Pawlina

29 Years of the Hryvnia: Currency, Identity, and the Stories We Must Not Forget

September 2, 2025 Pawlina Features

Today Ukraine celebrates the 29th anniversary of the hryvnia, its national currency. To mark 29 years of Ukraine’s hryvnia, introduced to the world on September 2, 1996, we revisit a four-part radio series originally aired five years ago on Nash Holos Ukrainian Roots Radio. This series explores how coins and banknotes quietly tell stories—of independence, identity, and a long, intertwined history shaped by centuries of shared struggles for independence and sovereignty by both nations. They aren’t just pieces of paper and metal—they’re miniature monuments to historical memory. 🪙 Part 1: Sovereignty in Print What do a medieval coin and a biblical shekel have in common? Turns out, quite a lot. Both made a comeback in the 20th century—one in Eastern Europe, the other in the Middle East—as symbols of national rebirth. In 1996, five years after Ukraine gained independence from the Soviet Union, the hryvnia quietly entered circulation. Its launch was anything but ordinary, however. It was designed in Canada, printed in Malta and the UK, and kept under wraps until the big reveal. The secrecy wasn’t just practical—it was symbolic. Reviving the name in the 20th century was both a nod to history and a deliberate act of cultural […]

Remembering Chornobyl – 39 years later the scars have not healed

April 26, 2025 Pawlina Blog Posts, Features

Today is April 26, 2025. Thirty-nine years ago, the world witnessed the catastrophic explosion at Reactor 4 of the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant. An event that not only scarred the Ukrainian landscape but also left an indelible mark on global consciousness. In the immediate aftermath of the explosion, thousands of brave individuals—firefighters, engineers, scientists, and soldiers—risked and often sacrificed their lives to contain the disaster. Known as “liquidators,” these heroes came from all corners of the Soviet Union, representing a wide array of ethnicities, including Ukrainians, Russians, Belarusians, Armenians, Georgians, and others. Despite their diverse backgrounds, they united in their determination to stabilize the reactor and prevent an even greater catastrophe. Their heroism saved countless lives and mitigated the impact of one of the most devastating nuclear events in history. The disaster led to the evacuation of entire communities, the exposure of countless individuals to harmful radiation, and a reevaluation of nuclear safety protocols worldwide. The New Safe Confinement structure, completed in 2016, stands as a testament to international cooperation and the enduring effort to secure the remnants of this tragedy. Yet, history has a troubling way of echoing. On February 14, 2025, a Russian drone strike damaged the protective […]

Kidnapped from Ukraine: Under Attack

March 5, 2025 Pawlina Blog Posts, Knyzhka Corner Audio Bookshelf

In this edition of Knyzka Corner, we will be discussing Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch’s novel, Kidnapped from Ukraine: Under Attack. In this novel, Skrypuch describes the horrific human impact of Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which began on February 24, 2022. His first invasion occurred in 2014 when he took Crimea and portions of Eastern Ukraine. She explores how this invasion changed the lives of 12-year-old twin sisters Rada and Dariia Popkova from Mariupol. Skrypuch explains her own reaction to these events in the Author’s Note, “I never thought I would write a book about a war as it was happening…I am writing this note in January 2024. Ukraine is still standing. “ (p. 303) As the invasion begins in Mariupol, Dariia and her family are appalled. Most people in Mariupol spoke Russian, and believed they were neighbors of Russia – not their enemies. Dariia and her mother go to the store to stock up on food, while her father and Rada stay in their apartment. However, while they are out shopping, the bombs start to fall. “Our plan was to go in the general direction of Azovstal but to find temporary shelter along the way.” (p. 15) They land […]

Show Archives and Podcast Feed changes

February 10, 2025 Pawlina Features

Late last year, I was hit with a takedown notice by my podcast hosting platform where I had been archiving the shows for many years. Fortunately, I appealed and was given a reprieve. The immediate result was, however, a halt to updating my RSS feed with new episodes, and the need to find a new home for them. The end result is that the full episodes of Nash Holos are now on MixCloud, and the RSS feed is restricted to spoken-word excerpts from the shows. Those spoken-word features are also available on the original podcast feed, so you can still get them on your favourite podcast app. MixCloud does not provide an RSS feed, but if you follow me there you will get email updates every time a new episode is uploaded. Also, the Vancouver and Nanaimo episodes are in their own sections, called, Playlists. So what that means is that the audio files are archived in different places, and I have created new links to them from here. You will see these changes in the menu bar. I am slowly developing a new posting regimen, and hope to shortly get into the rhythm of regular posting again. Thank you for […]

Ukrainian Food Flair – the Cookbook

January 10, 2025 Pawlina Features

In August of last year, I wrapped up a project started almost 20 years ago—a collection of the recipes of Sylvia Molnar, who presented over 200 of them in the series Ukrainian Food Flair. Sylvia passed away in 2015, but last year her sister Leone and I finally published her recipes as a tribute to her memory. Ukrainian Food Flair: Authentic Recipes from Canada’s West Coast is available at Amazon) and other online booksellers. You’ll find a link to a dedicated page on the website here. Tune in to Nash Holos Ukrainian Roots Radio weekly for Ukrainian Food Flair audio flashbacks on both editions of the show.

2025 is a Double Milestone Anniversary Year for Nash Holos

January 2, 2025 Pawlina Features

This year marks two milestone anniversaries for Nash Holos. The 25th anniversary of Nash Holos Ukrainian Roots Radio in Vancouver on AM1320 CHMB Vancouver, and the 35th anniversary of the inception of Nash Holos. For the record, not a milestone number but 14 years at CHLY 101.7FM in Nanaimo. The show has undergone many changes in those years (decades). Except for one – I’ve been with the show since day one – June 4, 1990 on AM1470 CJVB Vancouver. And it’s been an honour and a privilege. A Record-breaking Radio Show One thing I am particularly proud of is that Nash Holos twice broke the record for the longest-running Ukrainian radio program in BC. First in 1996 for the initial run of the show, which I co-hosted with Bohdan Zajcew and Eugene Lupynis from 1990-96 on AM1470CJVB Vancouver. And then again in 2007 after producing and presenting the show solo on AM1320CHMB Vancouver, where it is still airing Saturdays at 6pm PST. This year I’ll be looking back through those years and sharing some of the highlights of 35 years of Ukrainian programming in BC. There will of course also be new material as usual. New Features! A […]

Knyzhka Corner Book Review: The Torture Camp on Paradise Street

December 2, 2024 Pawlina Audio Vault, Knyzhka Corner Audio Bookshelf

In this edition of Knyzka Corner, we will be discussing Stanislav Aseyev’s, The Torture Camp on Paradise Street. The Torture Camp on Paradise Street, translated by Zenia Tompkins and Nina Murray and published by the Ukrainian Research Institute at Harvard University, is a personal memoir of Stanislav Aseyev’s two and a half years in illegal captivity, most of it at the site of the defunct insulation factory, Isoliatsia (Isolation), in the city of Donetsk. This secret prison in the heart of Donetsk was called the “Donetsk Dachau” because of the unspeakable torture that was endured by its prisoners. Thanks to Aseyev’s efforts, the prison’s supervisor Denys Kulkovskyi (Palych) was arrested in Kyiv in November 2021. The book began with Aseyev’s arrival at Isolation Prison at 3 Paradise Street. He soon realized that he was in a facility for prisoners charged with espionage, terrorism, and extremism. While in prison, Aseyev was sentenced to two 15-year terms for his work as a reporter. The conditions he endured were horrific. The aim of the prison administration was to terrorize its prisoners. “Isolation administration’s main job was to train the inmates to fear: constantly, without respite, day and night (because fear could manifest as […]

In Isolation – Dispatches from Occupied Donbas

December 1, 2024 Pawlina Audio Vault, Knyzhka Corner Audio Bookshelf

In this edition of Knyzka Corner, we will be discussing Stanislav Aseyev’s, In Isolation – Dispatches from Occupied Donbas. In Isolation – Dispatches from Occupied Donbas, translated by Lidia Wolanskyj and published by the Ukrainian Research Institute at Harvard University, outlines the experiences of journalist and patriot Stanislav Aseyev as he faces repression, war, captivity, and torture in Donbas. He spent more than a year in a prison “for exceptionally dangerous persons” in the city of Donetsk until he was released in a prisoner swap in December 2019. His experiences in his native Donetsk give readers a window into the complicated realities of life in Donetsk after the Russian occupation of 2014. “The essays are an attempt to comprehend not just the Soviet past but its latest transformation in Moscow’s massive propaganda war. After all, the challenges that Ukrainian society has faced on the territory of the Donbas with the start of the war are not exclusively a problem for Ukrainians: the mechanisms of lies and disinformation that I bring up in my writing are used in a variety of forms in many wars around the world – military, informational, and hybrid.” (p. xiv) The book begins with a chronology […]

Ukrainian Jewish Heritage: Jars Balan on Holodomor reports by Canadian journalist Rhea Clyman (Part 1)

November 27, 2024 Pawlina Ukrainian Jewish Heritage

Rhea Clyman is a journalist who is little known today in the Jewish or Ukrainian communities, or for that matter, by Canadians in general. But in her day she reached international acclaim for her coverage of the Soviet Union, including the 1932-33 man-made Ukrainian famine known as the Holodomor, and the rise of Nazi Germany. Jars Balan is the director of the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies at the University of Alberta where he is also the coordinator of the Kule Ukrainian Canadian Studies Center. During his research on the Holodomor, Jars stumbled onto Rhea’s reports. He was instantly intrigued by her story and began to research her life and work. He has since spoken about Rhea Clyman extensively, and is currently working her biography. He kindly agreed to tell us about his work, as well as the work of this remarkable Jewish Canadian journalist. Pawlina: Jars, thank you so much for joining us. Jars Balan: Thank you for having me. Pawlina: Now… Rhea Clyman, I just recently found out about her. How did you find out about her? I mean, it was during your research, but was there something specific? Because I had done a lot of research, although not […]

Ukrainian Jewish Heritage Book Review: Rebbe

April 9, 2024 Pawlina Knyzhka Corner Audio Bookshelf, Ukrainian Jewish Heritage

In this edition of Ukrainian-Jewish Heritage, we will be discussing Joseph Telushkin’s biography, Rebbe – The Life and Teachings of Menachem M. Schneerson, The Most Influential Rabbi in Modern History. Rebbe examines the life and teachings of one of the most prominent and respected Jewish scholars of our time. Born in 1902 in Nikolayev in southern Ukraine, Schneerson came to lead the powerful Jewish organization named Chabad. He spent most of his life in a small synagogue in Crown Heights Brooklyn, but he was very influential in both the United States and Israel. He advised prominent world leaders and ordinary citizens alike, and encouraged them to lead more meaningful and selfless lives. He became, “A Rebbe for the New World.” (p. 3) His primary aim as spiritual leader for over forty years was to work tirelessly to become “a global ambassador for Judaism.” (p. 5) Just a few months after his death in 1994, he was posthumously awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest American award granted to a civilian. His humility, hard work, and innovative leadership had an extraordinary impact not only on Jews, but also on non-Jews. He preached unconditional love for all Jews and widely expanded […]

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