Chervona Ruta () is a permanent biennial all-Ukrainian youth festival of contemporary song and popular music,Serhiy Kharynovych.
The first republican. What was the 1989 festival "Chervona Ruta" (Перший республіканський. Чим був фестиваль «Червона рута» 1989 року?)
'

The Ukrainian Week ''The Ukrainian Week'' (, ) is an illustrated weekly magazine and news outlet covering politics, economics and the arts and aimed at the socially engaged Ukrainian-language reader. It provides a range of analysis, opinion, interviews, feature p ...

. 2 January 2017 which has been held every two years since 1989. It was a benchmark where more Ukrainian popular music was presented transitioning away from traditional Ukrainian

folk culture Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as tales, myths, legends, proverbs, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also includes mat ...

associated with "

sharovarshchyna ''Sharovarshchyna'' ( ; also ''sharovarstvo'' [] or ''sharovarnytstvo'' []; from ''sharovary'', stereotypical Cossack pants) is a Culturology, culturological and journalistic term, usually negative, for the ethnic stereotype of Ukrainian culture ...

" genre. Unlike the Soviet festival 'Song of the Year' (), where only a selected song from Ukraine sometimes was demonstrated, Chervona Ruta allowed more singers and songs. The festival is dedicated to Ukrainian songwriter, composer and poet

Volodymyr Ivasyuk Volodymyr Mykhailovych Ivasiuk (, 4 March 1949 – 24–27 April 1979) was a Ukraine, Ukrainian songwriter, composer and poet. He is the author and composer of the widely popular song "Chervona Ruta (song), Chervona Ruta" popularized by Sofia ...

who is the author and composer of the widely popular Ukrainian song '' "Chervona Ruta"''. The name may refer to a mythological or actual species of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

Chervona ruta Chervona ruta (''Monarda'') () may refer to a mythological or actual species of flowering plants in the rue genus of the citrus family, Rutaceae, or the rhododendron genus of the heath family, Ericaceae. Biology * Rue () is a name for the plant ...

History

The idea and the name of the festival belongs to journalist Ivan Lepsha, which was realized by Taras Melnyk, Kyrylo Stetsenko, Anatoliy Kalenychenko, Oleh Repetskyi and

Ivan Malkovych Ivan Antonovych Malkovych (; born 10 May 1961 in Nyzhnii Bereziv, Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, Ivano-Frankivsk) is a noted Ukrainians, Ukrainian poet and publisher. He is the proprietor of the publishing house "A-ba-ba-ha-la-ma-ha, A-BA-BA-HA-LA-MA-HA" ...

. The festival played an important role in the revival of Ukrainian popular music and contributed to the Ukrainian music boom of the 90s. Until start of the Soviet reforms such "

perestroika ''Perestroika'' ( ; rus, перестройка, r=perestrojka, p=pʲɪrʲɪˈstrojkə, a=ru-perestroika.ogg, links=no) was a political reform movement within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) during the late 1980s, widely associ ...

" (The Reform) in 1986 along with "

Glasnost ''Glasnost'' ( ; , ) is a concept relating to openness and transparency. It has several general and specific meanings, including a policy of maximum openness in the activities of state institutions and freedom of information and the inadmissi ...

" and "

Uskoreniye ''Uskorenie'' ( rus, ускорение, p=ʊskɐˈrʲenʲɪɪ̯ə; literally meaning ''acceleration'') was a slogan and a policy announced by Communist Party General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev on 20 April 1985 at a Soviet Party Plenum, aim ...

", the rock music throughout the Soviet Union was a taboo. But, there were some exclusions such as the 1980 Georgian "Spring Rhythms". There was saying that today you play the jazz (implying any music of the capitalist West created by negroes, according to the

Great Soviet Encyclopedia The ''Great Soviet Encyclopedia'' (GSE; , ''BSE'') is one of the largest Russian-language encyclopedias, published in the Soviet Union from 1926 to 1990. After 2002, the encyclopedia's data was partially included into the later ''Great Russian Enc ...

) and tomorrow you will sell your Homeland ().

First edition – Chernivtsi 1989

The first ''Chervona Ruta'' festival was held on 17–24 September 1989 in

Chernivtsi Chernivtsi (, ; , ;, , see also #Names, other names) is a city in southwestern Ukraine on the upper course of the Prut River. Formerly the capital of the historic region of Bukovina, which is now divided between Romania and Ukraine, Chernivt ...

Bukovyna Stadium Bukovyna Stadium is a multi-use stadium in Chernivtsi, Ukraine. It is used mostly for football (soccer), football matches, and is the home of FC Bukovyna Chernivtsi. The stadium holds 12,000 spectators. In 1989, at the stadium held the Chervona ...

. Its organization was supported by the Ukrainian community both in the country and abroad and also involved civic organizations such as the

Ukrainian Helsinki Union The Ukrainian Helsinki Union (, abbreviated UHS) was a political party active in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic from 1988 to 1990. Led by Viacheslav Chornovil and Levko Lukianenko, it was the first non-communist party to be legal in Uk ...

People's Movement of Ukraine The People's Movement of Ukraine () is a Ukraine, Ukrainian political party and one of the first Opposition (politics), opposition parties in Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, Soviet Ukraine.The first officially registered opposition politica ...

Shevchenko Scientific Society The Shevchenko Scientific Society (), founded in 1873, is a Ukrainian scientific society devoted to the promotion of scholarly research and publication. Unlike the government-funded National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, the society is a pu ...

Ukrainian Youth Association The Ukrainian Youth Association (, transliterated as , known by the acronym , , pronounced "", and commonly rendered as CYM) is a youth organization in Ukraine, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Estonia, France, Great Britain, Germany, and the United S ...

Lion's Society The Lion's Society (), also colloquially referred to as the ''Leveniata'' () is a cultural non-governmental organisation (NGO) in Ukraine. Founded in 1987, the Lion's Society played an important role in the revival of Ukrainian culture in Galici ...

and others. While the festival was conducted under close supervision of the republican KDB (the Ukrainian branch of Soviet

KGB The Committee for State Security (, ), abbreviated as KGB (, ; ) was the main security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 to 1991. It was the direct successor of preceding Soviet secret police agencies including the Cheka, Joint State Polit ...

), militsiya, and

Communist Party of Ukraine The Communist Party of Ukraine (CPU or KPU) is a banned political party in Ukraine. It was founded in 1993 and claimed to be the successor to the Soviet-era Communist Party of Ukraine, which had been banned in 1991. In 2002 it held a "unifi ...

, the

Ukrainian anthem Ukrainian may refer or relate to: * Ukraine, a country in Eastern Europe * Ukrainians, an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine * Demographics of Ukraine * Ukrainian culture, composed of the material and spiritual values of the Ukrainian peopl ...

"Shche ne vmerla" was performed at the festival, and blue and yellow flags were unfurled.Halyna Tereshchuk.
The 1989 singing explosion. The "Chervona Ruta" festival played an important role in the Independence of Ukraine (Пісенний вибух 1989 року. Фестиваль «Червона рута» наблизив Незалежність України)
'.

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a media organization broadcasting news and analyses in 27 languages to 23 countries across Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the Caucasus, and the Middle East. Headquartered in Prague since 1995, RFE/RL ...

. 17 September 2019 Famous bands « Vopli Vidoplyasova», «

Braty Hadyukiny Braty Hadiukiny (), or simply Hady () is a Ukrainian rock band from Lviv, one of the most successful Ukrainian bands of Soviet times. The band's musical style combines different genres such as rock'n'roll, blues, punk, reggae, funk and folk. Iron ...

», «Kvartyra № 50», «Zymovyy sad», Vika Vradiy, Marichka Burmaka, Tryzuby Stas, and many others participated in rock competitions. In total, there were over 500 performers, including singers from Europe and North America. The festival organizers and jury members were overwhelmed by the sheer number of contestants and the quality of their performances. There was a song to commemorate

who was murdered 10 years before. The final concert opened with sounds of

trembita The trembita (from the Proto-Germanic language, old Germanic ''trumba'', "to trumpet", in Ukrainian language, Ukrainian ''трембíта'') is a type of an alpine horn made of wood. It is common among Ukrainian highlanders Hutsuls who live in ...

s, a Ukrainian elongated highland horn. People in the crowd carried symbols of the

Ukrainian SSR The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, abbreviated as the Ukrainian SSR, UkrSSR, and also known as Soviet Ukraine or just Ukraine, was one of the Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent republics of the Soviet Union from 1922 until 1991. ...

such as the state emblem of the Ukrainian SSR and the state flag of the Ukrainian SSR, and a large

bonfire A bonfire is a large and controlled outdoor fire, used for waste disposal or as part of a religious feast, such as Saint John's Eve. Etymology The earliest attestations date to the late 15th century, with the Catholicon Anglicum spelling i ...

was started on the playing field. The festival's grand prize was received by Vasyl Zhdankin, other laureates included " Sestrychka Vika" (Vika Vradiy), "Komu vnyz", "Braty Hadiukiny",

Eduard Drach Eduard Valeriiovych Drach (, born 1965), is a composer, singer-songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. He is an active member of the Kobzarskyi Tsekh, Kyiv Kobzar Guild. The author of numerous songs in a variety of styles, Drach is noted in part ...

, Viktor Morozov, Taras Kurchyk, Andriy Mykolaichuk, and others. It was

Kuban Kuban ( Russian and Ukrainian: Кубань; ) is a historical and geographical region in the North Caucasus region of southern Russia surrounding the Kuban River, on the Black Sea between the Don Steppe, the Volga Delta and separated fr ...

native Zhdankin who spontaneously started to sing the

at the festival's closing. At the final concert, which took place at the central stadium of Chernivtsi, local police cracked down on any manifestations of "nationalism", detaining young girls (many from the popular "Lion Society") who were dressed in yellow blouses and blue skirts. At the stadium Georgi Gongadze was attacked and hit on the head by militsiya. Rosmay Media Center has made a 6-part film about the history of the festival.

Later editions

The second edition of the festival took place in 1991 in

Zaporizhzhia Zaporizhzhia, formerly known as Aleksandrovsk or Oleksandrivsk until 1921, is a city in southeast Ukraine, situated on the banks of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. It is the Capital city, administrative centre of Zaporizhzhia Oblast. Zaporizhzhia ...

and brought accolades to a number of new participants, including ''Andriy Kill'' (later known as Skryabin), Plach Yeremiyi, The Telnyuk Sisters, Mertvy Piven. Compared to the first festival, which was visited by approximately 40 ,000 viewers, the event in Zaporizhzhia was seen live by 60,000 people. The third festival was held in 1993 in

Donetsk Donetsk ( , ; ; ), formerly known as Aleksandrovka, Yuzivka (or Hughesovka), Stalin, and Stalino, is an industrial city in eastern Ukraine located on the Kalmius River in Donetsk Oblast, which is currently occupied by Russia as the capita ...

and saw the rise of future stars like

Oleksandr Ponomariov Oleksandr Valeriyovych Ponomariov (; born August 9, 1973) is a Ukrainian singer. He has been awarded the country's "Singer of the Year" seven times. Early life and education Ponomariov was born in Khmelnitskiy, Ukrainian SSR (now Khmelnytsk ...

, Iryna Shynkaruk,

Viktor Pavlik The name Victor or Viktor may refer to: * Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname Arts and entertainment Film * ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film * ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French shor ...

, Pikkardiyska Tertsiya and Viy. The number of visitors reached 160,000. The scenes of the fourth "Ruta" in 1995 were shared between the

Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...

n cities of

Sevastopol Sevastopol ( ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea and a major port on the Black Sea. Due to its strategic location and the navigability of the city's harbours, Sevastopol has been an important port and naval base th ...

and

Simferopol Simferopol ( ), also known as Aqmescit, is the second-largest city on the Crimea, Crimean Peninsula. The city, along with the rest of Crimea, is internationally recognised as part of Ukraine, but controlled by Russia. It is considered the cap ...

. That year the contest included young Ukrainian performers like EL Kravchuk, Natalia Mohylevska,

Ani Lorak Karolina Myroslavivna Kuiek (born 27 September 1978), better known as Ani Lorak, is a Ukrainian singer. Having been awarded the title of People's Artist of Ukraine (revoked in 2024https://www.president.gov.ua/news/34-zradniki-ukrayini-pozbav ...

, The VYO, Katia Buzhynska, Motor'rolla and others. The festival was visited by approximately 250,000 viewers. The fifth edition of "Chervona Ruta" took place in 1997 in

Kharkiv Kharkiv, also known as Kharkov, is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city in Ukraine.

. Among notable performers of the contest were Katya Chilly,

TNMK TNMK or Tanok na Maidani Kongo ( ; "Dance at the Congo Square") is the most successful Ukrainian hip hop, Ukrainian hip-hop group. They are known for clever, yet often tongue-in-cheek, lyrics; mixing hip-hop with Rock music, rock, funk and jazz ...

and Tartak. 500,000 viewers visited the festival in Kharkiv, and another 500,000 in Kyiv. In 1999 the festival visited

Dnipropetrovsk Dnipro is Ukraine's fourth-largest city, with about one million inhabitants. It is located in the eastern part of Ukraine, southeast of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on the Dnieper River, Dnipro River, from which it takes its name. Dnipro is t ...

. Among performers were Dymna Sumish and Spidvey (future #KHORTA). Together with scenes in Kyiv, the performances were seen by approximately 1 million viewers. The 2001 contest took place in

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

and saw performances by Krykhitka Tsakhes and Ocheretianyi Kit. In 2003, 2005 and 2007 "Chervona Ruta" once again visited Kyiv. The 2003 edition saw the successful debut of Anastasia Kochetova, today better known as

MamaRika Anastasia Oleksandrivna Kochetova (; born 13 April 1989), known by her stage name MamaRika and previously Erika, is a Ukrainian singer and actress. Early life Kochetova was born on 13 April 1989 in Chervonohrad. She graduated from the Faculty ...

. The jubilee 2009 festival returned to Chernivtsi. The prize for

acoustic music Acoustic music is music that solely or primarily uses instruments that produce sound through acoustic means, as opposed to electric or electronic means. While all music was once acoustic, the retronym "acoustic music" appeared after the a ...

was won by

DakhaBrakha DakhaBrakha are a Ukrainian folk music quartet which combines the musical styles of several ethnic groups. They were a winner of the Sergey Kuryokhin Contemporary Art Award in 2009 and the Shevchenko National Prize in 2020. DakhaBrakha are a pro ...

. The 2011 and 2013 editions Chervona Ruta once again came to Kyiv. The 2013 prize for acoustic music was won by Folknery. In 2015 and 2017 "Chervona Ruta" festival took place in

Mariupol Mariupol is a city in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. It is situated on the northern coast (Pryazovia) of the Sea of Azov, at the mouth of the Kalmius, Kalmius River. Prior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it was the tenth-largest city in the coun ...

. In 2019 Chervona Ruta was once again held in Chernivtsi (hometown of

) on 17–22 September. It was the 30th Anniversary of the Festival.

Impact

Ruta Fest made a real "revolution" in Ukrainian culture, which impacted wider society. The festival gave birth to new youth music that had not existed before. Previously, Ukrainian youth, without domestic idols, had to settle for variety shows from Moscow, or listen to Western pop stars. Many of the songs performed for the first time at the festival immediately became hits, popular with millions of people. The winners of "Ruta-89" and their songs were the top performers in many charts and polls. Musicians who were relatively obscure only days previously turned into Ukrainian youth idols overnight. For the first time, a large part of the population, and especially young people, began to admire Ukrainian music, which became part of their lives. Chervona Ruta also launched a national show business in Ukraine. It was Ruta who became the first customer for the technical (stage, sound, light, recording studios, music equipment, reproduction of music production) and creative (composers, arrangers, sound producers, poets, etc.) support such events. During the first Ruta Fest the festival records were sold out and did not satisfy even a tenth of the demand. And after the festival was held the first ever Ukrainian concert tour: 87 concerts of the winners of "Ruth-89" all over Ukraine were held with unprecedented success in crowded halls. The music of the festival began to gather huge audiences in the hundreds of thousands of spectators at the stadiums and large squares attracted by the artistic value of the concerts (previously, so many people only gathered for political rallies).

References

External links