Ukraine
Ukrainian Orchestra Holds Concert for Peace in Kyiv Square
The Kyiv-Classic Symphony Orchestra performed a small concert in Ukraine’s Maidan Square Wednesday (March 9th), an act Conductor Herman Makarenko described as a call for peace amid the Russian invasion. The orchestra performed the Ukrainian national anthem as well as an excerpt from Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy,” on which the European Union’s anthem is based — both strong displays of Ukrainian sovereignty and a desire to move closer to Western Europe as Russian forces advanced on the country. “We would like to support our president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who called, calls and will call to all governments of the world (to) stop the war in Ukraine,” Makarenko said (per Reuters). While up to 70 musicians normally perform in the orchestra, Makarenko said he was only able to gather about 20 people fo...
From Rock Clubs to the Resistance
When I wrote about my glimpses of the Ukrainian rock scene in the book The Humorless Ladies of Border Control, many of the musicians I spoke to had been newly radicalized by the 2014 “Revolution of Dignity” (or Maidan Revolution), and the Russian annexation of Crimea that followed. One was Sasha Boole, a rambunctious singer-songwriter from Chernivtsi, a city in southwestern Ukraine near the Romanian and Moldovan border. We played a show together in the provincial town of Kalush. “Everyone thinks he looks just like you,” the promoter told me. “We made up a myth that you were brothers, that you fell in love with a girl but she chose Sasha, and so you went to America.” When Sasha arrived, I saw what they meant…He wore a handlebar moustache and a bowler hat and sported a tattoo of a skeleton p...
Ukraine World Cup qualifier postponed
Ukraine were set to take on Scotland in Glasgow on March 24 but FIFA has moved to postpone the encounter. The crisis in Ukraine has shown no signs of stopping and it appears that the national team is also impacted by it. Oleksandr Petrakov’s men were set to take on Scotland in Glasgow on March 24 but due to the conflict, the game will have to be rescheduled. Originally slated for the aforementioned date, UEFA and FIFA are still looking to confirm an exact date for the encounter. As a result of this postponement, the play-off final which was scheduled for March 29 and which was to be fought between the winner of this match and the winner of the meeting between Wales and Austria should also be postponed during the June international window. As a reminder, the World Cup in Qatar will take pla...
Brave Ukrainian Girl Sings “Let It Go” Inside Bomb Shelter: Watch
With a bomb shelter as her stage and dozens of people seeking safety as her audience, a young Ukrainian girl named Amelia has captured the world’s attention with a defiant performance of Frozen’s “Let It Go.” Marta Smekhova was a member of the audience, and she filmed and uploaded the performance with the permission of Amelia’s mother. “From the first word in the [bomb shelter] came complete silence,” Smekhova wrote. “[E]veryone put their business aside and listen[ed] to a song by this girl who was just beaming light… even men couldn’t hold back the tears.” “Let It Go” has become an anthem for overcoming adversity, with lyrics such as, “Let the storm rage on/ The cold never bothered me any way.” The song takes on new meaning as Russian troops shell Ukrainian cities as part of an unpro...
Ukrainian Actor Pasha Lee Killed by Russian Forces While Defending Country
Ukrainian actor Pasha Lee was killed on Sunday in attack by Russian forces, according to a statement from the Odesa International Film Festival. He was 33 years old. Lee (also referred to as Pavlo Li and Pasha Li) was a well-known actor in his home country. He joined the Territorial Defense Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine following Russia’s invasion of the country, and was killed when Russian forces shelled Irpin, a city west of Kyiv. Lee was born in Yevpatoria, Crimea to a Korean father and Ukrainian mother. His credits include the 2019 comedy Meeting of Classmates, the 2017 sports action film The Fight Rules, the 2016 action comedy Selfie Party, and the 2012 comedy/drama Zvychayna Sprava. Advertisement Related Video Lee also dubbed beloved English-language films like The Lion King ...
“Together with Ukraine” Compilation Released In Support of Ukrainian Red Cross Society
As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine rages on, many have been helping and donating. The music industry has been quite active, with initiatives such as an open-source Google Sheet of Ukrainian artists and music labels and a fundraising rave in the U.K. on March 11th. In an effort to support ongoing humanitarian efforts, Ukrainian talent bookers Rhys Bainham and Vlad Yaremchuk have called on their colleagues and friends to form a compilation album, Together with Ukraine. Spanning a whopping 136 tracks, the record has been supported by leading drum & bass labels Hospital Records, RAM Records, Critical Music, Metalheadz, Shogun Audio and more, and features a vast selection of unreleased music from the likes of Noisia & Phace, S.P.Y, Modestep and IMANU, among others. Additionally, Toge...
3 reasons why Bitcoin can rally back to $60K despite erasing last week’s gains
Bitcoin (BTC) plunged to below $38,000 on Monday, giving up all the gains it had made last week, which saw BTC/USD rally over $45,000. BTC back below $40K as oil soars The losses appeared primarily in part due to selloffs across the risk-on markets, led by the 18% rise in international oil benchmark Brent crude to almost $139 per barrel early Monday, its highest level since 2008. Nonetheless, Bitcoin’s inability to offer a hedge against the ongoing market volatility also raised doubts over its “safe haven” status, with its correlation coefficient with Nasdaq Composite reaching 0.87 on Monday. BTC/USD weekly price chart featuring its correlation with Nasdaq and Gold. Source: TradingView Conversely, Bitcoin’s correlation with its top rival gold came to be minus 0...
Netflix Disconnects from Russia
Netflix is the latest media company to pull out of Russia in the wake of Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. “Given the circumstances on the ground, we have decided to suspend our service in Russia,” a spokesperson for Netflix said on Sunday. Previously, Netflix announced that it would ignore a Russian law requiring media platforms to carry state propaganda channels. Now, the streamer has decided to forgo operations in Russia outright, effectively disconnecting with its nearly one million subscribers based in the country. Advertisement Related Video Netflix is but the latest corporation to cut ties with Russia. Both Live Nation and Spotify separately announced their plans to indefinitely cease conducting business in the country, while Apple paused the sales of its products. Facebook is a...
Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher Pledge $3 Million Donation to Aid Ukrainian Refugees
Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher have agreed to match up to $3 million in donations toward humanitarian aid for Kunis’ native Ukraine, the couple announced in a social media post this week. The two actors have started a GoFundMe to provide housing and relief supplies to refugees of Ukraine following the ongoing invasion by Russia. “I have always considered myself an American, a proud American,” Kunis, who immigrated from Ukraine to the US in 1991, said in the clip. “But today, I have never been more proud to be a Ukrainian. The events that have unfolded in Ukraine are devastating. There is no place in this world for this kind of unjust attack on humanity.” Kunis and Kutcher’s GoFundMe benefits Flexport.org, an organization that sends shipments of supplies to various refugee sites, as well as ...
Robert Fripp and Toyah Support Ukraine with Neil Young and Living Colour Covers: Watch
During the course of the pandemic, King Crimson guitarist Robert Fripp and his singer wife, Toyah Willcox, have been distracting music fans with lighthearted and eye-catching covers of iconic rock tunes. This week, the couple took a more serious tone as they turned their attention toward the war in Ukraine, performing Neil Young’s “Rockin’ in the Free World” and Living Colour’s “Cult of Personality.” For their latest “Sunday Lunch” performance, Robert and Toyah take on Young’s “Rockin’ in the Free World.” While the original may have been an indictment of American policies under the George H. W. Bush administration at the time Young released the song in 1989, it’s clear that the Robert and Toyah are focusing on Russia’s current attack on the freedom of the Ukrainian people right now. In the...
Institutions increase exposure to Grayscale Bitcoin Trust as GBTC discount nears 30%
Institutional investors are returning to accumulate Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) shares as the discount to spot price his risen to nearly 30%, data on Glassnode shows. Since December 2021, some weekly sessions saw investors pouring in between $10 million and $120 million into Grayscale’s flagship fund. Meanwhile, the biggest capital inflow — amounting to nearly $140 million — appeared in the week ending on Feb. 25, as shown in the chart below. Institutional Grayscale Investments since September 2021. Source: Glassnode No selloff yet among high-profile GBTC backers The GBTC trust attracted investments as global markets faced back-to-back shocks in the past few months, including a dramatic selloff in the technology stocks, followed by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that left many...
Institutions increase exposure to Grayscale Bitcoin Trust as GBTC discount nears 30%
Institutional investors are returning to accumulate Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) shares as the discount to spot price his risen to nearly 30%, data on Glassnode shows. Since December 2021, some weekly sessions saw investors pouring in between $10 million and $120 million into Grayscale’s flagship fund. Meanwhile, the biggest capital inflow — amounting to nearly $140 million — appeared in the week ending on Feb. 25, as shown in the chart below. Institutional Grayscale Investments since September 2021. Source: Glassnode No selloff yet among high-profile GBTC backers The GBTC trust attracted investments as global markets faced back-to-back shocks in the past few months, including a dramatic selloff in the technology stocks, followed by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that left many...
