As blogger Valeriya Komarova sits on the balcony by a table, loaded with pastry, fruit and wine, wearing white lace lingerie only, she reads a newspaper, which also serves as a cover for her almost naked body.
It is, of course, very unlikely she is actually reading the paper and not just posing for another photograph that would eventually appear on her Instagram blog and receive over 22,000 likes.
But the paper serves exactly the purpose Komarova needs: It contributes to the image of a romanticized Western lifestyle the blogger portrays through social media. And just like many others, Komarova picks the Kyiv Post for that.
Thanks to its aesthetic design, the publication has long been a much-liked character in the shots of Kyiv bloggers, winning the unofficial title of the most Instagrammable newspaper in the country.
Because of its wide distribution in Kyiv’s public places and frequent appearances on people’s social media, the paper has become a symbol of the Ukrainian capital, further spreading its influence and inspiring creators.
Instagram hit
The Kyiv Post has never aimed to be favored by bloggers. With extensive coverage of Russia’s war in Donbas, exposé on ubiquitous corruption and political populism, its cover stories might be considered unattractive, making the publication an unlikely character for people’s polished content on social media.
But somehow it’s not the case.
Throughout its long and unfortunate history, Ukraine has had little chance to cultivate a newspaper reading culture like the one that has a long-lasting tradition in the West. After the country became independent, the local media market abounded with print publications but most of them were oligarch-owned, politically-biased or both. Untrustworthy and manipulative, the newspapers couldn’t become an essential source of news and win Ukrainians’ respect. And they didn’t. But that’s where the Kyiv Post stood out.
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When Yuliya Shogan traveled to the United States through an exchange program as a student in 2017, she was fascinated by New Yorkers reading the city’s iconic paper The New York Times at cafes, in the subway and right on the street.
Upon her return to Kyiv, Shogan tried to find the publication in local press kiosks but couldn’t, since it’s not distributed here. But instead, she discovered the Kyiv Post.
She has been buying it pretty much every week since then, providing herself with a reliable source of news and a fun way to practice English.
“I try to wake up 20 minutes earlier every day to read an article or two,” Shogan told the Kyiv Post. “That’s my morning ritual.”
A project coordinator in IT now, Shogan has recently focused on a new hobby, blogging on Instagram. Mostly posting about her lifestyle, she has reached over 3,000 followers. And that’s when her favorite publication acquired a new role, popping up in various shots, as she’s enjoying a cup of cold brew and a brownie at the newly opened Octo Tower co-working space or as she’s simply crossing one of the Kyiv streets, showing the view from the top.
Shogan says that whenever she needs a paper to build a composition for a photograph, she has a whole pile of issues bought over the years to pick from. And, in some pictures, she says, “nothing looks better than the Kyiv Post.”
The secret lies in the publication’s simple but aesthetic design, including minimalist fonts and signature red and black colors, that the local press market offers barely any competition for.
Shogan is just one of many Instagram personalities that constantly tag the publication in street-style photos, home portraits, still life shots and selfies they post on the main picture-oriented social media.
One of the Kyiv Post’s most famous appearances was on the profile of local twerk dancer Maria Skorchenko, known as Mamasita, who has over 800,000 followers. But the publication was barely the focus of attention on a photo that shows the dancer lying on a bed and holding a cup of coffee, her hair wrapped in a towel, as she wears underwear only.
The list of those who promote themselves using the Kyiv Post on social media is not limited by bloggers. Hotels, restaurants, bars and co-working spaces that order issues and put them out in their halls for customers to read, often post pictures featuring the publication.
One of them is a two-piece chain Druzi Cafe, which has been distributing Kyiv Post for several years. Druzi’s general manager Olena Kuida says that they subscribed to the paper because of the foreigners who are often guests of their eateries.
“We wanted them to know what’s happening in Ukraine, in Kyiv,” Kuida told the Kyiv Post.
But as the paper’s issues became an inseparable element on their tables, Druzi also started using it for promotion on social media. One of their posts shows a duo of appetizing breakfasts and a cup of freshly-made cappuccino set on the table right by the Kyiv Post’s issue — an image so familiar to Kyiv residents that it became a common understanding of what having a meal in the capital looks like.
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Inspiration for art
Over its 25-year history, the Kyiv Post was used as props in all kinds of projects.
It made an appearance on the Dancing with the Stars TV show in 2018 in the hands of an unlikely reader, participant Oksana Marchenko. A famous TV host, she is also the wife of Ukraine’s top pro-Russian politician Viktor Medvedchuk, who is a frequent subject of the Kyiv Post’s criticism. In a dancing performance, Marchenko’s partner pulls the newspaper out of her hands as soon as she opens it, not having a chance to read. Oh well, she probably wouldn’t enjoy it anyway.
Another memorable appearance happened the same year, when several people wearing white bathrobes were casually walking around Kyiv, sipping coffee and holding the Kyiv Post, as if they were home. The performance caused a buzz among the locals, reaching exactly the effect the company behind it hoped for: It was a part of the promotional campaign launched by the Vsi Svoi home goods store before its opening.
But most importantly, through these years, the Kyiv Post print edition has become an unofficial symbol of the city, inspiring local artists for creative projects.
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In a photo series by photographer Serhii Kovbasyuk, one of the Kyiv Post issues is burning in the hands of a woman who holds a lit cigarette in her mouth. Despite the first impression, the idea wasn’t to mock the outlet — quite the opposite. Kovbasyuk says that in the era of fake news and biased media, he wanted to convey an idea that high-quality journalism, just like manuscripts, doesn’t burn.
“Truth is impossible to destroy,” Kovbasyuk told the Kyiv Post.
And the issue’s cover, because of its glossy paper, was indeed impossible to burn, Kovbasyuk says.
“Had to finish it off with editing,” he jokes.
The newspaper also appeared in a number of illustrations.
One of them, by Maria Ionia, features the symbols of Kyiv: a chestnut leaf, a metro token, a skateboard, a cup of coffee and the Kyiv Post.
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On another one, drawn in the avant-garde style resembling the 1930s movie posters, a man is holding the issue. Its author, Diana Malysh, is a student and a freelance illustrator, who discovered the Kyiv Post about a year ago and has been reading it ever since.
“I drew the illustration as an ode, a symbol of respect, gratitude and inspiration,” Malysh told the Kyiv Post.
Malysh often draws Kyiv-themed illustrations and considers the Kyiv Post an emblematic element of the capital.
“Kyiv is a European city, and its own English-speaking publication elevates it to a higher level,” she says.
