Interview With The Legend of Ukrainian Folk Rock Music Oleg Skrypka

His name is already in history, and so is his music! Over the years, Oleg Skrypka has become one of the symbols of Ukraine. In addition to popularizing Ukrainian music, the singer sees the preservation of national cultural traditions of Ukraine as his task. An authoritative public figure also fights on the cultural front, raising the national consciousness and spirit of Ukrainians.

At the end of January, the legend of Ukrainian folk rock music Oleg Skrypka went to Canada with a big charity tour. With the collected funds, the team plans to purchase drones and send them to the front to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Oleg Skrypka and the orchestra traveled from West to East through 11 cities in Canada, including a performance in Winnipeg. 

Was Russia's war against Ukraine inevitable, and what impetus has it given to the development of the Ukrainian state? Oleg Skrypka provides his views in today's interview.

YK: Olezhe, you have already been to six of the eleven planned Canadian cities, share your impressions from previous concerts.

O:This is not the first time I have worked for KAZKA Entertainment and I believed that they would organize everything well. The solution was very simple - to combine carols, patriotic songs, charity songs and my hits, which everyone knows. Ukrainians who have left need a connection with Ukraine now. Many say that at the concert they smiled for the first time since the beginning of the war. But the most important thing is that we raise funds, and we raised quite a lot of funds. The intention is to pay for drones; they are relevant today, what are very necessary today. Now there will be an even more active part of the war, we all understand that, so drones will be very necessary. I am convinced that we will buy drones in time and send them to our comrades at the front.

YK:From February 24, there was a surge of national consciousness and Ukrainians finally started to create and consume their own content. Why, in your opinion, did the Ukrainian people not appreciate what they have and did not notice how unique a nation we are?

O:Until the 19th century, schools used to beat the head with a stick if a child did not study well. This was especially the case in Russia. I do not promote this manner, but if some Ukrainians were so stupid, then they received karma on the head. If they somehow did not understand that our basis and well-being can be based only on self-awareness, on our culture, self-identification and language. I myself was a victim of provocations and attacks when I said: "Language, language, language. Culture, culture, culture." And how much they pushed me because of it, and when I was already pushed so that I started to doubt myself. Many Ukrainians have become wiser, chakras are opening. Well, what if a person can't meditate normally, then you have to beat him on the head with a stick.

YK:If Russia had not launched a full-scale invasion, how long would it take Ukrainians to come to national consciousness?

O:This is not my opinion, but I will voice it. Sorry, we were very lucky with this war. It can be said that in terms of cultural information, emotional and moral aspects, we are the rabbit, and the snake is the Python, and they have swallowed us up a long time ago. And they digested us a little at a time. We have already found ourselves in the cultural body of the rashi. If Putin had not attacked, we would have been digested. And so, Ukrainians rose up, Ukrainians changed. The whole world identified who Ukrainians are because we identified ourselves. Sages say that trials in life should be treated as a gift from fate. We are going through very difficult trials now. But maybe this is the only chance that we survived and turned into a people, a real people. It seems to me that we were a nation that was almost, almost, on the verge of extinction. Of course, there are songs, borsch and the like, but we did not have Ukrainian statehood. For me, a state is a state that has a cultural policy and values. So far, this has not happened and does not exist. Our task now is to defeat the enemy, but then we must return to it. When we have values and a cultural policy, we can build a real state. If not, it will come back to us again.

YK: How do you see Ukraine after the victory, what changes await us?

O:I really want that, in addition to the same identification, we do not have the issue of language, culture, attitude to our history, to our leaders - Petliura, Makhno, Shukhevich. It is necessary that there should be an unequivocal attitude towards them at the state level. So that we are not influenced by our Sovskov past. And secondly, that we produce Ukrainian content, a Ukrainian product, so that it is synonymous with quality. Today, Ukrainian food products are of high quality, cooking is of high quality, clothes are of high quality, music is a big question, because I am a musician and this is a big question for me. When I hear that we have really high-quality music content on radio and television, then I will be calm for Ukraine. As long as people are fed with an incomprehensible product, the nation will not be able to realize itself at a high-quality level.