Svyatoslav Vakarchuk, used to performing in sold-out arenas, travels across a war-ravaged Ukraine, playing for troops and people hiding in camps and shelters. His aim is to inspire fellow Ukrainians to carry on
Svyatoslav Vakarchuk, 46, of the Ukrainian band Okean Elzy, is travelling across the country performing for the troops and the people, trying to boost their morale. Image Courtesy: Svyatoslav Vakarchuk/Facebook
Amid the sounds of missiles hitting civilian targets, buildings being reduced to rubble, children crying as they lose their loved ones, one sound stands apart in the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Svyatoslav Vakarchuk, 46, of the Ukrainian band Okean Elzy (literally Elsa’s Ocean), can be heard singing his heart out, as he tries to uplift the morale of the Ukrainian troops and people, who are taking shelter in the underground bunkers and hospitals.
Vakarchuk, who is one of Ukraine’s most famous singers and is known to sell out stadiums for his performances, is now leveraging his connections and status as a public figure to help civilians out of the city and into safety and also visit troops across cities, boosting their morale. After all, the saying does go: Music can be a great healer.
Here’s what we know about him and what could be called as the world’s most dangerous rock tours in history.
Who is Svyatoslav Vakarchuk?
Vakarchuk is the lead singer of the beloved rock band Okean Elzy, which was formed in the mid-’90s in Lviv.
In 1998, the band became the first modern Ukrainian band to be played on MTV Russia.
Eventually, the band became widely known and gained fans in many post-Soviet countries.
Being the lead singer of the bank, Svyatoslav Vakarchuk became a celebrity of his own: in 2005, he became a United Nations Goodwill Ambassador. In 2019-2020, he was a deputy at the Ukrainian parliament, and for a while was considered a frontrunner in the 2019 presidential elections.
Vakarchuk, also known as Slava, recounts the day Russia began its ‘special military operation’ against Ukraine on 24 February.
“I can tell you it was a nightmare. I woke up just before the explosions. I was anxious. I don’t know why. It was something intuitive,” he was quoted as telling Rolling Stone.
Vakarchuk’s music is patriotic in general; lyrics from the band’s most popular songs are intertwined with references to war and Ukrainian pride.
“There, left and right, gardens are blossoming; There, left and right, there are foreign footsteps; Exhausted by wars, but not broken by anyone; May my land blossom,” the lyrics of one hit song say.
The lyrics of another song called Misto Vesny, or The City of Spring are: “Why do I dream that, again and again/I am walking with you in my hometown Lviv/It smells of spring, and the sun sets/On the banks of a river that is no more/What is dear to you does not die easily in Lviv.”
Dangerous rock tour
On 7 March, he joined the Ukrainian army to serve in the defence forces of the Lviv region.
In a report published by The Guardian, Vakarchuk says that a stop at the hospital in the Zaporizhzhia changed his complete mindset towards the war. “They wanted me to sing in front of the personnel and some, like, lightly wounded soldiers. Well, we went outside in the yard. And we were surrounded by, you know, a lot of military objects, I mean, defence things like masks, like camouflage. So it was very moving. So I sang a couple of songs. Just a cappella. Afterwards, I decided to continue it,” The Guardian reports him as saying.
Since then, he has been travelling the country despite the heavy Russian shelling, performing for the troops and raising their morale.
He has taken his guitar or played the piano in subway stations, in relocation camps, at universities and other places to inspire his fellow Ukrainians to continue through the hell.
He also uses his social media and his wide fanbase to show the world the destruction that the Russians continue to wreak on Ukraine.
While in Sumy, he posted a video showing how bad the Russian offensive was.
In another video, he highlights how Russia’s attacks have targeted children and left them ‘with no legs and torn internal organs’.
When asked what he hopes to achieve through his performances, he wants to “pump up the mood and raise the tempo” of his fellow countrymen and women facing off against Russian invaders.
He adds that at times his performances are meant to be consolatory in nature, while at other times the performance is a protest against the war and Russia.
Speaking of his time in Kharkiv, he tells Rolling Stone, “It looks like disaster movies, where everything in downtown is destroyed. You can’t believe it happens with your country. I went to a hospital in Kharkiv, where I talked to the president of the hospital, and he told me they were literally fighting Russian troops who came during the first days, and they beat them out of the city.”
Svyatoslav Vakarchuk says that at times his performances are consolatory in nature, while at other times his performances are a sign of protest against Russia. Image Courtesy: Svyatoslav Vakarchuk/Facebook
Vakarchuk hopes the harrowing scenes he witnesses will one day be nothing more than history taught to younger generations.
“I hope when my son grows up, he will remember zero from what’s going on now so he will read it in history books or watch it in the movies.”
With inputs from agencies
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