Queer Ukraine: An Anthology of LGBTQI+ Ukrainian Voices During Wartime

by DVIJKA Collective

Against the backdrop of brutal invasion, it is much easier for right-wing figures to target marginalised groups, and during wartime the queer community is exceedingly vulnerable to persecution, scapegoating and censorship. Being visibly queer in Ukraine is an act of rebellion in itself, but LGBTQI+ people find ways to express themselves against all odds, to create beyond all constraints.

And what is queerness without defiance – the linking of arms, the echo of a hundred voices? Every voice tells a story, and this anthology is a platform for these voices, an archive of their existence. It is time for them to tell their stories on their own terms – and for the rest of the world to stand in solidarity with them.

Genres: Ukraine, Nonfiction, Queer, History, LGBT, Poetry, Russia

112 pages, Paperback

Published February 9, 2023

Reviews

[Alan (the Lone Librarian rides again) Teder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Слава Квір Україні!*
Review of the Renard Press paperback edition (February 9, 2023)

Why is any of this important? Because an attack on human freedoms always begins with the subjugation of the most vulnerable communities. Once you strip away the rights of sexual and gender minorities, then national, religious and social minorities, these people will be driven into ghettos. After that, various 'socially useless' people follow - artists, scientists, and, of course, women ('children, kitchen, church - and that's enough for them!'). And not long after, the average representative of the 'right' majority will eventually discover that he, too, has been deprived of his freedom. - excerpted from Yana Lys' essay in Queer Ukraine.

This is a real eye-opener of a book in the way it draws parallels between the fight for gender/queer rights in Ukraine to the anti-colonialism fight of the Ukrainian people throughout history. This is the main theme of the leadoff essay by journalist Maksym Eristavi. Then Yana Lys' 'Transness in Traditional Ukraine Culture' covers Ukrainian transgender history and also gives some wide world examples which will definitely make you rethink things. Such as did you ever think of Joan of Arc as being a transgender person? It seems a valid point, as her wearing of men's clothing and armour was one of reasons she was burned at the stake by the English & the Church. Elliott Miskovicz' time-leaping memoir draws on their renewal of family after a long estrangement and centres around the traditional Ukrainian plucked-stringed bandura instrument. These three essays make up the largest portions of the text of this book. They are supported by shorter memoirs and poems which are each a few pages in length.

1. Ukrainian Queerness by Maksym Eristavi. An essay of Ukrainian queerness and anti-colonialism. Link to the Free Press Eristavi substack.
2. Even if you run from the war...** by Marichka. A prose poem.
3. Transness in Traditional Ukrainian Culture by Yana Lys (aka Yana Lyshka). A more general version of this essay is available online as Transgenderism in Traditional Cultures of the World [in Ukrainian language, turn on web translator].

Skomorokhs are a medieval stratum of itinerant artists in Ukraine, Belarus and Russia who were allowed gender-nonconforming behavior. It is known that some of them wore clothes that were considered correlated to the opposite sex. For which they were persecuted by church laws, and in the XVII century they were banned by secular authorities in the Russian Empire. Image sourced from the above online essay, and originally from the 15th Century Radziwill Chronicle.
4. Today I've begun to doubt my life again.** by GoodVampire. A two page essay.
5. There will be no space...** by Alsu Gara. A cycle of two poems.
6. The Emancipation of Ernie by Ernest Huk. A four page mini-memoir of the writer's transition from hipsterism into activism.
7. Family by Oleksandr Bolivski. The Ukrainian artist talks about their painting Family which was stolen (or destroyed) by the Russian invasion. The painting was inspired by Gluck (Hannah Gluckstein)'s Medallion (1936).

The iconic lesbian painting Medallion (1936) By Gluck (Hannah Gluckstein) - Artnet, Fair use, Link
8. Fireworks Will Never Sound the Same by Tanya G. A cycle of five poems.
9. Tuning the Bandura by Elliott Miskovicz. A time-leaping memoir of the writer's estrangement with their family and its return during the current war. The piece centres around a family heirloom of the title musical instrument.
10. Queerstitution by Taras Gembik. The writer works in a Warsaw kitchen providing food to refugees. They write about being inspired by the poetry of Lesya Ukrainka.
11. How I Spent My Summer by Dimettra. A five-page memoir of the current war. Unlike the other LGBTQI+ views expressed elsewhere in this book, this essay does give examples of the anti-queer opinions of some Ukrainian armed forces and police.
12. Entry (3rd May 2022) by T. Diary entries as well as a list of How to Be a War Refugee in Ten Easy Steps.

I learned about the publication of Queer Ukraine through my subscription to The Republic of Consciousness Substack, where it was featured in the March 2, 2023 Small Press Newsletter. The Small Press Newsletter regularly profiles publications from a wide range of small presses aside from the RoC’s regular updates on its Book of the Month and the RoC Prize Longlists, Shortlists and Winners.

Footnotes
* Ukrainian: Slava Kvir Ukraini! [Glory to Queer Ukraine!] Slava Ukraini / Glory to Ukraine has been a common rallying cry for Ukrainians in the current Russian Ukrainian War. In the context of this book it seemed appropriate to add the Queer reference.
** The original piece is untitled, but I've assigned the first line or sentence as a proxy title for the purposes of this review.

Trivia and Links
Proceeds from the sales of this book go to a selection of charities supporting LGBTQI+ people in Ukraine. The list is periodically reviewed so that funds go to where they’re most sorely needed, but includes: TU Platform Mariupol (Supporting queer youth), Queers For Ukraine (Supporting people with HIV in Ukraine and delivering much-needed hormones for the trans community) and Insight NGO (Humanitarian Aid for the LGBTQI+ community in Ukraine).

While searching for further information on Queer Ukraine I came across Anton Shebetko's A Very Brief and Subjective Queer History of Ukraine which seems to be an online publication. but can also be ordered in print. Of especial interest is A Queer History of Ukraine: A Timeline (link opens to a 5 page pdf document).

[Terra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everyone please go read this book

[Vira · Rating 4 out of 5]

Потужно

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

T's writing made me cry and Elliott Miskovicz's essay was brilliant.

[Piotr Bucichowski · Rating 5 out of 5]

An authentic perspective on Ukrainian queerness in the shadow of russian invasion and centuries-old imperialism. This book contains insights about the mechanisms of russian propaganda, reasons of Wests misunderstanding of the conflict, life as a refugee, life in a war-torn country, history of queerness on Ukrainian soil, love during the wartime. All of this in form of essays, poems, personal journals. I cannot recommend this book enough.

[Bára D. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can't get over this

[Bethan]

Queer theory means absolutely nothing to me (a lesbian) and some of the essays in here I found bizarre. Sorry. There was some brilliant prose here and there though

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this is a book that every Ukrainian and non-Ukrainian should read.
The book is very powerful and the only thing about it that I would changed is its size. I would wish for more voices, more contributors.
But, of course, I am immensely grateful for every since voice. As a queer Ukrainian myself I have been starved for connection to other queer Ukrainians for 30 years.
Probably this is why I inhaled this book. It is a very short book so it was easy but I think even if it was 500 pages long I would just obsessively read it day and night until the end.
Some of the things that stood out to me personally while reading this book:
- the poems. It reminded me how much Ukrainians love poems. I think it is safe to say that it is a part of being Ukrainian. I think there is a great source of everything artistic that flows in Ukrainian blood and being Ukrainian means having a natural knack for everything creative.
- the history. The real history of Ukraine is not being discussed enough. Not outside of Ukraine and not inside of Ukraine. History in the textbooks, even those I read as a child in an already independent Ukraine have been censored to lesser or greater degree. History in the mouths of our teachers were echoes of generational colonial abuse. Truth wanted to come out and sometimes it did but most times it couldn't be properly processed by the people whose spirits have been brutally tamed.
- proper wording. I am ashamed and shocked that it was just about 2 weeks ago that I was able to call Russia for what it is - a colonizer of Ukraine. All because an Instagram post I randomly saw challenged me to consider that "developing country" actually really means "post-colonial" country. I thought, well what about Ukraine. And a few hours later it hit me. I have had the word "colonization" at my disposal for decades but it was always a "Western" notion. In school we only ever heard of, say, British colonies, and of places far away. I always thought and said - "Ukraine was a part of Russia", "Russia occupied Ukraine", "Russian tried to eradicate Ukrainian language and culture" all these words a repetition of the voices I heard before. But I never had the word "colonization" to make sense of this. As much as I am in shock that this realization took 30 years I am relieved that at least I got here. At least I have this word now and I can understand and describe the centuries long trauma better. And if nothing else this is a signal of how deep and terrible the colonization has been that it takes so much effort and strength to disintangle from it, as an individual and as a society, as a nation.
I feel like I can go on and on as this book feels very personal and emotional. But in short this book challenges what Ukrainianness and queerness mean, together and separately. It gives a glimpse into Ukrainian life in all its complexity and diversity.
I think for someone who has no or little understanding of Ukraine this book would be more like a preview into what the experience of learning more could be. This book is packed with information but it up to the reader to use it to dig deeper and investigate.

[Shelley Anderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

An impressive anthology by 12 queer Ukrainians, edited by the DViJKA collective, which includes essays, poetry and creative nonfiction. It is dangerous to belong to a marginalized community at any time, but especially so during the hypermasculinity and violence of war.

Several writers point to the similarity between the queer struggle to survive and to maintain one's true identity and the Ukrainian struggle against Russia's violent attempt to annihilate Ukrainian culture and independence. And the bitter irony, as Dimettra writes, that some conservative fellow citizens refuse to acknowledge that queers are, and always have been, an integral part of Ukraine, while Ukrainian queers risk their lives everyday to preserve the country.

The situation of LGBTQIA+ people during war is under narrated, under researched, and ignored. Supplies of essential hormones for trans people and medicines for people with HIV are disrupted, while homophobia and sexism make displaced people and refugees even more vulnerable. The lack of community and familial support can also make life even more precarious. This anthology helps to break the silence and proceeds from the sales of this book go to groups supporting LGBTQIA+ inside Ukraine.

"But what is queerness if not resistance? What is queerness if not defiance?" as the editors state. And the writers here resist. Like out journalist Maksym Eristavi; like Yana Lys's research into the long history of trans lives in Ukrainian prehistory and history. Like T's journal entries and Tanya G.'s poems, all of these writers are fighting for a Ukraine, and a world, where violence and homophobia has no place. This is a slim volume, but the ideas inside are explosive and vital.

[S.J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5/5
This book is a short, quick read (~100 pages) that spans several genres. The authors are queer Ukrainians giving their perspectives.

One of the longer pieces is a broad essay about queerness in Ukrainian history (including in its Orthodox Christianity and pre-Christian traditions). There's also literary personal essays (of which Elliott Miskovicz's "Tuning the Bandura" left the biggest impression on me) and poetry. It's a good read for anyone looking for a queer, leftist Ukrainian perspective on Ukrainian culture, history, and the war in Ukraine.

[Janneke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Купа вражень від прочитаного: збірка познайомила з дуже крутими людьми, запросила на конференцію, змусила мене згадувати факти з укр квір історії та дивуватися тому як авторам вдалося утрамбувати стільки всього в геть короткі есеї. Стільки надії, болю та пошуку спільноти! Після прочитання хочеться познайомитися з усіма українськими квірами і створити підпільну (або не дуже) громаду)))

[Egle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Intense and very very good! The connection between decolonisation and queer liberation was especially great. As someone from a post-soviet country, I understand and support the struggle. Slava kviri Ukraini!

[Judit · Rating 5 out of 5]

"And you can't claim we should've seen this coming
when none of us have asked to be a witness."

A very intense and powerful collection of writings ranging from history, to essays, and poetry. Could have read on for hundreds of more pages.

[Joana · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5! Some really fantastic writings in this - I thoroughly enjoyed (as much as one can about these topics) reading.

[Devon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely phenomenal and soul wrenching. Everyone needs to read this. This should be required reading. Everyone needs to read this. What more is there to say?

[La Noche Oscura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Must read to understand the story of LGBT+ Ukrainians and their point of view about the Russian invasion.

'The Ukrainian tradition of constant uprooting'.

[Ames · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting little book, I'm a poet so I was more interested in the poems and short stories then the historical chapters. Will be using this for my own poetry inspiration

[Hope Pugh · Rating 3 out of 5]

great book. easy read. very informative about history of LGBTQI+ peoples throughout time

[Camila · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vulnerable and raw and necessary

Tuning the Bandura by Elliott Miskovicz is a much needed lesson in nuance