We will rave on Putin's grave: How dancing helps Ukrainians cope with the difficulties of life under fire
Journalists CNN Jasmine Sykes and Kosta Gack visited a Kyiv rave club at the end of winter. They were amazed that, five years into a full-scale invasion of Ukraine's capital, where "brotherly" ballistic missiles and suicide bombers regularly fly, people still find the strength and desire to dance and simply live life to the fullest.
Silhouettes of people move through dark alleys covered in snow and ice. They are drawn to the muted rhythm emanating from a concrete building in central Kyiv. Inside, dim red lighting blurs the faces of the dancers, sweaty bodies pressed against each other.
The red glow is reminiscent of the dim light of the flashlights used by soldiers on the front lines with Russia, trying to avoid detection. But for rave-goers at Closer, one of Kyiv's most famous nightclubs, partying is a way to forget the war, even if just for one night.
On the subject: Russia is recruiting Africans to fight in Ukraine: Kenya says this is unacceptable.
"It's what keeps us sane," said 32-year-old Valeria Shabliy, who attended a Maslenitsa-themed event at Closer. "It's a kind of balance between war and life."
The war has devastated much of Ukraine's cultural life. Following Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, many music venues closed, some artists fled the country, and many joined the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
Nevertheless, Ukrainians still gather for parties. The Closer club, located in a former factory building, closed when the full-scale invasion began, but reopened just eight months later and has since hosted music events almost every weekend.
Under the constant threat of missile and drone strikes, and after a harsh winter made worse by hours-long power outages, dancing has become an emotional release, Shabliy said.
According to her, rave culture in Ukraine's major cities is alive, albeit changed, and has become a powerful form of resistance during four years of full-scale Russian aggression.
"We will rave at Putin's grave," she assured.
Raves and Resistance in Ukraine
Even before the war, the Ukrainian electronic dance music scene was closely linked to ideas of resistance.
Following the collapse of the Soviet empire in the 1990s, a new era of independence fostered openness to Western cultural influences – alongside the emergence of other prominent European electronic music centres such as Berlin.
Large parties, raves in industrial zones, and festivals sprang up across Ukraine and the Crimean Peninsula, becoming spaces for self-expression and musical experimentation.
Rave culture in Ukraine flourished in the mid-2010s with the emergence of Kyiv's iconic Cxema parties—massive raves held in city warehouses or under bridges. These raves gained international renown.
"The resistance was directed against the old system and Soviet inertia," Cxema founder Slava Lepsheev told CNN. "After the full-scale invasion, the resistance's vector changed and is now directed against the enemy. We gather and dance to stay strong."
"Given the horrors of this war, it's especially important for us to have the opportunity and desire to continue having fun," Lepsheev added, explaining that parties have become a place to escape reality for a while.
But organizing raves during wartime is difficult. Due to the nighttime curfew, Lepsheev says, Cxema events are now held during the day and have become smaller in scale due to safety concerns surrounding large gatherings.
Very wild energy
Club event organizers in other Ukrainian cities agree that the war has impacted rave culture.
"There's more energy at parties," said Anton Nazarko, co-founder of Some People, a group that runs a nightclub in Kharkiv. "It's a really wild energy."
Kharkiv is located near the Russian border, and Nazarko said Ukrainian soldiers sometimes attend the club's events, which typically take place every two weeks.
"In the morning, friends from our community are fighting in the trenches, and in the evening they come to our party," he noted. "They dance like it's their last day."
Some People's original headquarters in Kharkiv was bombed just days after the outbreak of full-scale war (February 22, 2022). Fortunately, no one was killed. According to him, the team members sold personal belongings and borrowed money to open their current location, the Center for New Culture, in 2023.
Nazarko considers the preservation of cultural life in Kharkiv his contribution to the war.
"This is very important for Ukraine and very important for the city, because the Russian army wants only one thing: for everyone to leave," he emphasized. "That's why they're bombing the energy infrastructure, so we can't have a normal life."
The nightclub, located in a Soviet-era refrigeration plant, is equipped with a generator, allowing raves to take place during power outages. According to Nazarko, the venue also serves as a bomb shelter for local residents.
Nazarko and his team plan to expand the center by building an exhibition hall and a cinema.
"If the war hadn't started, we might never have begun this great project," he concluded. "We don't know how long we'll live… we don't have time to dream."
DJs on the front line
But for others, the harsh reality of war has torn them away from Ukraine's club scene.
Daniel Detcom (stage name) is currently a junior sergeant in the Ukrainian Armed Forces. He previously served as a gunner and drone operator. Before the war, Daniel Detcom was a renowned techno DJ and producer.
According to him, the Kyiv-based electronic music collective Dots hosted popular parties featuring DJs from all over the world. They were often surprised by how much Ukrainian rave fans loved the parties: "These guys dance like crazy!"
But as tensions between Ukraine and Russia escalated in the lead-up to a full-scale invasion, Detcom began preparing for war. He trained at a local shooting range and took tactical medical courses.
Despite a successful career as a DJ, Daniel Detcom immediately joined the army when the war began: "I didn't think of it as an option or a choice."
He admitted to CNN that he misses the vibrant rave scene that existed in Ukraine before the war: "Those were happy, carefree days. Life will never be the same again."
Detcom, while serving in the army, continues to create music on his laptop and even hosted a few Dots parties during his leave from the front, but the raves are no longer so carefree.
He said that while organizers now typically provide medical teams, due to the threat of Russian strikes, he always carries two first aid kits with him when he goes to a rave and usually remains sober.
Rave culture has changed. "It's a daytime party now," Detcom stated. "The new generation of clubbers, ravers, and DJs have never really been out partying at night."
New opportunities
But the war gave new opportunities to Ukrainian DJs and electronic music producers.
"I think there are great opportunities for young artists right now. I see new faces every day," noted Denis Yurchenko, artistic director of the Kultura Zvuku DJ and music production school in Kyiv.
He said that due to ongoing Russian aggression, fewer foreign artists are willing to come to Ukraine to perform in nightclubs, so there is more room in event schedules for Ukrainian electronic music producers.
Music labels, according to Yurchenko, are actively promoting Ukrainian artists during the war with Russia, and proceeds from sales of some Ukrainian electronic music compilations, as well as from club events, are being donated to support the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
Detcom, Nazarko and Yurchenko either performed at raves or organized them in support of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
"This is absolutely, 100% connected to resistance and assistance to our country," Yurchenko concluded.
You may be interested in: top New York news, stories of our immigrants and helpful tips about life in the Big Apple - read it all on ForumDaily New York
At Kyiv's Closer club, friends hug; a young couple kisses on a sofa in a dark corner. Despite the cold, groups of friends laugh and pass joints around in the club's courtyard.
After a harsh winter and four years of full-scale war (in reality, it has lasted 12 years), Ukrainians are still dancing at raves.
The material is given in abbreviations.
Read also on ForumDaily:
Russia is providing Iran with intelligence for strikes against US forces.
'Ukrainians won't let me give up territory to Russia': Zelenskyy talks progress
Subscribe to ForumDaily on Google NewsDo you want more important and interesting news about life in the USA and immigration to America? — support us donate! Also subscribe to our page Facebook. Select the “Priority in display” option and read us first. Also, don't forget to subscribe to our РєР ° РЅР ° Р »РІ Telegram and Instagram- there is a lot of interesting things there. And join thousands of readers ForumDaily New York — there you will find a lot of interesting and positive information about life in the metropolis.
Editor's Choice
