Last week, oDR began a new series devoted to cultural cooperation between Russia and Ukraine. These articles aimed to broaden perceptions — to try and move people to seeing culture as another form of action, one in which they can act independently and freely.
Preliminary conclusions were mixed: for Andrei Arkhangelsky, the post-independence decades haven’t brought much in the way of intercultural understanding between Russia and Ukraine — at least not in Russia. Despite the volumes of literature, hours of pop music and reels of TV specials, the line on “cultural fraternity” and “little brotherhood”, still popular in Russia, has stymied understanding Ukraine as an independent state.
As Kseniya Turkova shows from Kyiv, though, co-operation continues, and we still believe that while cultural dialogue is unlikely to solve the conflict, it can change attitudes.
