When a country is fighting for its survival, culture may seem like something that can wait. At the same time, culture is at the center of the battlefield. The Kremlin is trying to destroy Ukrainian identity, while Ukrainians are defending it. How do you see the relationship between war and culture?
As you rightly said, culture is at the heart of this war because the reason the war began was not territory or people, but Ukrainian identity, our right to be ourselves, with our own culture and history.
They claim that Ukraine, Ukrainian culture and Ukrainian history do not exist. They want to destroy them or claim them as Russian. Culture is always a target of attack. At the same time, we are defending our culture.
Culture is also important as a source of resilience. It is not so much about what you do, but who you are. When your identity is attacked, you defend yourself, your country and your culture. Culture is important here because it is how our identity is formed and developed within society.
Culture is at the heart of the war. It is a matter of national security because culture can be used as a weapon. We see this with Russia, which uses social media, films, exhibitions, museums and various cultural spheres to influence other societies and peoples, spreading its narratives to wider audiences. That is why culture is extremely important.
I also want to thank the Estonian people and government for standing with us in defending Ukrainian culture. You support us in other areas of the war as well, but particularly when it comes to culture.
Hundreds of cultural heritage sites in Ukraine have been damaged by Russia.
How are you protecting or restoring these sites? What resources do you have?
Our main goal is to protect and preserve as much as possible. This means evacuating museum collections from war zones. They are at risk because museums and cultural treasures are being targeted for destruction. We are trying to evacuate as much as possible from the front lines.
Another important issue is damaged and destroyed sites. When buildings have been damaged, our first step is to stabilize and preserve them. It is important to prevent further deterioration from wind, rain or snow.
Our priority is to salvage as much as possible from damaged buildings, but also to document everything and digitize inventories of cultural objects. Otherwise, the Russians will claim that everything belongs to them.
We are also creating 3D models of buildings. In several cases, this is already the only way to preserve a record of a building so that it can eventually be restored.
For example, at the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, one of Kyiv's most important cultural monuments, which also has a long history of destruction, we created several 3D models over the past few years.
Now that the cathedral was damaged in a Russian attack on June 15, with its roof almost completely destroyed, we have a 3D model that will allow us to restore and rebuild the building and show it to the world again.
You said that culture is part of resilience. To what extent are you consciously using it to mobilize society?
We are not using it that way. Society is doing it on its own. For example, it is difficult to get tickets to theaters or concert halls in Kyiv because people want to maintain their connection to culture.
Culture has a healing effect. This is extremely important during a crisis when there is so much stress. People need something to lean on and culture provides that safe environment. It offers a safe space in which to reflect on what is happening around them.
One visible aspect of cultural policy is the shaping of public spaces and the removal of monuments. Ukraine has taken down numerous monuments to Soviet leaders, but also monuments to writers such as Alexander Pushkin and Mikhail Bulgakov. Could you explain some of the background? Where do you draw the line in deciding which monuments to remove, and why?
Culture is part of politics. Every artistic gesture is also political. We ask ourselves why there are countries and places where monuments to Pushkin stand, while elsewhere there are none.
Strangely enough, the dividing line coincides with the borders of the former Soviet Union. It was not because people loved Pushkin so much. There was no enormous following for Russian literature. It was a symbol of imperialism, a way for Russia to try to turn these places into Russian spaces. Into the "Russian world," as they called it.
They used culture, religion and other means to achieve this. They used them as weapons to gradually, subtly, though sometimes not so subtly, exert power and make these places their own.
Today, it is difficult for Ukrainians to appreciate such literature or art amid the aggression and suffering we experience every day. For Ukrainians who witness death, tension and pain every day, it is unbearable to see these monuments and symbols in their surroundings.
That is why it is important to create a psychologically safe environment where people can live in peace and do not have to see things that bring back painful memories. Symbols of the very culture being used to kill us.
Another issue is Russian and Belarusian athletes who are increasingly returning to international competition. What do you think of this development? How should other athletes, including Estonian athletes, behave toward them or interact with them?
We know that Estonia has a very good policy on this issue. Thank you very much for that.
From our perspective, there are several dimensions to this issue. The first is the human dimension.
When Russian athletes meet Ukrainian athletes at a competition, those Ukrainian athletes may have lost relatives or siblings in Russian attacks. They may have had to sit in bomb shelters instead of training in sports halls.
It is not safe for them to be alongside Russian athletes, some of whom are members of the Russian military or military sports clubs. Some have received medals and awards from the Russian Defense Ministry.
For the Russian Defense Ministry, sport is part of its power. It is one of the ways Russia demonstrates its strength to the world. They use these opportunities to display Russian influence, including the Russian flag.
A national flag does not represent only sport or culture. It is also political.
This is not a political symbol we can share. For us, it is a political symbol of our suffering, of the deaths of Ukrainians. It is unbearable for us to treat this as something normal, because going to kill your neighbor is not normal.
What do you think Ukraine will look like after the war?
I hope we will be able to rebuild on the foundations of what we have today. That means a flourishing culture and a desire to be ourselves and live normal lives.
And with the support and solidarity we have received from around the world, especially here in Estonia, I hope that when the war finally ends, we will have tremendous creative potential to build a better world together and live in peace, solidarity and mutual support.
We would like to invite everyone to Ukraine after the war to see and experience it for themselves and so that we can thank everyone who is standing by our side today.
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