Ukrainian singer Maks Barskikh shared his experience that led him to the final transition to the Ukrainian language. In an interview with TV3, he said that after the start of the full-scale invasion of Russia, he became actively interested in history and realized that Russia had been trying to spread the idea of the inferiority of the Ukrainian language for a long time.
Barskykh noted that Russian propaganda created a narrative that a person who speaks Ukrainian is perceived as less educated or rural, while Russian speakers are considered more civilized. "I understood that this was Russia's plan from the time when Ukraine gained independence," he said. The singer admitted that he did not speak Ukrainian as a child and was under the influence of this narrative for a long time.
After February 24, Max Barskikh took a clear position on the language issue. He openly condemned Russia and decided to refuse to perform his Russian-language songs, translating some of them into Ukrainian. At the Laima Vaikule Rendezvous music festival in Jurmala, the singer emphasized his decision by speaking to journalists in English, which became a demonstration of his rejection of Russian.
