Russia-Ukraine war dividing local cultural connections

In response, a spokesperson for the Kalinka Folk Dance Group based out of Saskatoon posted a statement to clarify their community position in regard to the war taking place in Ukraine.

Oleg Kougiya wrote, “Under no conditions would Kalinka group be associated with the political regime of the Russian Federation. Being in Canada close to twenty years, myself, my family and all our group members obtained Canadian citizenship, consider ourselves Canadians and share a peaceful, racist free and stigma free lifestyle. Being an ethnic Russian, Ukrainian, Kazakh, Moldavian is part of each of the group`s families history and that is how it always was in a welcoming Canada. You become Canadian, but do not forget about your roots, heritage and culture.”

The Kalinka Folk Dance group pulled traditional Russian dances from their performance when the war broke out in Feb.2022. (Submitted photo/Oleg Kougiya)

In an interview with paNOW on Sunday, Kougiya said the group had decided to exclude the traditional Russian dance from their program due to the ‘tragic war being inspired by the non-democratic regime of Russia.’ Members of the group, including Kougiya’s family, have actively protested against the war, saying they are ‘completely against Putin’s regime.’

“When the war broke out in 2022, we pulled all of our Russian dances off the stage and we tried to eliminate as many Russian words out of our announcements and everything and I thought we did a good enough job, but apparently not. It looks like the word ‘Russian’ is a trigger alone.”

Kougiya said eventually, the Kalinka group decided to pull out of the Tapestrama event altogether so the Barveenok Ukrainian Dancers wouldn’t miss the opportunity to perform for their hometown crowd.

“We also have three generations of people dancing on stage – grandmothers, parents and kids and where our middle generation is strong and willing to communicate with people, we consider our older generation and younger generations vulnerable to this kind of situation,” he said.

Oleg Kougiya (left) and his family protesting against the Russian invasion of Ukraine in Saskatoon last year. (Submitted photo/Oleg Kougiya)

In the end, neither group ended up performing at Tapestrama.

“I absolutely honestly believe that the Barveenok group was fooled. They were given misleading information [about us],” said Kougiya. “Whoever started this clearly achieved their goals because they prevented the Ukrainian group from dancing and they prevented our group dance and basically created such a negative image.”

President of Barveenok Ukrainian Dancers Kayleigh Skomorowski told paNOW, “Our dance club has a long history of proudly sharing Ukrainian culture at local events, and Tapestrama has always been a cherished platform for celebrating the vibrant diversity of our community.However, given the ongoing war in Ukraine and the severe impact it has had on Ukrainians worldwide, we cannot, in good conscience, participate in an event that includes representation from Russian cultural groups. Russia’s actions have caused immense suffering to the Ukrainian people, and we feel it is inappropriate for Ukrainian and Russian cultural expressions to share the same stage during this time of conflict. Our decision is not made lightly. It comes from a place of deep respect for the sacrifices of those affected by the war and a desire to stand in solidarity with our global Ukrainian community. We strongly believe that culture and heritage should serve as tools for education, healing, and unity. In the current climate, however, we feel the inclusion of a Russian group at this event sends a conflicting message that overlooks the gravity of the ongoing conflict.”

Requests for comment from the Prince Albert Multicultural Centre were not offered to paNOW prior to publication, but the organization commented on the event Facebook page saying, “The PAMC stands with Ukraine and doesn’t support any form of violence or hate! As well as discrimination towards a culture, heritage and tradition!”

It said the Tapestrama Cultural Festival aims to ‘promote inclusivity, diversity, celebrations and continuity of each and everyone’s culture, heritage & traditions.’

Tapestrama continues Sunday from noon til 7 p.m. at Carlton Comprehensive High School and features cultural foods and merchandise. The lineup of entertainment Sunday features Vietnamese and Filipino singers, The Creeland Dancers, DancEgypt Dance Company and the Mariachi Latino Band.

Latest on Russia-Ukraine war

More than 100 Ukrainian drones were shot down over Russia Sunday.

It was one of the largest barrages seen in the Russian skies since Moscow invaded Ukraine in February 2022. An overnight barrage on the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia injured 13 civilians after Ukrainian military leaders warned that Moscow could be preparing for a new military offensive in the country’s south.

– with files from the Canadian Press

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panews@pattisonmedia.com

On X: @princealbertNOW

by paNOW Staff

Russia-Ukraine war dividing local cultural connections

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