Vera, the violinist under the bombs: “My music for Kharkov”

The Dnieper crosses Russia like a vein, goes down to Belarus and then to Ukraine. Today the blood flows with the current, the bodies slip away crossing borders. When Vera Lytovchenko picks up the violin e the notes of the Dnieper song begin to resonate, it all seems even more absurd and unreal. Because that song was her family song, Ukrainian but Russian-speaking. Because that song perfectly describes Kharkov, his city, divided between two souls. It is now the target of Russian troops.

Vera has been barricaded in the basement of her house for fifteen days. Kharkov, the university center and second largest center of Ukraine, is among the martyr cities of the Russian occupation. A new Sarajevo.

For fifteen days the home cellar has become refuge and concert hall. Vera plays for herself, her father and her neighbors. And she feeds the resistant soul of this people who do not run away and do not retreat. «I speak Russian and I am Ukrainian. This is my land, I’m not leaving “.

The connection wobbles, the rain of missiles has made the connections more uncertain and precarious. But we don’t lack patience. Questions on Instagram and video answers. Because the line, on Whatsapp, falls continuously. “I’m in my cellar, see? I planted some flowers. Kharkov has been under bombs for days. There are no Russian troops in the city, but we are under constant fire from heavy artillery. Every holy day. Being outside is dangerous ».

Why did you choose to stay?
“It’s me and my father. We decided to stay because moving now is dangerous, trying to get to the station impossible because of the bombs. But that’s not the real reason either. The truth is that we don’t want to leave, we don’t want to leave Kharkov. Here I was born, here I studied, here my family lives. It is our homeland, we cannot all leave ».

Your music under the bombing is going around the world, and the solidarity you have received is great.
“Before the war I was a musician. I have been studying violin since I was 7 years old, I studied at the Conservatory and now I am part of the orchestra of the Kharkov Theater and I teach in a music academy. Music helps us move forward, it supports us. I do it for myself and my neighbors. For a few moments the music prevents us from thinking about bombs ».

They say that the population in the cities is exhausted. How are you?
“The situation is tough. Many people have no water, no electricity, no food or medical supplies. I consider myself lucky because I have a large basement, I have electricity and we have food. Now they bombed our house too, but the damage is not that bad and in a couple of days we should be able to fix the main things. Many of my friends don’t even have a safe cellar ».

What do you expect from the next few days?
“Kharkov has always been an open city, a university center. My father is a physics teacher, I have traveled all over Europe thanks to music, but we like our city because it has always been an open city. We speak Russian but we are Ukrainians and consider ourselves mixed blood. Nobody here wants war. I honestly don’t know what’s going to happen, we can only wish this all ended. I’m not interested in becoming famous or rich, I do all this to give myself strength, to give strength to my people and because I pray that the guns stop firing ».

Other stories of Vanity Fair that might interest you:

– War in Ukraine