Viktoriia Grivina
@brams884.bsky.social
Writer, researcher of Kharkiv, PhD student at St Andrews University.
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Viktoriia Grivina
@brams884.bsky.social
· May 30
Kharkiv—A War City
Kharkiv—A War City - This unique collection of essays offers a glimpse into life in and around Kharkiv during the first two years of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. A Kharkiv native, Vikoriia
www.ibidem.eu
You can now order my book via Ibidem. These are stories with a bit of humor and history, and I hope they are saying more about Kharkiv than my ever-modest self 😅. Big thanks to @maksymeristavi.com and @victoriadonovan.bsky.social - my first readers & inspirations. www.ibidem.eu/en/Topics/So...
There is nothing like taking a relaxing hot bath in a cold ass winter apartment, and hearing a female voice from a street loudspeaker “attention, attention, missile threat, missile threat” 💀
February 13, 2026 at 6:00 PM
There is nothing like taking a relaxing hot bath in a cold ass winter apartment, and hearing a female voice from a street loudspeaker “attention, attention, missile threat, missile threat” 💀
It’s 0C outside, and I don’t see clouds of my breath in the apartment anymore🥳. Celebrated with some oven baked oatmeal with leftover barbecue meat. And my love - regional paper Slobidsky Kraj. “Sloboda” was a free settlement of Ukrainians in 17th century.
February 12, 2026 at 8:33 AM
It’s 0C outside, and I don’t see clouds of my breath in the apartment anymore🥳. Celebrated with some oven baked oatmeal with leftover barbecue meat. And my love - regional paper Slobidsky Kraj. “Sloboda” was a free settlement of Ukrainians in 17th century.
Update on my Kharkiv flowers. Banana is not doing well. It’s +7 inside, can see my breath. Today the new heater has to arrive 🙏.
February 10, 2026 at 8:10 AM
Update on my Kharkiv flowers. Banana is not doing well. It’s +7 inside, can see my breath. Today the new heater has to arrive 🙏.
Breakfast in candlelight, watching Super Bowl halftime show using WiFi from a cafe on generator downstairs.
February 9, 2026 at 7:31 AM
Breakfast in candlelight, watching Super Bowl halftime show using WiFi from a cafe on generator downstairs.
1,5 kilo of Kharkiv cake for breakfast.
February 8, 2026 at 8:20 AM
1,5 kilo of Kharkiv cake for breakfast.
“Don’t touch, sleeping till spring” - a plant in the hallway of Kharkiv School of Architecture says (now based in Lviv). I wish I could say that too.
February 5, 2026 at 7:45 AM
“Don’t touch, sleeping till spring” - a plant in the hallway of Kharkiv School of Architecture says (now based in Lviv). I wish I could say that too.
An old orchid in my apartment is trying to bloom in -20 relying on a cold radiator it stands on. The way strength is born out of care, and violence out of great weakness of the criminal and indifference of the surrounding world.
February 4, 2026 at 5:19 AM
An old orchid in my apartment is trying to bloom in -20 relying on a cold radiator it stands on. The way strength is born out of care, and violence out of great weakness of the criminal and indifference of the surrounding world.
Kharkiv groundhog Tymko IV predicted six more weeks of winter. Thanks for nothing, Tymko. We see you’re also embarrassed.
February 3, 2026 at 5:40 PM
Kharkiv groundhog Tymko IV predicted six more weeks of winter. Thanks for nothing, Tymko. We see you’re also embarrassed.
In -20 russian military purposefully destroyed the last energy facilities of Kharkiv. The attack lasted all through the night. Horrible cold, inhuman cruelty. Remember that when russian people will be crying in the court of justice how they were just following orders. They knew. They always knew.
February 3, 2026 at 4:29 AM
In -20 russian military purposefully destroyed the last energy facilities of Kharkiv. The attack lasted all through the night. Horrible cold, inhuman cruelty. Remember that when russian people will be crying in the court of justice how they were just following orders. They knew. They always knew.
There is nothing more nerve-racking than reading in the news that your district was hit by a russian missile, that a school and a kindergarten nearby got hit, and knowing there is a school and a kindergarten nearby your parents’ house. Driving there with your heart shooting through your lungs 👇
January 26, 2026 at 7:42 PM
There is nothing more nerve-racking than reading in the news that your district was hit by a russian missile, that a school and a kindergarten nearby got hit, and knowing there is a school and a kindergarten nearby your parents’ house. Driving there with your heart shooting through your lungs 👇
Weekend my the Saltivka forest in Kharkiv. As russian drones hit residential homes, people play hockey on frozen water.
January 26, 2026 at 9:37 AM
Weekend my the Saltivka forest in Kharkiv. As russian drones hit residential homes, people play hockey on frozen water.
To sweeten the desperate cold of winter the famous Kharkiv cake is on discount in my supermarket. 😅
January 25, 2026 at 5:51 AM
To sweeten the desperate cold of winter the famous Kharkiv cake is on discount in my supermarket. 😅
25 Shaheed drones hit my district overnight in Kharkiv. It’s strange but I always feel when they target civilians specifically. Everything sounds differently. I was born in the maternity hospital that was hit. I can’t sleep and can’t wake up. They do this on weekends so that people didn’t rest.
January 24, 2026 at 6:57 AM
25 Shaheed drones hit my district overnight in Kharkiv. It’s strange but I always feel when they target civilians specifically. Everything sounds differently. I was born in the maternity hospital that was hit. I can’t sleep and can’t wake up. They do this on weekends so that people didn’t rest.
My friends who went to get water under russian bombs, then fled and found a job in a month in a foreign country had an office colleague who would tell her they are dating a russian soldier on tinder and laugh. Imagine laughing at the victims of violence. And we don’t need to imagine.
January 23, 2026 at 5:20 AM
My friends who went to get water under russian bombs, then fled and found a job in a month in a foreign country had an office colleague who would tell her they are dating a russian soldier on tinder and laugh. Imagine laughing at the victims of violence. And we don’t need to imagine.
Modernist 1960s cafe Krystal in Kharkiv, was renovated in 2020. The problem with the renovation as you see are the pines that were enclosed in concrete and died. The cafe is famous for the Bilochka (squirrel) icecream - thick cream dessert with chocolate and lots of hazelnuts.
January 20, 2026 at 7:32 AM
Modernist 1960s cafe Krystal in Kharkiv, was renovated in 2020. The problem with the renovation as you see are the pines that were enclosed in concrete and died. The cafe is famous for the Bilochka (squirrel) icecream - thick cream dessert with chocolate and lots of hazelnuts.
Palm tree that survived ww1 and ww2 in Kharkiv botanical garden. The greenhouse suffered from russian attack in 2022, and the tree for the first time was threatened. Now the garden is fragile as ever, as most of the homes are barely heated after continuous attacks.
January 19, 2026 at 7:42 AM
Palm tree that survived ww1 and ww2 in Kharkiv botanical garden. The greenhouse suffered from russian attack in 2022, and the tree for the first time was threatened. Now the garden is fragile as ever, as most of the homes are barely heated after continuous attacks.
David Lynch kind of days.
January 18, 2026 at 3:51 PM
David Lynch kind of days.
Derzhprom, my modernist love on an evening walk in a winter Kharkiv.
January 18, 2026 at 7:26 AM
Derzhprom, my modernist love on an evening walk in a winter Kharkiv.
Reposted by Viktoriia Grivina
Check out one of our 2025 Nonfiction Selections, "What to do with all the Russion Books" by @brams884.bsky.social (Fiery Scribe Review) selected by Jen Soriano on bestofthenetanthology.com/2025-2/2025-nonfiction/what-to-do-with-all-the-russian-books/
#bestofthenetanthology #nonfictionwriting
#bestofthenetanthology #nonfictionwriting
January 14, 2026 at 3:51 PM
Check out one of our 2025 Nonfiction Selections, "What to do with all the Russion Books" by @brams884.bsky.social (Fiery Scribe Review) selected by Jen Soriano on bestofthenetanthology.com/2025-2/2025-nonfiction/what-to-do-with-all-the-russian-books/
#bestofthenetanthology #nonfictionwriting
#bestofthenetanthology #nonfictionwriting
This Kharkiv cat wishes all an adventurous Tuesday.
January 13, 2026 at 8:10 AM
This Kharkiv cat wishes all an adventurous Tuesday.
“Someone who could sit here is now in russian captivity”, - a sign on the bench along the Lopan river in Kharkiv.
January 9, 2026 at 6:41 AM
“Someone who could sit here is now in russian captivity”, - a sign on the bench along the Lopan river in Kharkiv.
Dear all, the first session in the Cities at War Lecture Series in 2026 will be given by Viktoriia Grivina on "Kharkiv is a Dream. Planning a Future During War". Join her timely talk on Wednesday, 07.01.2026 at 4 pm CET.
register here -> lnkd.in/eSVGc5wD
register here -> lnkd.in/eSVGc5wD
January 6, 2026 at 1:43 PM
Dear all, the first session in the Cities at War Lecture Series in 2026 will be given by Viktoriia Grivina on "Kharkiv is a Dream. Planning a Future During War". Join her timely talk on Wednesday, 07.01.2026 at 4 pm CET.
register here -> lnkd.in/eSVGc5wD
register here -> lnkd.in/eSVGc5wD
My friend mending her artwork while 5 russian missiles hit the city in the distance. @kharkivisadream.bsky.social
January 6, 2026 at 10:13 AM
My friend mending her artwork while 5 russian missiles hit the city in the distance. @kharkivisadream.bsky.social
Kharkiv pedagogic university decorated for the holidays. Hryhorii Skovoroda, baroque Ukrainian philosopher also got an image update.
January 5, 2026 at 8:04 AM
Kharkiv pedagogic university decorated for the holidays. Hryhorii Skovoroda, baroque Ukrainian philosopher also got an image update.
Kharkiv snowperson reflecting my emotional state.
January 4, 2026 at 7:04 AM
Kharkiv snowperson reflecting my emotional state.