Irma Vitovska: Ukrainian Actress Reflects on Civil Resistance Journey

Famous Ukrainian actress Irma Vitovska-Vantsa spoke about her long journey in civil resistance and how her active position influenced her career in film. The actress admitted that despite her successful career, she deliberately refused to participate in Russian-language projects that she considered fake and dangerous for Ukrainian identity.

The artist spoke about this in an interview with Int.

According to Vitovska, her involvement in public protests began in the early 2000s. She took part in rallies after the murder of journalist Georgiy Gongadze, and later in the Orange Revolution, actions against the Kharkiv agreements, and the Language Maidan.

A special turning point for her was the Russian aggression against Georgia in 2008. It was then, she says, that the actress realized that Ukraine would be the next target. Since then, she has completely stopped participating in Russian-language projects related to history because she realized that they were distorting history.

Her stance did not go without consequences: the actress received threats, found herself "out of favor" on a number of TV channels, and, according to her, received significantly fewer series roles than her colleagues. At the same time, she is convinced that compromising with conscience is unacceptable.

Recalling the events of the Language Maidan, Vitovska said that it was then that she protested in the Verkhovna Rada and, unexpectedly, spoke... in Russian. The actress recalls how it worked - her speech attracted the attention of MPs.

"I remember that I grabbed the microphone from Iryna Karpa in such a selective Russian language, and I was so defending this Verkhovna Rada, in fact, in Russian, that MP Lilia Hryhorovych came out to see what was going on, but it was very truthful. And she wrote to me later, saying thank you very much, because they don't understand Ukrainian. And then I somehow intuitively felt that I would take a very good Russian language. And my Russian is very good, literary. And I will say that it was amazing," she said.

According to the actress, the years of activism were accompanied by constant tension and risks. Many of her comrades were subjected to pressure, some were beaten, detained, and others were killed in the war that has been going on since 2014.

Despite her exhaustion, she has no intention of giving up. "I don't have the energy I had five years ago," the actress admits, "but every time I see women going to the front, I think: don't you dare give up.

Today, Irma Vitovska continues to fight - in her profession, in the public space, in her own mind. For her, it is not about her career, but about the truth, dignity and future of Ukraine.

Ірина Глухова