Ukrainian felt like an elective.  

People are seen outside the cordoned off area around the remains of a shell in Kyiv on February 24, 2022, the day the full-scale invasion began. (Photo by Sergei Supinsky / AFP) (Photo by SERGEI SUPINSKY/AFP via Getty Images)

The 2022 invasion compelled many Ukrainians to reclaim their story and share it with the world. 

That is why she is visiting New York City: to speak to Ukrainians there about their identity and how they feel as U.S. citizens of a Ukrainian background. Her month of being in the city also provided her an opportunity to speak with Black Americans about Ukraine.

When she returns to Ukraine in August, she will come with an even greater appreciation of her Blackness and a global understanding of what it means to be Ukrainian. 

Most importantly, her ambassadorial sojourn will have shown some in the U.S. that a Ukrainian can look like Rihanna and speak the language of Taras Shevchenko, the legendary Ukrainian poet. 

“I can record thousands of videos of people of color in Ukraine who were born there, who came to work or for study and are happy,” Zuravel said. “I want people to know that Ukraine is just a simple country with simple people who just want to live and be happy. I won’t want people to have the wrong opinions about my home, my country.” 

Russia wanted to crush Zuravel’s Ukraine and anything that it produced. 

But, under pressure, it produced a diamond. 

And now, she, in all of her Ukrainian Black Girl Magic, is shining.  

Terrell Jermaine Starr is the host and founder of the Black Diplomats Podcast, where he discusses mostly Ukraine and Palestine. You can find him on Twitter and IG @terrelljstarr. 

The Counteroffensive with Tim Mak is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Good morning to readers; Kyiv remains in Ukrainian hands. 

We hope no one was planning a Crimean trip anytime soon… the now-confirmed Ukrainian strike on the Kerch Bridge by naval drones has caused havoc for Russian traffic going between Russian territory and occupied Crimea. 

A picture taken on July 17, 2023 shows a Russian warship sailing near the Kerch bridge, linking the Russian mainland to Crimea, following an attack claimed by Ukrainian forces. (Photo by STRINGER/AFP via Getty Images)

Seemingly in response to this, and noticeably after the Russians pulled out of the Black Sea Grain Deal, Russia attacked the Ukrainian port town of Odesa for the second night in a row. The attacks were more aggressive than usual – Russia seemed to be sending a message about continuing grain exports without their consent. The deal was a project brokered by the United Nations and Turkey to allow the safe export of grain through the Black Sea. 

While Russia is busy repairing the Kerch Bridge for the second time (latest reports say it is likely driveable already), Ukrainian forces are continuing a grueling offensive against firmly entrenched Russian forces in the east. 

"We'd like to get very fast results, but in reality it's practically impossible," said Ukrainian General Oleksandr Syrskyi, the man who led the defense of Kyiv and the Kharkiv offensive. He is now responsible for pushing the remaining Russian forces out. 

The east of the country is as heavily mined as parts of the south, he said. The Russians have had months to mine practically every field, and build countless defensive strongholds. Despite the firmly entrenched Russians, he believes the strength and high morale of Ukrainian forces will see the country through. 

This is in stark contrast to the state of the current Russian command, which is going through a crisis of confidence. The chaos of the Wagner mutiny has been compounded by a reshuffling of commanders at a very high level in the Russian military.

Just a few days ago another Russian brigade commander was removed from his post, bringing the known total to 13 for fired general staff.

Over the last week, the leaked audio of a Russian commander who was in charge of forces in the south has exposed tensions in Russian military leadership. In the audio, General Ivan Popov accused Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu of treason, pointing out the rising number of Russian casualties due to Ukrainian artillery fire. 

It seems the Russians are suffering far more losses than the Ukrainian side. In fact, as the Hudson Institute reports, Ukraine has lost just one howitzer weapon for every four that Russia has lost. The think tank's Can Kasapoğlu writes that "a decisive Ukrainian victory might lead to a large-scale military mutiny in the Russian Federation."

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REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK:

Hi everyone, Terrell here! I first arrived in Ukraine in the summer of 2008 while I was completing a graduate school language requirement in Tbilisi — the very same summer Russia invaded Georgia. 

So this isn’t my first Russian invasion!

During my first trip to Georgia, in 2008, with my Georgian language teacher during a cooking and language lesson. 

I was here to see if Ukraine would be a good place to study under a Fulbright grant. I was curious about the history of Black people who arrived here mostly through Soviet scholarships starting from the 1930s through the 1980s. 

Being a Black person myself, I was fascinated with the stories of Langston Hughes and other Black Americans who traveled to Russia in the 1930s to seek refuge from U.S. racism. He and a group of Black Americans traveled to Moscow to produce a propaganda film “Black And White” that never saw the light of day.

I wanted to understand how Black people born in Ukraine felt about how their own Black experiences compared to the relative reprieve folks like Hughes were seeking. 

I got the Fulbright and that experience set me on a more-than-decade journey of understanding Blackness in Ukraine that helps me to write about the very complex and diverse lives of Black Ukrainians, a subject that is almost never discussed and is in its infancy when it comes to scholarly research. 

In Rynok Square, in Lviv, Ukraine this summer.

I have befriended many Black people, both of mixed Ukrainians and African heritage and those from the Motherland who come to work and study. They are all very different and have varying understandings of their identities. Because there is virtually no scholarly research on Black Ukrainians, journalists like me are left with piecing together their experience through reporting.  

The toughest thing about telling stories about people like Aline Zuravel and those of the many Black people I am currently working on is recognizing my own cultural experiences about Blackness and not allowing it to color the story of the Black Ukrainian I am interviewing.

Being Black gives me major insights and access that many of my subjects would never grant to a non-Black person, so that default gives me an edge as a storyteller. But, as a Black Canadian politician keenly told me some years ago, “You Black Americans take up a lot of oxygen.” 

Photo of Karolina Ashion in Dusseldorf, Germany. She is one of several Black Ukrainians featured in my upcoming, “Fleeing Ukraine While Black Series.” Credit: Terrell J. Starr.

So I am careful to allow my subjects to tell me how they experience Blackness. When something doesn’t vibe well with me, we talk through it, Black person to Black person, and I end up getting a clearer understanding of that person's Black experience while giving the subject a safe space to reflect on my observations that, in the end, provide a better profile of who that person is and what they are experiencing. 

I am working on a video and audio series for my Black Diplomats podcast titled, “Fleeing Ukraine While Black,” that tells the stories of Black people who fled Ukraine during the war and their journeys leaving the country and their lives in the nations that host them.

It is a huge undertaking that has had me serve as journalist, psychologist and, ultimately, friend.

Outside of the images of Africans fighting to get on trains at the start of the war, there has been little reporting done on these people in a meaningful way. 

Photo of Angelina Diash in Berlin, Germany. She is one of several Black Ukrainians featured in my upcoming, “Fleeing Ukraine While Black Series.” Credit: Terrell J. Starr.

My series will follow Black Ukrainians and Africans to Poland, Germany, France, Portugal, England and here in Ukraine. Each subject in my multi-episode series is different. They all suffer some form of trauma from what they experienced, but the main thing is that they all have a complex relationship with Ukraine that cannot be neatly summed up as “Ukraine is racist” — even though race and racism are very much central themes of their experiences.

This is Mace (stage name),a hip hop artist in Warsaw and former student in Ukraine who fled the war in 2022. Credit: Terrell J. Starr .

Carefully relistening to hours of audio and rewatching video to tell the story of Black Ukraine requires me to lean into my Blackness to understand how these peoples’—my people’s—experience. It also reminds me not to allow my own Americanness to obscure their narrative. 

Such is the life of being a Black reporter in Ukraine telling Black stories that will be told for the first time. That has not changed since the first time I arrived in Ukraine in 2008 and have been living on and off since – cumulatively, two to three years.

It is a heavy responsibility that brings me excitement and reminds me of my responsibility to my people and my craft. I hope you’ll follow along with us at Black Diplomats, and here with my friends at The Counteroffensive.

Today’s Dog of War is this dog that Tim took outside a gas station in Ukraine. Stray dogs can often be found lingering in and around gas stations here, because the regional ethical principle is very well established: always feed the dogs when you leave the gas station register with food.

Stay safe out there. 

Best, Terrell

[w-armansky-blog]

Keep silence Let’s turn off the lights and keep silence About things that can't be put into words, Can't be ever writable, are impossible to act, Only to keep in silence, the thoughtful silence.

Let’s be silent about things that young girls Aren’t able to hide, Aren’t able to dream Let's be silent about you and me – Be silent, be silent till we both want to scream.

The moon has fallen down. There’s darkness in the room. So good it is that you've learned to be silent About things you couldn’t ever lie, About things I would never dare to ask.

We’ll be lying together in bed, Lying and dripping with water like snow. We'll be choking our tears greedily, And with them the words we can't say.

Let me just be silent right to your ear, The tea mug's gotten cold And we still have things to be silent about… And we still have things to lie down about…

As soon as the light breaks throughout our curtains, We'll talk again like everyone else does. And while it's still dark in our room Let���s just be …

Keep Silence (Movchaty), the Ukrainian band Skryabin, 2003 the photos were made by the Ukrainian photographer Konstantin Liberov (@libkos)

[mijoons]

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Quality Fabric: Crafted from a blend of high-quality materials, these long tops offer a luxurious feel against your skin while providing the perfect balance of breathability and warmth. They’re suitable for year-round wear.

Flattering Fit: The tailored fit of these tops accentuates your figure without feeling restrictive. The longer length adds an elegant touch and provides extra coverage, making them ideal for pairing with leggings or skinny jeans.

Versatile Color Palette: Our basic long tops come in a range of versatile colors to suit your personal style. From classic neutrals to vibrant hues for adding a pop of colors you’ll find the perfect shade for any occasion.

Casual Chic: Pair them with your favourite jeans and sneakers for an easy, everyday look that’s both comfortable and stylish.

Leggings Lover: Combine them with leggings or jeggings for a laid-back yet put-together ensemble perfect for running errands or lounging at home.

Seasonal Adaptability: Wear them solo in warmer weather or layer them under coats and jackets when temperatures drop.

These tops are designed for women who appreciate quality, comfort, and style in one versatile package. With our Women’s Basic Long Tops, you’ll have a dependable foundation for creating countless fashionable looks. Whether you’re dressing up for a special occasion or keeping it casual, these tops are the perfect choice. Elevate your wardrobe with timeless simplicity today.

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[hope-is-reason]

Guys. I mean, I still have it in my bio, but I am 1/4 Greek, 1/8 Ukrainian, 1/8 Georgian, and 1/8 Chuvash, just to introduce myself. The other 3/8 are Russian roots and now I feel like an evil guy who can’t stop the war just because of my heritage. I‘ve been brought up in Russia, in the summer I visit my mom‘s house in Georgia, so those were the closest cultures to me. Later in my life I‘ve gained a kind of hyperfixation on Ukrainian talk shows (specifically Один за всіх and Говорить Україна). Usually they are about different crimes that would otherwise stay unnoticed. So I became very fond of my Ukrainian roots, too, as I‘ve kind of understand oral Ukrainian language now and how beautiful it is. The problem is, I adore Slavic traditions in theory, years before the war I‘ve been wanting to have either a Russian national costume or a Ukrainian one (or at least a vyshyvanka), but now I feel that I can‘t show either parts of my Slavic heritage. There is a woman who almost got arrested for having a blue and a yellow plastic bags. People snitch on their own siblings and children. I can‘t safely call myself Ukrainian. But I also can‘t call myself Russian, as right now this country is destroying Ukraine and killing its civilians. How can I connect with my roots if I can‘t do it outside of my home?

[gtinvestukraineblog]

Mural in Honour of Ukraine in the USA

Chicago, Ukrainian Village district.

A mural in honour of Ukraine appeared here. A 2-meter image of a Ukrainian woman in vyshyvanka and a wreath of flowers, a traditional folk decoration for Ukrainian women, appeared on the wall in the American quarter. The pano is made in the colours of the Ukrainian flag — yellow and blue.

The authors of the mural are American artists Conrad Edmonds and Sechor. The initiators of the gift for Ukraine are Martha Farion with the assistance of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America in the state of Illinois.

Everybody may admire this work at 815 N. Oakley Blvd.

[haslead-blog]

Wow/ It is good online place where can i buy embroidered linen dresses. Sustainable fashion cloth brand Mysleepinggypsy

[samotnya]

@pieniharmaakani So I basically fell down a rabbit hole of looking at beautiful traditional attire but here are some looks I could imagine the Devoraks in.

Like imagine Mazelinka in this:

Pirate it all up a bit maybe? But I think she'd look amazing either way.

Or the one on the right here:

The covered hair was sort of expected from an an older woman and I've seen Jewish head coverings that look sort of similar, but don't take my word for it.

The left outfit is more youthful and pretty fancy, probably worn on special occasion.

Here are some more looks without the sleeveless керсетка (kersetka). I can kinda see Portia wearing the right one minus the headdress maybe???? I love the collar on the lady to the left, but I don't think I've ever seen another illustration of women's вишиванка (vyshyvanka) with a collar like that. (Also forgive my terrible cropping, my phone wouldn't let me save it)

Here's something more casual, again with the керсетка (I just really like it okay):

And Jules in something like this maybe:

I feel like the coat, which was apparently a very fashionable look judging from many pics I've seen, would look great on him and you could still keep an element of his character design.

Look at these fellas and their cool coats and fancy embroidered shirts (and lovely moustaches. Love em. But not on Julian asgsgsgsg).

I had a look at the sprites of young Ilya and Pasha and he seems to be wearing a Russian kosovorotka with the off-center fastening (Ukrainian vyshyvanka arr always fastened in the center, often tied together with strings at the neck leaving a gap down the middle). The dress Pasha is wearing is just...what all cute children wear in games lol.

Here's some more links with lots of real photographs of ethnic clothing:

-> photographs of mostly girls and women from very rural areas from the 1950s.

-> 19th century photographs from rural areas around the town Kolomiya.

Both in Ukrainian but the pics are lovely.

This link offers some insight into the regional differences of the costumes that I actually didn't know much about regional differences in clothing that I didn't know much about prior. This time in English ;)

Gods, this got really long, sorry.

I'm not an expert at all on my own culture, because I, sadly, only started feeling a real connection to it once I emigrated, but I hope this was at least in some way insightful (or and not too much).