PODCAST
EXCLUSIVE
Elina Kent: Welcome to the Kyiv Post Podcast, where you can tune in to stories that give you a deeper understanding of Ukraine.
I’m your host Elina Kent. I’m a multimedia producer and lifestyle journalist here at the Kyiv Post. As a lifestyle journalist I’ve seen plenty of diverse, unique cultural aspects of Ukraine and its people. But one in particular that has been rising at an incredible pace the last few years has been Ukraine’s electronic music scene.
Electronic music was born in Detroit, Michigan alongside punk rock back in the mid 80s. But since then most would associate techno with Europe, specifically Berlin, Germany, which is home to arguably the most well known and exclusive techno club in the world, Berghain.
But Kyiv’s electronic scene has been rising to the top, with many referring to the city as “the new Berlin.” Many say the rise of the electronic music scene in Kyiv was made possible by the EuroMaidan Revolution.
Toma Istomina: “So I think youth was in need of spaces, places, events to recharge and get distracted from the reality all this time, since Ukraine became independent. But the thing is that the Euromaidan revolution gave this spark to everything Ukrainian, to everything local, to basically every sphere, some people say revive, so many feel be born, because we never had some of the industries functioning fully fledged.”
EK: That was Toma Istomina, our lifestyle editor here at the Kyiv Post. As avid fans of the techno scene in Ukraine, she and I sat down to paint the picture of Kyiv’s electronic scene.
TI: Any crisis starts conversation, starts discussions. And for Ukraine the EuroMaidan revolution, it wasn’t a matter of financially unhappy people or anything like that. It was the matter of Ukrainians trying to identify who they are, where they want to be in the future, how they want to get there, this revolution just started all these discussions and obviously who reflects this society, the artists, the creative community.
It really was a crucial moment and it started discussions, we looked at ourselves and we started creating more. That’s what it resulted in, in part of that result is the electronic music scene I think. We looked at the West and how they do it, and they’ve had it for so many years, the pioneers of the techno scene, and Ukrainians thought we have something to add too. Whether we can do something better or something differently.
EK: Kyiv’s electronic music scene is relatively young, and with that comes some space for experimentation. There isn’t any set standard or formula for how a party should go, so there’s a mix of all sorts of formats.
TI: Everyone is very creative and experimenting a lot, and like in some European capitals like Berlin, people are very open to any kind of music and styles and sounds, and I think that’s what makes the scene beautiful here. DJs feel very free to experiment and to play whatever they want to and see how the crowd reacts. At the same time feel safe enough to not be judged just because they don’t play something conventional that people are used to listening to. The audience here is not spoiled, because we haven’t had much of that music here just yet, and I think we are hungry to hear more to hear more versatile music and all kinds of styles, we have disco we have funk we have hard techno, we have house, and people are very open to ambient and all kinds of sounds.
EK: Another reason why the electronic music scene in Kyiv is so special is the fact that it’s a true space of freedom and expression.
Eastern Europe is not known for welcoming the LGTBQ community, but there has been some progress. Every year, more people attend Kyiv Pride and participate in dialogue and acceptance, but there is still a long way to go. These underground raves are some of the only places where queer people can fully express themselves without worry. It’s not just a one time a year event that has you out in the open for about 30 minutes before having to cover up everything to get on the metro in order to avoid getting beaten like in years prior.
TI: I have gay friends in Kyiv and I know what the scene means to the m, regarding them feeling safe and free and being able to dress creatively, and it’s not just some abstract people abstract community that you talk about. There are real people that really need those places to feel safe because they can’t afford right now to hold somebody by their hand on the street and feel safe because they can be attacked at any moment. Not that it’s that dangerous but you never know who you can come across on the street.
EK: One of Kyiv’s most popular techno clubs, which remains unnamed and sits on Kyrylivska St located in Podil, referred to as “Kyrylivska”, rumored to be founded and designed by those responsible for Berghain, is a safe pace for the LGTBQ community, stating it’s a gender free space with no discrimination or hate. People’s cameras are covered with stickers in order to prevent photos or videos being leaked and accidentally outing somebody.
Kyrylivska isn’t the only popular space for these underground raves in Podil. The neighborhood is especially popular when it comes to techno parties. Many abandoned industrial buildings are the perfect spot for such parties to happen, and the buildings are transformed into creative hubs. Kyrylivska used to be a former beer factory. Closer, one of the first clubs to open in Podil for electronic music, is located within an old ribbon factory, with several other clubs such as Otel and 2c1b and a radio station on the property.
TI: That’s part of the reason. But because Podil is a very creative district, with cool offbeat businesses, bars, businesses, hotels. It only made sense that the most creative community, the most creative people, started something so experimental and unusual they did it in their own district. So I think that’s the connection.
EK: Podil, one of the oldest areas of Kyiv, is truly a neighborhood for Kyiv’s ravers, art lovers, youths and creatives. Some Americans like to compare the vibes of the neighborhood to that of Brooklyn. It’s full of bars, dance halls, concerts, clubs, and many creative ventures. You will see plenty of people with different colored hair and alternative styles walking around the neighborhood.
But it has also been a neighborhood with increased policing. Police officers from other districts come to the neighborhood to make quick cash by harassing and arresting party goers and young people in the hopes of being bribed off.
During the multiple lockdowns that Kyiv has experienced throughout this pandemic, some clubs and bars continue to operate secretly behind closed doors. If they operate without any trouble it usually means that some sort of deal has been struck with the police.
When the third lockdown ended in the beginning of May, Kyiv’s entertainment businesses were finally able to operate with strict guidelines. Daytime events were allowed to occur, with proper social distance measures, limited capacity and temperature checks. Anything after 10 p.m. was not allowed.
However on May 15, the former ribbon factory on Nyzhnoiurkivska Street in Podil that has been transformed into an entertainment hub that is the home to the clubs of Closer, Otel, and 2c1b as well as other establishments, was raided by a busful of police in full riot gear.
That night, two concerts were scheduled for 8 p.m. in two of the hub’s popular venues, Closer and Mezzanine, well before the mandatory 10 p.m. closing time demanded by the city’s current safety measures to curtail the coronavirus.
As seen on security camera footage that has been shared online, the police barge through the gates, shoving a passerby to the ground. Officers beat up several employees, conducted an unauthorized search at 2c1b, where nothing was happening, and forced guests of the hub’s various establishments to leave.
Soundbite: Police intimidating guests at restaurant on Nyzhnoiurkivska Street, woman pleading
When I spoke to Sergey Yatsenko, one of the founders and commercial director of Closer, he told me that many establishments are open at night but avoid raids because they probably have a deal with the police.
Sergey Yatsenko: “Мы таким не занимаемся”
EK: “We do not have that” Sergey says here.
It’s not the first time that the Nyzhnoyurkivska location has been wrongfully raided. Police raids on the territory began in 2015.
On the night of Dec. 5, 2020, police knocked on the doors of the club Otel and broke into the room where there were only two people. The two employees were humiliated and beaten.
Shortly before that, police stormed the nearby Keller Bar on Kyrylivska Street. Special forces broke into the club at 11:42 p.m., broke the front gate, knocked on the door, ordered everyone to lie on the ground, searched people, and beat them without a warrant.
Soundbite: Police storming Kellerbar, yelling at guests to lie down, sounds of beating
And throughout the weeks leading up to the May 15 raid, more and more people were being harassed and arrested within the streets of Podil.
On May 18, after finishing up a studio rehearsal in Podil, local musician Dmytro Buhaichuk and the drummer from the group said their goodbyes and parted ways. Before they could walk two meters, Buhaichuk was suddenly approached by police.
An officer asked Buhaichuk to walk toward the car, and when Buhaichuk asked what was the reason for the approach, he was struck on the head. He fell to the ground and lost consciousness. He would stay there, lying in his own blood, for about three hours.
When Buhaichuk did come to, he cried for help. People arrived and witnessed the three hours of bullying he endured from the police, pulling tighter on his handcuffs, pinning him between his shoulder blades over and over, while livestreaming the events online.
Buhaichuk’s incident became a breaking point for Podil.
Soundbite: Podil protest, people chanting “trash, trash, trash”
Hundreds of people gathered the day after Buhaichuk’s incident on May 21 in front of the Podil police headquarters to protest the increased police violence and searches within the neighborhood.
Soundbite: Activists speeches and electronic music
People gathered with various signs, listening to activists speak and danced to techno that was played by a DJ.
Red dye was mixed into a puddle representing what happened to Bohaichuk the previous day. Copwatch Ukraine stickers surrounded it.
The district’s creative community, including Closer, Keller Bar, HVLV and others, released a joint statement condemning the police’s actions. A total of 15 businesses and organizations eventually joined in arranging the event.
The organizers wanted to hold the head of the Podil district police, Pavlo Vasylenko, accountable. The group claimed that Vasylenko is responsible for creating the special purpose unit called Kyiv that has been violently raiding Podil recently.
“We, the creative communities of Podil, will not tolerate the arbitrariness of the police,” the statement read.
The level of trust between Ukrainians and police is very low.
Nazariy Sovsun: Probably the police and the head of the ministry of internal affairs, is the most untrusted institution in Ukraine.
EK: That was Nazariy Sovsun, an activist from Copwatch Ukraine. Copwatch is a project that has stemmed from their original organization, Freedom March, a cannabis campaign to legalize medical marijuana within the country.
NS: We were monitoring police violence, we were in contact with the people who suffered with police violence. We worked on this topic, we had a hotline, in case you were stopped by police and so on.
EK: Copwatch was only founded a month prior to the recent events in Podil. But it’s clear how much organizations following police actions are needed. Their videos covering police brutality have hit over a million views.
NS: When we started Copwatch police on our Facebook we have 5 messages per day where they say they had problems. Not always in our format, because we need the documentation of the violence or of some of the actions. But quite commonly people don’t have the opportunity to turn the camera on. Just to tell us what has happened.
EK: Many young people in Podil are stopped by the police and do not know their rights. That’s something that Copwatch likes to tell people to keep in mind.
NS: They have to ask why they have been stopped. The police have to name the exact reasons for the person to be stopped, then they need to name the exact reason if the police want to research the person, the police must ask why. There are only a few reasons why the police can do it. But for sure police will ask to search your pockets without naming a reason. This should be known for sure.
It should be known you do not have to show anything that is in your pocket. It is your will to cooperate with police and to show only the court can decide whether that person can be totally searched, with no reason. People should know it. And they should turn on the camera if they are in a dark street and so on. Although such events happen in the daytime also.
EK: When Dmytro Buhaichuk was beaten, Sovsun also came to the scene. He counted around 10 cars and 20 officers working on the case. The bag of weed that was found on the ground contained less than a gram. Even if the courts decide that it was Buhaichuk’s substance, he would only have to pay a 10 to 15 euro fee.
NS: Let’s count how much money was spent on this case and if it’s reasonable, sho uld we pay so much money when we really have an economic crisis in ukraine.
EK: If someone ends up becoming a victim of police violence they can reach out to Copwatch Ukraine. If they have evidence of the event and violence they can reach out to Copwatch Ukraine who will help, Sovsun also encourages victims of police violence to contact the DBR, the State Bureau of Investigations, who can conduct internal affair investigations against the police.
This movement to hold police accountable is growing. Police brutality isn’t a new concept in Ukraine, but public recordings and outcries have become more common.
NS: I really hope that this case and this protest will not just stop on this stage. I would really like how it works, I see a lot of institutions and initiatives involved in this movement already, from different backgrounds, I see a lot of artists, other institutions. This is a very good political opportunity to change something in Ukraine.
EK: And as for Copwatch’s future plans?
NS: In our plans we would like to work internationally because we understand this isn’t a problem of Ukraine. The mottos defund the police it works in Ukraine and in the States or in Europe. In Germany, France, the police is racist and violence to protesters, so I would like it to become an international movement.
EK: It’s been one year since the murder of George Floyd, which sparked the new wave of protests against police violence last summer in the United States. The Black Lives Matter and Defund Police movements have received international attention with many around the world better understanding their own country’s problems with police brutality.
After the massive outcry and protests, a criminal case investigation has been opened on the police raid in Closer. This is a great step in the right direction, because as we mentioned earlier, spaces like Closer are not just clubs for techno.
TI: The electronic music scene is much more than music or clubbing. And given all the topics we covered here, and what it means for the LGTB community. And how it actually revitalizes industrial buildings and makes a contribution to the better look of Kyiv in general, architecturally wise. Something is very special happening here, to be a participant and not a bystander, not just stay away from something that big happening that people from Berlin are moving to Kyiv to be a part of it. If it’s in any way part of your interest then you should definitely join and witness something very special happening and has huge potential to become even bigger and keep promoting Ukraine and contribute to Ukraine’s image abroad.
EK: Thank you for listening to the Kyiv Post podcast. I’m your host Elina Kent. If you are interested in reading more closely about the events at Closer and Podil you can read our article “Podil’s creative community takes aim at police brutality” on our website kyivpost.com. You can subscribe to our podcast on all streaming platforms and follow along on our website. Stay safe, stay home and subscribe to the Kyiv Post.
