The Rise of the Ukrainian Sun: Stories of Donetsk and Luhansk Regions in the Early 21st Century

This is a story that people tried for decades to conceal behind a wall of Soviet and Russian myths. Kateryna Zarembo tells the story of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions from the 2000s to 2014 — a region where, contrary to propaganda, genuine Ukrainian communities lived, created, and fought for a democratic Ukraine.
This book is about the awakening of a repressed but not destroyed Ukrainian identity. The author guides readers through student movements, religious communities, cultural spaces, and rural hubs that were an integral part of the wider Ukrainian family. It is more than just a study — it is an act of restoring a voice to people who dreamed of a free future in their own home.