Last week, a concert of Oksana Bilozir took place in Ivano-Frankivsk Music and Drama Theatre. After the concert, the singer told the correspondent of pravda.if.ua how she evaluates the current state of Ukrainian culture and Ukrainian song.

– Could you tell us a few words about your concert tour? In what cities are you going to perform?

– My concerts are taking place in various cities of Western Ukraine: Lviv, Lutsk, Rivne, Ivano-Frankivsk, Ternopil, Chernivtsi. This is a holiday Christmas tour. In these festive days I want to bring true Ukrainian songs to people.

– How many people attend you concerts?

– I hold many concerts for our migrant workers in European countries. Thousands of them came to see my concerts. They even took their landlords to see my performances. For these people, it was very important to hear a Ukrainian song, Ukrainian speech. Even politicians and celebrities came. And I understood that everything that comes from Ukraine should be worth it. For me it doesn’t matter how many people buy tickets for my concert. In any case, I will do my best. People need to hear good Ukrainian songs, as now the competition between different singers is very harsh and unfair in Ukraine.

Culture propaganda is being held by many private nation-wide TV channels. It has put us so low that now it takes a lot of serious work to show a true Ukrainian song. We should just be, just do our job, and create. There is no alternative.

All this is haunting me. As a true Ukrainian, a patriot inspired by Ukrainian idea, I try to hold my mission as a singer and a politician through the Christmas holidays, when we are ready to work with each other and hold a dialog on the level of our hearts and souls. Now, we have to unite, act, and live in a Ukrainian way, think in Ukrainian, do Ukrainian job.

I came to Lviv and asked them why there is so much Russian language all around, in different cafes, for example. No one forces their owners to choose Russian-language songs. But in a thoughtless way they turn on Russian music and lose their special style, charm, and soul. They surround themselves with such music and then go to Maidan and state that they fight for Ukraine.

We should start from ourselves. We should be Ukrainian, create Ukrainian product, think in Ukrainian and defend everything Ukrainian around us. Everyone has to do this, and we will conquer our territory. Ukrainian land is all ours. Western and eastern Ukraine is different, but it’s not their fault. God gave us our shared territory and we should look for the compromise in the society, we should look for national agreement, and develop our shared priorities.

– How have your songs changed during the last several years? Do you experience any changes? What are you interested in singing about?

– In my whole singing career there is a big share of songs which have become the milestones for me. It is not because I want so; it is because of the circumstances. These songs are devoted to patriotic, civil issues. I want to sing them and I do this excellent.

Still, most of my songs could be classified as woman lyric, because the woman is everything for Ukraine. It is reflected in our folklore as well. There is a saying in Kirovohrad region: everything will be as dad says and mom wants. That is why our women’s souls should stay tender, rich, and deep, as we are those who shape the new generation of this country. That is why I sing about good, beautiful, truthful, and bright feelings, so that we don’t become hard-hearted.

– Who writes songs for you?

– The majority of the songs I sing are written by my friends, whom I know for a very long time. The first part of my songs is very special for me as they were written by Ihor Bilozir. I remake them so that they sound in a more modern way. I give them new interpretation so that they stay, are being sung and are needed.

My songs are devoted to different topics. My repertoire is very diverse. I like communication. After ten years in politics I prefer talking to singing. But I understand that singing is fundamental for me. It’s my mission.

– Is it complicated for you to combine your civil, political, and creative activities?

– No, it’s not. Every Ukrainian singer is a prominent politician, because today we are doing our common job. A poet is a prominent politician too, because today we create our own national state. And this needs patriots. Every one of us on his place is the one who creates Ukraine. And this is politics. That is why my art and politics are one job. With tradition and culture, I strengthen the political fight of my nation for the forming of my state.

In politics, I am open, natural, and pragmatic. I vote for the laws which my country needs. And I don’t participate in some leaders’ fights for voters. That is why in the parliament, I am very principled and vote for pragmatic and good things. I have a position which is not influenced by anyone. I came to the parliament being a mature person, a creative person who was a part of new Ukraine. That time the circumstances were very complicated, and it was very hard to work in such situation. But this was God’s plan, because on this path I had to go through a lot of unimaginable things regarding the fact that my father was a political prisoner. When I look back, I think “Oh dear Lord, your deeds were fantastic. You opened the doors that were closed.” Perhaps, someone should have been doing this job. And that was me. That is why I don’t have friends based on common interests. I have friends based on common principles, on perspectives for Ukraine.

The interview was held by Liubov Zahorska