Modern Adaptations
During the Soviet era many swift changes took place and Ukraine was forced to adapt; this included all aspects of life down to the practices of rushnyky. While the Soviets disregarded all Ukrainian folk traditions as meaningless superstitions and discouraged the continuation of such traditions, by adapting the designs, Ukraine was able to persevere in maintaining the practice of rushnyky creation and ritual (Sciacca, 2014). This was done by including Soviet designs on rushnyky; often portraits of Lenin and Stalin were woven and printed by cloth production factories which were very active throughout the Soviet period (Sciacca, 2014). Five-point stars, hammers & sickles, and political slogans in text (text on rushnyky was a new phenomena) were also very common (Mushnyka, 1993). Thus the transition of rushynyky and other textiles from "supserstitious" folk ritual to Soviet agit-propaganda was made.
Portrait of Lenin on rushnyk.
Image from: https://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/492887546/soviet-propaganda-vintage-embroidered
Pro-soviet rushnyk, with hammer & sickle, red star. Inscription reads: "Glory to Lenin the Liberator"
Image from: Ukrainian Rushnyky: Binding Amulets and Magical Talismans in the Modern Period, Sciacca 2014
However, in secrecy the traditions of pre-Soviet folk crafts were still continued in defiance and with great risk to those who made and kept such objects. Rushynky were even made in protest of the Soviet Regime, with anti-Soviet, and pro-Ukrainian nationalist symbols and text. Surviving examples of such rushnyk are few, as those who were caught with these were sent to the gulag or executed, and the cloths would have been destroyed (Sciacca, 2014).
Some anti-Soviet rushnyk were earnest expressions of loss - the grief of mothers, wives, and daughters who lost their men to the war-front fighting for Ukrainian independance (Sciacca, 2014). One can imagine the grief-stricken need these women had to seek spiritual comfort through their ancestral craft. Its devastating indeed to think of any punishment they might have met by doing so. These rushnyk often included poetic inscriptions, similar to and adapted from chastushka: peasant folk songs which were often political in nature, expressing commentary and often resentment towards the new Soviet order (Sciacca, 2014).
Rushnyk from Chernihivske Polissia, 1920s-1930s, with poem adapted from chastushka which reads:
ЇЖ КАРОВУШКА САЛОМЧІК НЕ НАДІСЕ НА ТРАВУ
МАГО МИЛАГО ЗАБРАЛИ НА САВЕТСЬКУЮ ВІЙНУ
Dear cow, eat the straw. Don’t hope for grass.
My darling was drafted for the Soviet war.
mage from Sciacca, 2014
This rushnyk has bold Ukrainian Nationalist imagery & inscription. The owners of such rushnyk would have been sentenced to life in soviet labour camps, or executed. Embroidered is the Ukrainian coat of arms, with inscription which reads:
“Struggle, and you will overcome” (from Taras Shevchenko’s poem “Kavkaz,” 1845), “Freedom in Ukraine,” “God, save Ukraine!” and “Ukraine has not yet perished” (from the Ukrainian National Anthem).
Image from: Sciacca, 2014
Post-Soviet & Contemporary Rushnyk
Since the fall of the Soviet empire, the practice of rushnyky has taken on renewed significance, with many symbolic projects of collective rushynyky creation taking place across Ukraine in celebration and promotion of national unity and independance.
They have been created as binding amulets to bring unity to desparate regions who've previously been in conflict over political allegiances and linguistic differences (Sciacca 2014).
One such projective was the creation of the 'Rushnyk of National Solidarity', and initiative which started after the Orange Revolution in 2004-2005. The oversized rushnyk travelled throughout Ukraine and the Ukrainian diaspora, with contributions added by embroiderers in every region to symbolize the coming together of a strong Ukrainian identity and direction forward as a unified nation (Sciacca, 2014). More than 1000 embroiderers worked on the rushynk. The original design of the Rushnyk of National Solidarity was conceived by reknown Ukrainian artist Aleksandra Telizhenko. Her design was an attempt at representing the whole story of Ukrainian history using motifs from the most significant time periods of cultural development: the pre-historic Trypillian culture; Kyivan Rus’; and the independent “democratic” Cossack state (Scaccia, 2014). The design includes many ancient pre-Christian motifs, with elaborate trees of life which morph into the goddess Berehnyia. In the centre of the large rushnyk is the Emblem of Ukraine.
Emblem of Ukraine in the centre of the Rushnyk of National Solidarity
Embroiderers adding to the National Solidarity Rushnyk at the Ukrainian Museum in New York City, 2008
Detail of the National Solidarity Rushnyk