Ben Skliar-Ward
@benskliarward.bsky.social
Author. Exploring how Ukraine endured a century of empire, famine, and exile.
The Quiet That Remains - out now.
The Quiet That Remains - out now.
Pinned
What remains of a nation when its history is silenced?
The Quiet That Remains traces Ukraine’s turbulent twentieth century through the lives of one ordinary family - from empire and famine to exile and renewal.
skliar-ward.com
#TheQuietThatRemains #HistBookChat #UkraineHistory #NarrativeNonfiction
The Quiet That Remains traces Ukraine’s turbulent twentieth century through the lives of one ordinary family - from empire and famine to exile and renewal.
skliar-ward.com
#TheQuietThatRemains #HistBookChat #UkraineHistory #NarrativeNonfiction
A torn portrait of Yevhen Konovalets, kept inside an old OUN handbook.
Whatever one thinks of his politics, the fragment speaks to how memory survived in 20th century Ukraine: quietly, and often in pieces small enough to hide.
#UkrainianHistory #CulturalMemory
Whatever one thinks of his politics, the fragment speaks to how memory survived in 20th century Ukraine: quietly, and often in pieces small enough to hide.
#UkrainianHistory #CulturalMemory
December 7, 2025 at 2:15 PM
A torn portrait of Yevhen Konovalets, kept inside an old OUN handbook.
Whatever one thinks of his politics, the fragment speaks to how memory survived in 20th century Ukraine: quietly, and often in pieces small enough to hide.
#UkrainianHistory #CulturalMemory
Whatever one thinks of his politics, the fragment speaks to how memory survived in 20th century Ukraine: quietly, and often in pieces small enough to hide.
#UkrainianHistory #CulturalMemory
Reposted by Ben Skliar-Ward
Kateryna Bilokur 🩵💛
Ukrainian artist
Ukrainian artist
December 7, 2025 at 12:10 AM
Kateryna Bilokur 🩵💛
Ukrainian artist
Ukrainian artist
Reposted by Ben Skliar-Ward
⚡️FIFA ordered European clubs to ignore Russia sanctions, investigation finds.
Football clubs are forced to pay outstanding transfer fees even if doing so runs the risk of violating banking restrictions and sanctions against Russia.
Football clubs are forced to pay outstanding transfer fees even if doing so runs the risk of violating banking restrictions and sanctions against Russia.
FIFA ordered European clubs to ignore Russia sanctions, investigation finds
Football clubs are forced to pay outstanding transfer fees even if doing so runs the risk of violating banking restrictions and sanctions against Russia.
kyivindependent.com
December 5, 2025 at 5:09 AM
⚡️FIFA ordered European clubs to ignore Russia sanctions, investigation finds.
Football clubs are forced to pay outstanding transfer fees even if doing so runs the risk of violating banking restrictions and sanctions against Russia.
Football clubs are forced to pay outstanding transfer fees even if doing so runs the risk of violating banking restrictions and sanctions against Russia.
This embroidery belonged to my great-grandmother, likely hand-stitched in the Zbarazh–Ternopil area of western Ukraine.
Traditional vyshyvanka: patterns and colours tied to local identity.
Quiet work passed down when much else was lost.
#Vyshyvanka #UkrainianEmbroidery #CulturalMemory
Traditional vyshyvanka: patterns and colours tied to local identity.
Quiet work passed down when much else was lost.
#Vyshyvanka #UkrainianEmbroidery #CulturalMemory
December 4, 2025 at 9:56 PM
This embroidery belonged to my great-grandmother, likely hand-stitched in the Zbarazh–Ternopil area of western Ukraine.
Traditional vyshyvanka: patterns and colours tied to local identity.
Quiet work passed down when much else was lost.
#Vyshyvanka #UkrainianEmbroidery #CulturalMemory
Traditional vyshyvanka: patterns and colours tied to local identity.
Quiet work passed down when much else was lost.
#Vyshyvanka #UkrainianEmbroidery #CulturalMemory
The Sturgess inquiry makes Russia’s pattern unmistakable: denial, evasions, and silence used to avoid accountability.
It echoes a long history of impunity in how the Russian state handles wrongdoing; past and present.
#Russia #Accountability #PublicInquiry
It echoes a long history of impunity in how the Russian state handles wrongdoing; past and present.
#Russia #Accountability #PublicInquiry
December 4, 2025 at 6:34 PM
The Sturgess inquiry makes Russia’s pattern unmistakable: denial, evasions, and silence used to avoid accountability.
It echoes a long history of impunity in how the Russian state handles wrongdoing; past and present.
#Russia #Accountability #PublicInquiry
It echoes a long history of impunity in how the Russian state handles wrongdoing; past and present.
#Russia #Accountability #PublicInquiry
Reposted by Ben Skliar-Ward
✅ On December 1, 1991, over 90% of voters supported the Declaration of Independence Act, marking a decisive step in Ukraine's journey towards independence from the Soviet Union.
With a voter turnout of 84.18%, every region from east to west, including Crimea, chose sovereignty.
With a voter turnout of 84.18%, every region from east to west, including Crimea, chose sovereignty.
December 1, 2025 at 12:56 PM
✅ On December 1, 1991, over 90% of voters supported the Declaration of Independence Act, marking a decisive step in Ukraine's journey towards independence from the Soviet Union.
With a voter turnout of 84.18%, every region from east to west, including Crimea, chose sovereignty.
With a voter turnout of 84.18%, every region from east to west, including Crimea, chose sovereignty.
Posted a new piece today: a reflection on the book launch, the suitcase that started it, and why quiet stories still matter.
#Ukraine #BookLaunch #Author
#Ukraine #BookLaunch #Author
A Ukrainian Book Launch in 2025
On launching a book about quiet stories - The Quiet That Remains - in a loud moment. A reflection on fragments, culture, and why the past keeps returning.
open.substack.com
December 1, 2025 at 8:48 AM
Posted a new piece today: a reflection on the book launch, the suitcase that started it, and why quiet stories still matter.
#Ukraine #BookLaunch #Author
#Ukraine #BookLaunch #Author
A wonderful evening launching The Quiet That Remains - with music, dance, community, and more book sales than expected.
Evenings like this show how strongly Ukraine’s stories continue to resonate.
Thank you to everyone who came and supported the night.
#Ukraine #Author #BookLaunch
Evenings like this show how strongly Ukraine’s stories continue to resonate.
Thank you to everyone who came and supported the night.
#Ukraine #Author #BookLaunch
November 30, 2025 at 12:18 PM
A wonderful evening launching The Quiet That Remains - with music, dance, community, and more book sales than expected.
Evenings like this show how strongly Ukraine’s stories continue to resonate.
Thank you to everyone who came and supported the night.
#Ukraine #Author #BookLaunch
Evenings like this show how strongly Ukraine’s stories continue to resonate.
Thank you to everyone who came and supported the night.
#Ukraine #Author #BookLaunch
Reposted by Ben Skliar-Ward
Putin launched Europe’s biggest war since WWII — killing civilians, kidnapping children, and eliminating political opponents. Yet Mr. Witkoff says he’s “not a bad guy.” Diplomacy requires engaging with dictators, but that doesn't mean we have to check our values at the door.
November 25, 2025 at 8:30 AM
Putin launched Europe’s biggest war since WWII — killing civilians, kidnapping children, and eliminating political opponents. Yet Mr. Witkoff says he’s “not a bad guy.” Diplomacy requires engaging with dictators, but that doesn't mean we have to check our values at the door.
Fragments. Most of the story in The Quiet That Remains comes from scraps like this; torn, partial pieces of paper that survive almost by accident.
At first glance it doesn’t look like much.
A few names. A stamp.
“2 horse, 1 wagon.”
At first glance it doesn’t look like much.
A few names. A stamp.
“2 horse, 1 wagon.”
November 24, 2025 at 5:40 PM
Fragments. Most of the story in The Quiet That Remains comes from scraps like this; torn, partial pieces of paper that survive almost by accident.
At first glance it doesn’t look like much.
A few names. A stamp.
“2 horse, 1 wagon.”
At first glance it doesn’t look like much.
A few names. A stamp.
“2 horse, 1 wagon.”
Today is Holodomor Remembrance Day; a moment to remember the millions who died in the man-made famine of 1932–33, and the generations who lived with its silence.
November 22, 2025 at 4:44 PM
Today is Holodomor Remembrance Day; a moment to remember the millions who died in the man-made famine of 1932–33, and the generations who lived with its silence.
Reposted by Ben Skliar-Ward
Together with @eucopresident.consilium.europa.eu, we have spoken to President Zelenskyy.
From day one, Europe has stood with Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression.
We have been working for a just and sustainable peace with Ukraine and for Ukraine together with our friends and partners.
From day one, Europe has stood with Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression.
We have been working for a just and sustainable peace with Ukraine and for Ukraine together with our friends and partners.
November 21, 2025 at 5:31 PM
Together with @eucopresident.consilium.europa.eu, we have spoken to President Zelenskyy.
From day one, Europe has stood with Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression.
We have been working for a just and sustainable peace with Ukraine and for Ukraine together with our friends and partners.
From day one, Europe has stood with Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression.
We have been working for a just and sustainable peace with Ukraine and for Ukraine together with our friends and partners.
Reposted by Ben Skliar-Ward
A woman embroidering by the window, Chernihiv region, Ukraine, 1900s. Photo by Natalia Symplikevych.
I love this photo so much. Ukrainian culture is so beautiful. If you want to discover more — I’d be happy to see you among the readers of my newsletter!
daryazorka.substack.com
I love this photo so much. Ukrainian culture is so beautiful. If you want to discover more — I’d be happy to see you among the readers of my newsletter!
daryazorka.substack.com
November 20, 2025 at 9:24 PM
A woman embroidering by the window, Chernihiv region, Ukraine, 1900s. Photo by Natalia Symplikevych.
I love this photo so much. Ukrainian culture is so beautiful. If you want to discover more — I’d be happy to see you among the readers of my newsletter!
daryazorka.substack.com
I love this photo so much. Ukrainian culture is so beautiful. If you want to discover more — I’d be happy to see you among the readers of my newsletter!
daryazorka.substack.com
Every “peace plan” built on Ukrainian capitulation repeats an older pattern: stability for others, vulnerability for Ukrainians. The stories I’ve worked on make one thing clear: the last century taught families exactly what those guarantees were worth in practice.
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...
US and Russian officials draft plan to end Ukraine war based on capitulation from Kyiv
It is unclear if Trump administration backs deal that would mean Kyiv giving up territory and slashing size of military
www.theguardian.com
November 20, 2025 at 12:01 PM
Every “peace plan” built on Ukrainian capitulation repeats an older pattern: stability for others, vulnerability for Ukrainians. The stories I’ve worked on make one thing clear: the last century taught families exactly what those guarantees were worth in practice.
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...
Reposted by Ben Skliar-Ward
Few photos exist of the Holodomor, Stalin’s genocidal famine that killed 4 million Ukrainians in 1932-33. Soviet authorities suppressed evidence & denied the famine
Austrian engineer Alexander Wienerberger photographed Holodomor in 1933 while working in Kharkiv
Austrian engineer Alexander Wienerberger photographed Holodomor in 1933 while working in Kharkiv
An Austrian engineer showed these Holodomor photos to Cardinal Innitzer in 1933, pleading for aid to the starving
Here we present his Innitzer album, the popular name of an album of photographs that were taken by Wienerberger in 1933 while he was working as a managing consultant in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s capital at…
euromaidanpress.com
November 19, 2025 at 4:08 PM
Few photos exist of the Holodomor, Stalin’s genocidal famine that killed 4 million Ukrainians in 1932-33. Soviet authorities suppressed evidence & denied the famine
Austrian engineer Alexander Wienerberger photographed Holodomor in 1933 while working in Kharkiv
Austrian engineer Alexander Wienerberger photographed Holodomor in 1933 while working in Kharkiv
A 1931 Soviet poster imagined collectivisation as abundance and progress; golden grain, harmony, inevitability. But by 1931–32, that world was already fiction.
#SovietHistory #UkraineHistory #Collectivisation #HolodomorContext #NarrativeNonfiction #HistoryThroughImages
#SovietHistory #UkraineHistory #Collectivisation #HolodomorContext #NarrativeNonfiction #HistoryThroughImages
November 19, 2025 at 5:37 PM
A 1931 Soviet poster imagined collectivisation as abundance and progress; golden grain, harmony, inevitability. But by 1931–32, that world was already fiction.
#SovietHistory #UkraineHistory #Collectivisation #HolodomorContext #NarrativeNonfiction #HistoryThroughImages
#SovietHistory #UkraineHistory #Collectivisation #HolodomorContext #NarrativeNonfiction #HistoryThroughImages
1. Before famine comes punishment.
Yesterday I looked at the man-made famine of 1921–23.
Today: what 1932 looked like in Ukraine before mass hunger; how coercion made the Holodomor possible.
Document: Kharkiv Regional Committee directive, 7 Nov 1932 (State Archives of Kharkiv Region, CC BY 4.0).
Yesterday I looked at the man-made famine of 1921–23.
Today: what 1932 looked like in Ukraine before mass hunger; how coercion made the Holodomor possible.
Document: Kharkiv Regional Committee directive, 7 Nov 1932 (State Archives of Kharkiv Region, CC BY 4.0).
November 18, 2025 at 5:40 PM
1. Before famine comes punishment.
Yesterday I looked at the man-made famine of 1921–23.
Today: what 1932 looked like in Ukraine before mass hunger; how coercion made the Holodomor possible.
Document: Kharkiv Regional Committee directive, 7 Nov 1932 (State Archives of Kharkiv Region, CC BY 4.0).
Yesterday I looked at the man-made famine of 1921–23.
Today: what 1932 looked like in Ukraine before mass hunger; how coercion made the Holodomor possible.
Document: Kharkiv Regional Committee directive, 7 Nov 1932 (State Archives of Kharkiv Region, CC BY 4.0).
I’ve started a Substack as a quieter space for writing on Ukrainian history, memory, and the documents that survive us.
Welcome post here:
is.gd/oAuK8K
Welcome post here:
is.gd/oAuK8K
Welcome
A suitcase of papers. A century of silence. A story of Ukraine - empire, famine, war and exile - that began at the back of a cupboard.
is.gd
November 18, 2025 at 11:01 AM
I’ve started a Substack as a quieter space for writing on Ukrainian history, memory, and the documents that survive us.
Welcome post here:
is.gd/oAuK8K
Welcome post here:
is.gd/oAuK8K
Grain. Most people have heard of the Holodomor in 1932–33.
Far fewer know that Ukraine had already been through a man-made famine in 1921–23; one driven less by drought than by policy.
Far fewer know that Ukraine had already been through a man-made famine in 1921–23; one driven less by drought than by policy.
November 17, 2025 at 5:48 PM
Grain. Most people have heard of the Holodomor in 1932–33.
Far fewer know that Ukraine had already been through a man-made famine in 1921–23; one driven less by drought than by policy.
Far fewer know that Ukraine had already been through a man-made famine in 1921–23; one driven less by drought than by policy.
“The suitcase was never meant to be opened.”
I grew up with quiet stories. Fragments more than explanations. Years later the suitcase appeared, with papers that carried the outline of a century: famine, repression, war, exile.
The book grew from that.
#TheQuietThatRemains #UkraineHistory
I grew up with quiet stories. Fragments more than explanations. Years later the suitcase appeared, with papers that carried the outline of a century: famine, repression, war, exile.
The book grew from that.
#TheQuietThatRemains #UkraineHistory
November 16, 2025 at 5:27 PM
“The suitcase was never meant to be opened.”
I grew up with quiet stories. Fragments more than explanations. Years later the suitcase appeared, with papers that carried the outline of a century: famine, repression, war, exile.
The book grew from that.
#TheQuietThatRemains #UkraineHistory
I grew up with quiet stories. Fragments more than explanations. Years later the suitcase appeared, with papers that carried the outline of a century: famine, repression, war, exile.
The book grew from that.
#TheQuietThatRemains #UkraineHistory
The suitcase that began the book.
Inside it were the papers that traced a century of upheaval in Ukraine - and the quieter forms of endurance that carried people through.
#TheQuietThatRemains #UkraineHistory
Inside it were the papers that traced a century of upheaval in Ukraine - and the quieter forms of endurance that carried people through.
#TheQuietThatRemains #UkraineHistory
November 15, 2025 at 5:43 PM
The suitcase that began the book.
Inside it were the papers that traced a century of upheaval in Ukraine - and the quieter forms of endurance that carried people through.
#TheQuietThatRemains #UkraineHistory
Inside it were the papers that traced a century of upheaval in Ukraine - and the quieter forms of endurance that carried people through.
#TheQuietThatRemains #UkraineHistory
A short introduction for new readers.
I’m Ben, author of The Quiet That Remains.
I’ve spent three years tracing family papers found in a suitcase, and through them a century of upheaval in Ukraine - and the quiet that carried people through.
Here I share the objects and fragments behind the book.
I’m Ben, author of The Quiet That Remains.
I’ve spent three years tracing family papers found in a suitcase, and through them a century of upheaval in Ukraine - and the quiet that carried people through.
Here I share the objects and fragments behind the book.
November 14, 2025 at 3:39 PM
A short introduction for new readers.
I’m Ben, author of The Quiet That Remains.
I’ve spent three years tracing family papers found in a suitcase, and through them a century of upheaval in Ukraine - and the quiet that carried people through.
Here I share the objects and fragments behind the book.
I’m Ben, author of The Quiet That Remains.
I’ve spent three years tracing family papers found in a suitcase, and through them a century of upheaval in Ukraine - and the quiet that carried people through.
Here I share the objects and fragments behind the book.
Remembrance honours the sacrifice that made freedom possible - the freedom to speak, write, and remember.
The lessons of war still ask to be learned, and not everyone yet shares that peace.
The lessons of war still ask to be learned, and not everyone yet shares that peace.
November 11, 2025 at 1:05 PM
Remembrance honours the sacrifice that made freedom possible - the freedom to speak, write, and remember.
The lessons of war still ask to be learned, and not everyone yet shares that peace.
The lessons of war still ask to be learned, and not everyone yet shares that peace.