14 Comments

Thank you Darya for writing this story. I also have the Old Khata Project book; it is an absolute treasure. Love your poem too. Hopefully the film ’2000 Meters to Andriivka’ will become available in my part of the world. 🇳🇿🫂🇺🇦

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Thank you, Rosemarie!

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Thank you, Darya! Based on your recommendation, I bought the Old Khata book and will now see the film, too. The loss of these hand-hewn homes, with all their attendant artistry hurts my heart, too. The other day, I was mourning the registry of thousands of heirloom seeds that russia targeted and destroyed early in the war. A death cult, indeed.

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Thank you, Sky! Yes, I remember the story about the seeds. It’s tragic and infuriating. During the Soviet times, Russians were cutting down and destroying the best fruit trees in Ukraine, then they orchestrated the Holodomor and forbade Ukrainians to eat the food they grew and starved them to death. Hundreds of years later, the methods stayed the same. It is maddening that the world largely overlooks and undermines the history of Russian colonialism and violence and the reasons behind it and puts the blame on only one person (Putin).

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The seed registry was one of two in the world intended to preserve seeds from every species. The Soviet geneticist Nikolai Vavilov’s work was key to this idea, too. Stalin executed him in 1943, after promoting the charlatan Lysenko to his job. Lysenko’s asinine vernalization process imposed by Stalin’s order caused hundreds of thousands of Ukraine’s best farmlands’ crops to be ruined by his asinine anti-scientific theory imposed by decree upon the farmers.

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🤯 And then the regime justifies its dictatorship by saying the world doesn’t have enough resources for everyone on the planet…

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Welcome back! Another heartfelt, emotional and very profound story, Darya! I will order the book on Ukrainian houses. Thank you! Looking forward to watching "2000 Meters" the new documentary you worked on. Congratulations! 😘🇺🇦💙💛

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Thank you, Christina ❤️

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Beautiful, Darya. Thanks for this most enlightening piece. Chris

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Thank you!

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Thank you for writing this. The scale of the cultural destruction is heartbreaking. And it's criminal.

I hope that film becomes available in my part of the world soon. Best wishes.

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Thank you for your support!

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"t shows the war through the eyes of ordinary people who had to take up arms to protect their home, loved ones, and freedom" - that's the most important & touching perspective. Looking forward to watching it!

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Thank you!

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