On February 24, 2022, Russia launched its terrible full-scale invasion of Ukraine. I, like many others, was virtually paralyzed by this event at the time. I couldn't believe it or comprehend it, and the confusion was very hard to shake. Everything that I was doing at the time, everything that my colleagues were building felt like it would come crashing down. In the first weeks, the only imaginable concern was finding a way to help Ukrainians affected by the war.
As time passed, another question emerged - what part could a Jewish educational project play in supporting Ukraine? And is there any point in educational projects when a terrible war rages somewhere? Figuring out the answers to these questions is crucial. After all, my projects are what I am best at doing.
Several months later, the "Solovinoyu" project came into being. Here, we publish poems by nearly forgotten Jewish poets. We tell their life stories.
We want to make it very clear that the Ukrainian nation and Ukrainian culture are not fiction, as propaganda insists, but a genuine and visible process whose evolution can be traced. Imagine Jewish poets with complicated fates who wrote under the USSR. We are proud to introduce you to these unique poets whose works have become a part of both the Jewish and Ukrainian cultures.
Let this make peace at least a small step closer.
Due to persecution, censorship, and the Soviet effort to suppress practically any form of national identity, their poems are probably being published for the first time in many decades. Just imagine how hard it was for them to overcome the many obstacles that the Soviet regime put in front of them. Under such pressure, they choose to write their poetry not in Russian or Yiddish (both of which would make a logical choice given that they lived in the USSR and were of Jewish origin) but in Ukrainian.
They are genuine tokens of the fact that the Ukrainian nation and culture exist. When faced with the difficult task of choosing a language, they opt for the thorny path of writing in Solovyna.
A specialist in the field of Jewish non-formal education. Leonid brought the project to life, assembled a team and supported it at every stage.
Researcher of Jewish culture in Eastern Europe, author of texts. Gera developed the project and gathered the materials.
A specialist in the field of cultural and educational projects. Anna-Rebekka put the project together and prepared it for launch.
Poet, translator and literary critic. Arkady translated the poems into Russian.
Poet, novelist, literary critic. Maria translated the poems into English.
Inna translated the materials of the project into Ukrainian and corrected the texts.
Philologist, poet. Yakov translated the materials of the project into English.
Natalia helped to collect audio versions of poems for the project.
Designer, photographer and NFT artist. Anastasia created the project's website and made it convenient and understandable for readers.
Responsible for branding and visual solutions in the project.
Innovation manager. Responsible for posting audio versions of poems on streaming services.
