Every year, Ukraїner travels around all regions of Ukraine visiting various places in our country. For several years already, in addition to the regional expeditions, we have also been doing special projects in which we carefully and deeply explore certain topics. Eventually, they transform into books, so this year Ukraїner also became a publishing house. With this publication, we sum up the year 2021 in our best photos.
But let’s take one thing at a time. In 2021, we went on an expedition to the Carpathians, Volyn, Podillia, Bukovyna, Podniprovia and Zaporizhzhia, Prychornomoria, Halychyna and shot several video stories in Kyiv. We did research on water resources of the Dnipro River and attempted to break down the success story of Ukrainian exporters. We created explainer videos about the Ukrainian language and literature; studied bridges with the Ukrainian diaspora in Great Britain and successful examples of space transformation in various Ukrainian cities. We discovered social initiatives and responsible businesses; filmed a TV series about Ukraine for the Polish public broadcaster; published a book about Ukraine’s national minorities and indigenous peoples, and created an updated map of the country.
As you are reading this, we have almost raised two million hryvnias this year. You can also support Ukraїner on our website or on Patreon.
Don’t forget to look through the 100 photos from the previous years: 2020, 2019, 2018, and 2017!
Vasyl Odrekhivskyi, a sculptor from Lviv, works in the workshop together with his father, a sculptor and art historian Volodymyr Odrekhivskyi. The photo was taken as part of a course for students of the School of Journalism at the Ukrainian Catholic University. 1 February. Photo by Anastasiia Yaroshchuk.
Read the article (in Ukrainian).
Roman Zilinko from Lviv is an icon painter, art historian, curator and author of exhibitions at the Andrey Sheptytsky National Museum in Lviv. The photo was taken as part of a course for students of the School of Journalism at the Ukrainian Catholic University. 2 February. Photo by Pavlo Pashko.
Read the article (in Ukrainian).
Bird’s-eye view of the Lviv City Hall. 8 February. Photo by Pavlo Pashko.
Selection of old photos for Carpathian Cult, a project by Khrystyna Bunii, who explores the history and culture of her region. Expedition to the Carpathians. 10 February. Photo by Katya Akvarelna.
Son of a craftsman Nykola Andrusiak has dinner at the family table. Expedition to the Carpathians. 12 February. Photo by Katya Akvarelna.
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Resident of the village of Brustury. Expedition to the Carpathians. 13 February. Photo by Katya Akvarelna.
Brass craftsman Nazar Haborak makes a Hutsul shepherd’s axe in his workshop in the Carpathians. 13 February. Photo by Katya Akvarelna.
Read the article (in Ukrainian).
Didova Hatchyna (Grandpa’s Hut — tr.) is an art platform in Yavoriv that unites people who want to explore the Hutsul culture. Expedition to the Carpathians. 15 February. Photo by Katya Akvarelna.
Path through the snow-covered forest near Yavoriv. Expedition to the Carpathians. 16 February. Photo by Pavlo Pashko.
Rural cottage in Kryvorivnia. Expedition to the Carpathians. 18 February. Photo by Artem Galkin.
Ivan Vlasiuk, a technician at the snow and avalanche weather station ‘Pozhyzhevska’ in the Carpathians. 24 February. Photo by Serhii Korovajnyj.
Sunrise in the Marmaros massif. Expedition to the Carpathians. 2 March. Photo by Pavlo Pashko.
Rescuers of the mountain shelter and search and rescue station Marmaros Rescue Hut. Expedition to the Carpathians. 3 March. Photo by Sofiia Soliar.
Bohdan Fashtryha, a mountaineer and an experienced guide, co-founder of the mountain shelter Marmaros Rescue Hut. Expedition to the Carpathians. 3 March. Photo by Sofiia Soliar.
‘Ostvytsia Hillfort’, a park of historical reconstruction on the shore of Lake Basiv Kut in Rivne. Expedition to Volyn. 18 April. Photo by Pavlo Pashko.
Poet, prose writer, and playwright Oleksandr Irvanets in Rivne. Expedition to Volyn. 18 April. Photo by Lina Chu.
Yuriy Zhuravel, the Ot Vinta band leader and vocalist, artist, public figure, actor, and screenwriter. Expedition to Volyn. 21 April. Photo by Lina Chu.
Auditorium before the play ‘Such is Life’ at the Harmyder Theatre in Lutsk. Expedition to Volyn. 24 April. Photo by Albert Lores.
Olha Valianik, manager of the Harmyder Hangar-Stage art space in Lutsk, actress. Expedition to Volyn. 25 April. Photo by Lina Chu.
Until his arrest in 1950, Anton Kostiuk completed assignments related to the material support of the insurgents of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA). The UPA member passed away on 17 June 2021. Expedition to Volyn. 26 April. Photo by Albert Lores.
Bird’s-eye view of Lake Svitiaz, the deepest lake in Ukraine. Expedition to Volyn. 30 April. Photo by Pavlo Pashko.
Forest meadow and reeds near the shore of one of the Shatsk Lakes. Expedition to Volyn. 30 April. Photo by Albert Lores.
Resident of the village of Ozero Yevheniia Andriichuk kneads the dough for paska (Easter cake — tr.). Expedition to Volyn. 1 May. Photo by Albert Lores.
Children play ‘katok’, an ancient Easter game, in the village of Chetvertnia. Expedition to Volyn. 2 May. Photo by Albert Lores.
Birds circle over a field. Expedition to Volyn. 3 May. Photo by Pavlo Pashko.
Monument to Soviet figure Mykola Ostrovskyi in front of the entrance to the Museum of Propaganda in Shepetivka. Expedition to Volyn. 6 May. Photo by Sofiia Soliar.
Liudmyla Slipa is a liaison of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), the youngest niece of the Patriarch of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Josyf Slipyj. Zolotnyky village, expedition to Podillia. 25 May. Photo by Aliona Malashyna.
Evening sky over Kamianets-Podilskyi Fortress, known since the 14th century. Expedition to Podillia. 27 May. Photo by Pavlo Pashko.
Stroll along the promenade in the centre of Dnipro. Special project ‘Space Transformation’. 27 May. Photo by Kostiantyn Huzenko.
Sailing regatta for cruising yachts to celebrate the Kyiv Day. Special project ‘Water’. 30 May. Photo by Yurii Stefanyak.
Marc Wilkins is a Swiss film director, who moved to Ukraine in 2016. He is developing The Naked Room art space in Kyiv and The Riverbird’s Nest holiday complex near Vytachiv. 1 June. Photo by Yurii Stefanyak.
The Smotrych River bends near its mouth, where it flows into the Dnister. Expedition to Podillia. 1 June. Photo by Pavlo Pashko.
Boat trip on the Dnipro. Special project ‘Water’. 3 June. Photo by Yurii Stefanyak.
Read the article (in Ukrainian).
Shuttle is a waste sorting station in a Vinnytsia school initiated and set up by a tenth-grader Mariia Oshovska. Expedition to Podillia. 4 June. Photo by Oles Moskalchuk.
Everyday life on the yacht Queen during the Dnipro expedition. 4 June. Photo by Yurii Stefanyak.
Oksana Tereshko works for Vereta, a social business, which recycles used clothes into mats and other products. Stina village, expedition to Podillia. 5 June. Photo by Evgenia Sedneva.
Wooden church of St. George transported from Andrushi village, which was flooded by the Kaniv Reservoir, to the Pereiaslav Museum of Folk Architecture and Everyday Life of the Middle Naddniprianshchyna Region. Special project ‘Water’. 5 June. Photo by Yurii Stefanyak.
Resident of the village of Stina. Expedition to Podillia. 6 June. Photo by Evgenia Sedneva.
Preparations for the annual swim in memory of the villages flooded by the Kaniv Reservoir, ‘Roaring Dnipro’, which has been organised since 2016. Special project ‘Water’. 6 June. Photo by Yurii Stefanyak.
Reflection of the sky in the Dnipro waters. Special project ‘Water’. 9 June. Photo by Yurii Stefanyak.
Rainbow over the fields near the village of Snitkiv in Podillia. 10 June. Photo by Pavlo Pashko.
Ivan Bilenko, captain of the yacht Queen. during the Dnipro expedition. 11 June. Photo by Yurii Stefanyak.
Crossing the Kaniv lock is inevitable for vessels on the way from the Kaniv Reservoir down the Dnipro to the Kremenchuk Reservoir. Special project ‘Water’. 11 June. Photo by Yurii Stefanyak.
Sunrise on the Sob River near the village of Bubnivka. Expedition to Podillia. 12 June. Photo by Katya Akvarelna.
Tetiana Shpak is a craftswoman who preserves the traditions of Bubnivka painted ceramics. Expedition to Podillia. 12 June. Photo by Katya Akvarelna.
Expedition dawn in the village of Bubnivka. Expedition to Podillia. 13 June. Photo by Katya Akvarelna.
Fog over the Kaniv Reservoir. Special project ‘Water’. 14 June. Photo by Yurii Stefanyak.
Boys resting near the Ladyzhyn Reservoir on the Southern Buh River. Expedition to Podillia. 14 June. Photo by Katya Akvarelna.
Large colonies of cormorants nest on the islands near the Kaniv Nature Reserve. These birds can often be seen on dry treetops. Special project ‘Water’. 15 June. Photo by Yurii Stefanyak.
Team finishes the expedition in the waters of the Dnipro River in Cherkasy. 16 June. Photo by Bogdan Logvynenko.
Ukraїner volunteers celebrate the fifth anniversary of the project during their annual meeting in the village of Unizh in Halychyna. 19 June. Photo by Mykola Korol.
Read the article (in Ukrainian).
Ukraїner’s booth during the International Book Arsenal Festival in Kyiv. 24 June. Photo by Serhii Korovajnyj.
Siverskyi Donets River near the village of Cherkaskyi Byshkyn, Slobozhanshchyna. 28 June. Photo by Serhii Sverdelov.
Employees of the Kormotech pet food factory in the village of Prylbychi in Halychyna. Special project ‘Exporters’. 3 July. Photo by Irynka Hromotska.
Sketching clothes for the Ukrainian brand Cultnaked, bought and worn at parties by international celebrities. Lviv, special project ‘Exporters’. 5 July. Photo by Irynka Hromotska.
Maryna Libanova, the director of the Bookinist bookstore in the centre of Chernivtsi. Expedition to Bukovyna. 10 July. Photo by Lina Chu.
View of Chernivtsi from a rooftop. Expedition to Bukovyna. 11 July. Photo by Lina Chu.
Sasha Boole, a country musician. Expedition to Bukovyna. 11 July. Photo by Lina Chu.
Day of Belarusian Art Festival in Kyiv. Special project ‘National Minorities’. 11 July. Photo by Aliona Malashyna.
Read the article (in Ukrainian).
Children in the City of Goodness. This is an all-Ukrainian charity project, which helps mothers with children in crisis. Expedition to Bukovyna. 14 July. Photo by Lina Chu.
European bison (locally called ‘zubr’) in the Zubrovytsia Zoological Reserve near the village of Banyliv-Pidhirnyi in Bukovyna. 19 July. Photo by Pavlo Pashko.
Craftswoman Mariia Bozhesku embroiders traditional clothes with beads. In the village of Voloka in Bukovyna, they sew wedding dresses, which are sold in many countries, and they still create unique national costumes. 22 July. Photo by Pavlo Pashko.
Employee of the Electrovymiriuvach plant in Zhytomyr. In 2019, development of an innovation park started in part of the plant's premises. Special project ‘Space Transformation’. 24 July. Photo by Yurii Stefanyak.
British band The Ukrainians combines Ukrainian folk and Western rock music. Expedition to Great Britain within the special project ‘Ukrainians Abroad’. 24 July. Photo by Mykhailo Kuchera.
Since 2018, the Hnat Khotkevych Palace of Culture in Lviv has undergone transformations as well as search for a new concept of a cultural centre. Special project ‘Space Transformation’. 28 July. Photo by Sofiia Soliar.
Olia Hercules is a Ukrainian chef and food writer, who has lived in London for almost twenty years. Expedition to Great Britain within the special project ‘Ukrainians Abroad’. 1 August. Photo by Mykhailo Kuchera.
Hay bales in a field near the town of Dunaivtsi in Podillia. 4 August. Photo by Serhii Sverdelov.
Mykhailo Lapchuk is a theater actor and public figure. Vyhoda village, Halychyna. Filming a TV series for the Polish public broadcaster. 10 August. Photo by Lina Chu.
Sculptor and artist Valerii Yermakov in his studio in the village of Panasivka in the Poltava region. 13 August. Photo by Serhii Korovajnyj.
Dress rehearsal at the Kropyvnytskyi Music and Drama Theatre. Expedition to Podniprovia and Zaporizhzhia. 16 August. Photo by Aliona Malashyna.
Member of the children's camp ‘Colourful Raccoons’. Special project ‘Social Initiatives’. 19 August. Photo by Hari Krishnan.
Read the article (in Ukrainian).
Inventor Volodymyr Yakovliev flies on a powered hang glider next to the expedition car. Vlasivka village, expedition to Podniprovia and Zaporizhzhia. 23 August. Photo by Roman Matkov.
Mykyta Kozachynskyi, co-founder of the Module concert venue, electronic music club, and workshop in Dnipro. Expedition to Podniprovia and Zaporizhzhia. 25 August. Photo by Mykola Korol.
Merefa-Kherson bridge in Dnipro. Expedition to Podniprovia and Zaporizhzhia. 26 August Photo by Pavlo Pashko.
Animal rescue team rescues a cat stuck in a ventilation pipe in Kyiv. Special project ‘Social Initiatives'’. 4 September. Photo by Katya Akvarelna.
Read the article (in Ukrainian).
Dmytro Kovbasiuk, founder of the Neighbourhood Culture School in Odesa, changes the light bulb at the entrance hall of one of the city’s courtyards. Expedition to Prychornomoria. 16 September. Photo by Ales Piletski.
Oleksandr Kushnir is the head of the diving and kayaking centre in Odesa. The centre is adapted for people with disabilities, all services are free for them. Expedition to Prychornomoria. 17 September. Photo by Ales Piletski.
Morning fog in Kharkiv, Slobozhanshchyna. View of the Kharkiv TV tower, which has been operating since 1981. 18 September. Photo by Serhii Sverdelov.
Vineyards that belong to the Beykush winery are located on the headland of the same name, which is washed by the Berezan Estuary on one side and by the Beykush Bay on the other side. Expedition to Prychornomoria. 23 September. Photo by Pavlo Pashko.
Yevhen Shneideris, founder and owner of the winery Beykush. Chornomorka village, expedition to Prychornomoria. 24 September. Photo by Anastasiia Dolzhenytsia.
Fishing in the Beykush Bay. Expedition to Prychornomoria. 26 September. Photo by Pavlo Pashko.
Serhii Kovalyov, a photographer, videographer, nature explorer, birdwatcher. Expedition to Prychornomoria. 28 September. Photo by Anastasiia Dolzhenytsia.
Harvesting in the vineyards of the Slivino family winery. Expedition to Prychornomoria. 2 October. Photo by Yurii Stefanyak.
Heorhii Molchanov is the founder and owner of the Slivino winery near Mykolaiv. Expedition to Prychornomoria. 2 October. Photo by Yurii Stefanyak.
Pavlo Mahalias is the founder and owner of the Olvia Nuvo winery, located on the border with the Olbia National Historical and Archaeological Reserve. Expedition to Prychornomoria. 2 October. Photo by Pavlo Pashko.
Anastasiia Makarenko is the executive director of the expert public organisation U-Cycle (Kyiv Cyclists’ Association). Special project ’Social Initiatives’. 11 October. Photo by Valentyn Kuzan.
Bird's-eye view of the port of Odesa. Expedition to Prychornomoria. 13 October. Photo by Pavlo Pashko.
Workers mine granite in the Korostyshiv quarry in Polissia. Special project ‘Local Activists’. 15 October. Photo by Khrystyna Kulakovska.
Urban festival on the territory of one of the university campuses in Chernihiv, Sivershchyna. Special project ‘Local Activists’. 16 October. Photo by Valentyn Kuzan.
Vitaliy Rozhyk is a sculptor who takes care of the restoration of Korostyshiv park in Polissia. Special project ‘Local Activists’. 23 October. Photo by Khrystyna Kulakovska.
Volunteer of the Plato NGO during the arrangement of a rain garden in Lviv. Special project ‘Local Activists’. 23 October. Photo by Sofiia Soliar.
Kytsivka Desert, located 50 km east from Kharkiv. 31 October. Photo by Serhii Sverdelov.
Heroes and the project team at the presentation of the Ukraїner’s book ‘Who We Are: Indigenous Peoples and National Minorities of Ukraine’ in Kyiv. 15 November. Photo by Serhii Korovajnyj.
Lev Skop is a Ukrainian art historian, fine art restorer, icon painter. Drohobych, expedition to Halychyna. 20 November. Photo by Khrystyna Kulakovska.
Dmytro Mazuriak is a multi-instrumentalist musician, apprentice of the master of folk instruments Mykhailo Tafiychuk. Every year Dmytro continues the tradition of celebrating Malanka in his home village of Ispas in Bukovyna: he gathers people, makes masks and costumes, invites friends and guests from other regions. 21 November. Photo by Katya Akvarelna.
Restoration works on the roof of the Dominican Cathedral in Lviv. Expedition to Halychyna. 26 November. Photo by Pavlo Pashko.
Ivan Prykhodko is a creator of folk toys and sculptures. Dudarkiv village, expedition to Naddniprianshchyna. 11 December. Photo by Nick Zavilinskyi.
Traditional celebration on the eve of St Andrew’s Day at the Ivan Honchar Museum in Kyiv. 12 December. Photo by Khrystyna Kulakovska.
Moshul is an ancient rite of Christmas celebration, preserved in the village of Orlivka in Bessarabia. This is the only village in the south of Ukraine where Orthodox Christmas is celebrated on 25 December. Photo by Yurii Makalis.
Oksana Sobko, founder of the ‘Kyiv Kolyada’ carolling community, hurries to meet with the carolers. Kyiv, 25 December. Photo by Serhii Korovajnyj.
