Anna Horska: The Ukrainian Artist Who Defied the Soviet Union—and Paid the Price

Ukrainian artist Alla Horska created dozens of amazing mosaics and paintings while actively fighting against the Soviet authorities’ persecution of the intelligentsia. For this reason, she has often been called “The Soul of the Sixtiers”.

Alla Horska belonged to the Sixtiers (or Shistdesiatnyky ). This is a name given in Ukraine to the 1960s group of artists who rejected the principles of Social Realism with their creativity and refused to let their artworks (paintings, poems, plays, etc.) serve the interests of the Soviet government.

Socialist Realism was an art movement that promoted the ideals and worldview of a socialist society. The art conceived in this specific style was heavily shaped by the political requirements—the artists were forced to use codified forms and artistic language required by the authorities. There was very little space left for any artistic diversity, freedom of aesthetics, or originality. Art became formulaic because it had only one function—to serve the interests of the authority.

The Sixtiers were part of the dissident movement. They would assert not only the right for freedom in artistic creativity and its very identity but also advocate the development of the Ukrainian language and culture as a whole. Therefore, this group of artists laid the foundations for the realization of the rights of the Ukrainian people to their own statehood.

The ideas promoted by the Sixtiers were a counter-cultural phenomenon that opposed to official propaganda. The Soviets did not forgive this. It was not just about banning creative activity in public; in some cases, it was much more serious. The Sixtiers were placed under surveillance, summoned for questioning, arrested, and often sent to the penal colonies. Those deemed disobedient were often killed.

Alla Horska was fearless. Her bravery did not only manifest in art. She was one of the creators and developers of the centers of national life. Together with Vasyl Stus, Vasyl Simonenko, and Ivan Svitlychny, she founded the Creative Youth Club “The Contemporary” in Kyiv in 1960. Together, they exhibited paintings, performed plays, read poems, and mentioned everyone and everything that was stamped out by the Soviet authorities. Ukrainian culture and history were created there.

After the artist and other dissidents discovered a mass grave in Bykivnia in the Kyiv region in 1962, where victims of the NKVD were buried, Alla Horska’s human rights activism intensified. She participated in protests. Political prisoners asked her for help, and dissidents often found shelter in her apartment. All of this culminated in an appeal to the Soviet authorities with a letter of protest, signed by 139 people, which called on the Soviet authorities to stop the persecution. Alla Horska was among its signatories.

Of course, neither her artistic nor her human rights activities could go unnoticed by the government. The artist’s apartment was closely watched; her phone was tapped, and her every move was monitored. She was repeatedly questioned by the KGB and unsuccessfully “recruited” as an informant.

Horska and her entourage were preparing to be arrested sooner or later. The artist was not frightened, however, and she continued to do everything she could to protect Ukrainian culture and the people who created it. But no one was ready for what happened next.  Horska was brutally murdered. No full investigation was ever conducted, and the case was officially classified as an act of domestic violence. However, there were many inconsistencies in the case to indicate that it had been fabricated. Both Horska’s family and her circle of fellow dissidents were convinced that the KGB was behind her murder.

Of course, like many artists at the time, Alla Horska started her artistic career by creating artworks that actually fit the Regime’s aesthetic. But even in her early work, it is clear that her art was never about blind obedience or simply following the prescribed formula of portraying party officials and happy, idealized youth. Her works were always intimate and filled with love.

In her early works, she featured topics of mining work and created paintings that fit the Soviet coordinate system.

But, as time went on, the artist was more enchanted with the spirit and ideas of authentic Ukrainian culture. Of course, the Soviets were far less pleased with this.

As an example, in 1964, together with other artists, Horska created a stained glass window, Shevchenko. Mother, in the foyer of Kyiv University. Taras Shevchenko is a Ukrainian poet of the 19th century and became a symbol of the struggle for freedom of the Ukrainian people. The artwork was found to be ideologically hostile and has been destroyed. As a result, Horska was expelled from the Union of Artists. Although she would renew her membership for a year, she would be, however, expelled again.

In collaboration with other artists, Horska created dozens of fantasy mosaics.

They shine with bright colors and show simple but charming plots. They include many beautiful birds and trees, fantastic fish and beasts, radiant sun, and swirling wind. However, many ideas for mosaics remained only as sketches or were destroyed by the Soviet authorities. Unfortunately, the fate of some mosaics remains unknown, as many of them are located in cities that are now being heavily bombed by Russian forces.

In her paintings, Horska completely distances herself from the ideas of Socialist Realism. Her canvases breathe with Avant-Garde, which was a genre outside of official art.

Alla Horska was only 41 when her life was tragically cut short. She left behind a husband and a young son.

Her funeral on December 7, 1970, turned into a civil resistance campaign. Her associates—the literary critic Yevgen Sverstiuk, poet Vasyl Stus, human rights advocate Ivan Gel, and civil activist Oles Sergienko—gave speeches. The gathering had not been authorized by the authorities, and all those who spoke were arrested shortly afterward. Two years after the artist’s death, mass arrests began among the Ukrainian intelligentsia. For some, it was the beginning of the end. For example, the literary critic Ivan Svitlychny and the poet Vasyl Stus were both arrested, and both of their lives ended as a direct result of Soviet imprisonment.