After a full -scale invasion of Russia, the translation of Russian -speaking songs in Ukrainian became a new norm in domestic music. This process has touched dozens of artists - from MONATIK and Max Barsky to Dorofeeva and Vitaliy Kozlovsky. However, is it a gesture of sincere repentance, an artistic step or rather a way to stay afloat?
Since the 1990s, Ukrainian performers have mostly focused on the Russian market. Even after 2014, many of them continued touring in the aggressor country. But after February 24, 2022, the situation changed dramatically: first - public condemnation, then - the ban on Russian music in the public space at the legislative level.
This caused a wave of translation - often for commercial motives. Bezodnya Music Utub Channel Max Nagornyak believes that most artists simply adapted to new conditions:
“This is great for promoting Ukrainian culture. I do not care whether it is sincere - the main thing is that Ukrainian sounds again. "
Performers who seek to stay on stage are forced to respond to a public request. As the musician Maria Tuchka says:
“Commerce and degree of society do not tolerate Russian in speeches. The artist is forced to translate, and so it should be. "
But not everyone believes in the sincerity of such gestures. Singer and Military Sasha Blut notes that "the transformation should be conscious." In his opinion, it should be recalled of the past - because the rapid oblivion has repeatedly cost Ukraine too expensive.
Vitaliy Kozlovsky, who continued his speeches in Russia after 2014, returned to the Ukrainian scene in 2025 after lawsuits with Igor Kondratyuk. His new Ukrainian -language version of Pinacolada quickly became a hit - and, as critic Alexei Bondarenko notes, the past seemed to be forgotten.
“Kozlovsky is a serviceman. And this in the eyes of society often removes all questions. Plus - public remorse, ”Bondarenko says.
But are these translations from an artistic point of view? Nagornyak is rigidly evaluating:
“Often translations are made. This is not an adaptation, but a machine translation with minimal changes. There is little from the arts. "
Instead, Bondarenko believes that emotions are more important than technology. For listeners, it is not about perfect rhymes, but about feelings, nostalgia and a new meaning of familiar motives.
However, not everyone agrees to the linguistic "rebound". Boombox leader Andriy Khlyvnyuk stopped performing his Russian -speaking hits and refuses to translate them:
"This is part of me, but now it is disgusting to sing in Russian."
Andrey Danylko also takes a similar position, considering translations inappropriate:
"Tried - KVN came out."
Oleg Vinnyk also stated that he would not translate Russian-speaking songs, though in 2025 he sang Russian in Prague.
Meanwhile, young listeners discover "new" Ukrainian -language songs without even knowing their Russian past. So for someone "Pincolad" is now forever "fiery" and "full of sex", not "tight" and "a chapel of sex".
It is also a kind of restart - not only texts, but also collective musical memory.
