Chervona Ruta is a permanent biennial all-Ukrainian youth festival of contemporary song and popular music, which has been held every two years since 1989. It was a benchmark where more Ukrainian popular music was presented transitioning away from traditional Ukrainian folk culture associated with "sharovary" genre. Unlike the Soviet festival Song of the Year where only a selected song from Ukraine sometimes was demonstrated, Chervona Ruta allowed more singers and songs. The festival is dedicated to a Ukrainian songwriter, composer and poetVolodymyr Ivasyuk who is the author and composer of the widely popular song Ukrainian song Chervona Ruta. The name may refer to a mythological or actual species of flowering plantsChervona ruta.
History
The idea and the name of the festival belongs to journalist Ivan Lepsha, which was realized by Taras Melnyk, Kyrylo Stetsenko, Anatoliy Kalenychenko, Oleh Repetskyi and Ivan Malkovych. The festival played an important role in the revival of Ukrainian popular music and contributed to the Ukrainian music boom of the 90s. Until start of the Soviet reforms such "perestroika" in 1986 along with "Glasnost" and "Uskoreniye", the rock music throughout the Soviet Union was a taboo. But, there were some exclusions such as the 1980 Georgian "Spring Rhythms". There was saying that today you play the jazz and tomorrow you will sell your Homeland.
The first Chervona Ruta festival was held on September 17–24, 1989 in Chernivtsi at Bukovyna Stadium. While the festival was conducted under close supervision of the republican KDB, militsiya, and Communist Party of Ukraine, at the festival sounded the Ukrainian anthem "Shche ne vmerla" and were unfurled blue and yellow flags. Famous bands «Vopli Vidoplyasova», «Braty Hadyukiny», «Kvartyra № 50», «Zymovyy sad», Vika Vradiy, Marichka Burmaka, Tryzuby Stas, and many others participated in the rock competitions, in total there were over 500 performers including singers from Europe and North America. And the festival organizers and jury members were just overwhelmed by the sheer number of contestants and their high level. There was a song commemorated to Volodymyr Ivasyuk who was murdered 10 before. The final concert was opened with sounds of trembitas, Ukrainian elongated highland horn. The stadium carried symbols of the Ukrainian SSR such as the state emblem of the Ukrainian SSR and the state flag of the Ukrainian SSR. On the playing field was set up a great bonfire. The festival's grand prize was received by :uk:Жданкін Василь Олександрович|Vasyl Zhdankin, other laureates included "Sestrychka Vika", "Komu vnyz", "Braty Hadiukiny", Eduard Drach, Viktor Morozov, Taras Kurchyk, Andriy Mykolaichuk, others. It was the native of Kuban Zhdankin who spontaneously started to sing the Ukrainian anthem at the festival's closing. At the final concert, which took place at the central stadium of Chernivtsi, local police persecuted any manifestations of "nationalism", detained young girls, who were dressed in yellow blouses and blue skirts. At the stadium was attacked by militsiya Georgi Gongadze who received a hit to head. Rosmay Media Center has made a 6-part film about the history of the festival.
Chernivtsi 2019
Chervona Ruta was held on September 17-22 again in Chernivtsi. It was 30th Anniversary of the Festival.
Impact
Ruta Fest has made a real "revolution" in Ukrainian culture, which has had an impact on the entire society. The festival gave birth to new youth music that had not existed before. Previously, Ukrainian youth, without their domestic idols, had to settle for a Moscow variety show or listen to Western pop stars. Many of the songs performed for the first time at the festival immediately became hits, which were sung by millions of people. The winners of "Ruta-89" and their songs were the top performers in all charts and polls. Instantly, yesterday completely unknown musicians turned into general idols of Ukrainian youth of the late 1980s - early 1990s. For the first time, a large part of the population, and especially young people, began to admire Ukrainian music, which became part of their lives. Chervona Ruta also launched a national show business in Ukraine. It was Ruta who became the first customer for the technical and creative support such events. During the first Ruta Fest the festival records were sold out and did not satisfy even a tenth of the demand. And after the festival was held the first ever Ukrainian concert tour: 87 concerts of the winners of "Ruth-89" all over Ukraine were held with unprecedented success in crowded halls. The music of the festival began to gather huge audiences in the hundreds of thousands of spectators at the stadiums and large squares attracted by the artistic value of the concerts.
