Raving for Freedom

“They lose their worries on the dance floor of forgetting,” says Nazariy Sovsun, one of the organizers of the techno parties called Cxema. Ever since the Maidan revolution, the numbers of young people partying to electronic music have steadily increased. They have nothing to lose, let alone a reason to go to bed. One million people have been displaced by the conflict in eastern Ukraine, where the war against Russian-backed insurgents has claimed 10,000 lives. In the capital the post-Soviet system, with its cronyism and corruption, remains intact inside government ministries. But young Ukrainians are no longer afraid, emboldened by the Maidan protests that began in November 2013 as anti-government demonstrations against a Russian-friendly regime. Today the spirit of the uprising lives on at raves, where Kyiv’s teenagers come together to avow their dreams of democracy and freedom. There’s a strong desire to be perceived as part of the European family after decades of Soviet dictatorship. The raves began with a few local DJs and their friends who met to give free reign to their creativity. They have created a scene that observers say is so vibrant, it puts London, Paris and Berlin in the shade.