You're reading: More car owners decorate with patriotic symbols

A new, unusual trend has come to Kyiv. More and more often cars are seen decorated with stickers picturing the ornamentation usually seen on vyshyvankas – Ukrainian traditional embroidered shirts.

The trend is probably one of the manifestations of the rising patriotic spirit in the country after Russia’s seizure of Crimea and its support of separatists in the east of the country.

“Nearly 40 car owners from all over the country have ordered car stickers with the traditional Ukrainian embroidery design during the last two months,” says Yevhen Bilichenko, the head of Avtovyshyvanka, one of the companies producing such stickers.

Some 10 car stickers were ordered by Ukrainians living abroad.

“Our most active foreign buyers live in Canada, England and USA,” Bilichenko adds.

Ukrainian-style car décor has gained popularity after the EuroMaidan revolution, distributors of the stickers say.

“People were afraid to show their national identity before former President Viktor Yanukovych fled the country at the end of the February,” explains Bilichenko.

Yet now fear has disappeared and in the face of Russian aggression Ukrainians express patriotism more and more, now doing so through traditional symbols and items like vyshyvanka.

“When I put a Ukrainian embroidery sticker on my car, I wanted to express my patriotism,” says Kyivan Olga Kolisnyk. “A small Ukrainian flag hitched to the windscreen looked too banal for me, so I chose a vyshyvanka for my car. It looks stylish to me.”

Car owners say that vyshyvanka ornaments attract a lot of attention of passers.

“When people see my ‘embroidered’ car they start smiling and waving,” says Iryna Galchinskaya from Kyiv.

The woman likes attention and plans to keep the sticker on for at least a year or two.

A car wash does not damage the design, unlike vandals who sometimes scratch cars with Ukrainian national symbols.

“I am a patriot of Ukraine, and my car was among the first ones decorated with Ukrainian embroidery prints in Zhytomyr,” says Serhiy Kupreniuk, owner of the Prestige advertising agency in Zhytomyr. “A week ago someone scratched the vyshyvanka print on it. I think it was done by so-called titushkas [hooligans] who are against a free Ukraine.”

Distributors say that the fear of such damage prevents many from decorating their car with vyshyvanka prints. Galchinskaya from Kyiv is not afraid that her Ukrainian style car might be vandalized.

“If someone wants to scratch my car because of the vyshyvanka design on it, let the person do so. It will show how many people in our country do not love Ukraine and do not respect its culture,” she said.

The stickers come in various colors and designs. Their widths range from 10 to 50 centimeters. It takes roughly two hours and costs Hr 300-800 to decorate a car with a vyshyvanka sticker.

Where to order a vyshyvanka print for your car:

avtovyshyvanka.com.ua

www.mostmedia.com.ua/magazin/vyshivanki-magnity/vyshivanka-na-avto-magnit

uraprestige.com.ua

Kyiv Post staff writer Nataliya Trach can be reached at [email protected]