Culture

Seven grader Elizaveta Chernioglo reads a book in Gagauz at her home in Comrat, the administrative centre of Moldova's autonomous region of Gagauzia. The language struggles for popularity among young Gaguzians who largely speak Russian. © Piotr Garciu

Moldova: Gagauz Language Lags Behind Russian

Numbers of speakers in the country’s autonomous region of Gagauzia are dwindling.

17 Jul 23

Father Konstantin, 30, is Kazakstan’s only priest of the Old Believers. Also called Old Ritualists, they are Eastern Orthodox Christians who maintain the practices of the Russian Orthodox Church as they were before the reform introduced by Patriarch Nikon of Moscow in the 17th century. © Talgat Umarov

Kazakstan’s Shrinking Community of Old Believers

A young priest keeps ancient rituals alive in his tiny parish.

11 Jul 23

A girl reads a book in a reading room of Chuy regional library, in the town of Kant. Over 80 per cent of the 1,060 libraries in Kyrgyzstan are located in rural areas and in most villages they are the only cultural facility. © IWPR Central Asia

A World in 30 Metres: Kyrgyzstan’s Rural Libraries

Precious resources are often villages’ only cultural centres, but they remain underfunded and at risk.

22 May 23

The press conference of the participants to the 2023 Eurovision song contest. The event is held in Liverpool, UK, on behalf of Ukraine, which won the 2022 edition but could not host the event due to the ongoing Russian invasion. © Maria Romanenko

The Blue-And-Yellow Eurovision

Song contest provides highly symbolic moment of national unity for Ukrainians both at home and abroad.

12 May 23

“Happy Chanukah” and a menorah stitched on cloth during a children’s gathering at the Mygdal Jewish Centre. © Zhenia Pedin / IWPR

Light Over Darkness: Hannukah in Odesa

As Russian shelling plunges Ukraine into blackout, the Jewish community celebrates a miracle that has particular resonance amid the war.

22 Dec 22

The inauguration of the trident, one of Ukraine's most significant symbols, which was installed in the tenth-century castle in Muchakevo, in the westernmost region of Zakarpattia in mid-October. © Iryna Breza/IWPR

Ukrainian Trident Replaces Hungarian Eagle in Country’s West

The move sparked local controversy and diplomatic protests from Budapest.

12 Dec 22

Simple wooden crosses with numbers mark graves in Pishchanske cemetery on Shakespeare Street in Izyum’s outskirts, where Russians buried most of the residents who died during the occupation. © Danil Pavlov

Ukraine: “I Want My Mother to Have a Grave”

Painful wait for Izyum residents as war crimes investigators collect evidence to identify the dead.

29 Nov 22

Georgians in Abkhazia’s Gali district account for 98 per cent of the population. Yet, students struggle to study in their native language as authorities have imposed Russian as the language of instructions in all grades. © Monica Ellena/IWPR

Abkhazia: Erasing the Georgian language

Russian is now mandatory in all schools in Gali district.

24 Nov 22

Gedatsi is a beer bar in Zugdidi, western Georgia. The name means "to drink'' in Mingrelian. Zugdidi is the administrative centre of the Samegrelo region, where most Mingrelian speakers are concentrated. © Lana Kokaia/IWPR

Georgia Risks Losing its Language “Treasure”

The lack of official status and the fear of separatism have drastically eroded the use of Mingrelian and Svan.

21 Oct 22

Oleksandra Protsenko-Pichadzhi headed the new organization of Ukrainian Greeks in Greece. © Photo courtesy of Federation of Greek Societies of Ukraine

Ukrainian Greeks Face Twin Perils

An ongoing battle to preserve culture is further endangered by the devastating impact of the war.

19 Oct 22

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