You're reading: Lifestyle Blog: Ruslana receives Women of Courage award

Ukrainian singer Ruslana Lyzhychko, 40, is not an average pop star. Over the past several months she has transformed into one of the main voices and inspirations of EuroMaidan anti-government protesters who have spent days and nights at Independence Square in Kyiv.

For her determination, on March 4 she was among 10 women from around the world who
received the United States’ Women of Courage award, an annual prize handed out this year by First
Lady Michelle Obama and Deputy Secretary of State Heather Higginbottom. Lyzhychko received the award for the bravery and fortitude she showed during the EuroMaidan protests that have lasted more than three months and ousted a president and government widely viewed as corrupt.

The award was bestowed upon Ruslana on the basis of her “exceptional
courage and leadership in advocating for peace, justice, human rights, gender
equality and women’s empowerment, often at great personal risk.”

The award seems justified. Lyzhychko has
become not only an active participant of the public rallies in Kyiv, but has
also encouraged the peaceful protesters for three months from EuroMaidan’s
stage under the threat of riot police attacks. Ruslana spoke and demonstrated her dedication to the movement,
singing the national anthem of Ukraine and her own songs for hours on end, sometimes in sub-zero temperatures. Her longest
concert during the EuroMaidan protests lasted for nearly eight hours.

Originally from the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, Ruslana first skyrocketed to fame 10 years ago after winning the
Eurovision Song Contest 2004 in Turkey with her song “Wild Dances.” She is also
the first singer from post-Soviet countries whose album “Wild Dances” became
platinum.

Lyzhychko also met with U.S. Vice
President Joe Biden the next day after receiving the award. 

“Honored to
meet Ruslana Lyzhychko – a courageous advocate for peace, national unity and
the rights of all in Ukraine,” Biden tweeted following the meeting.

Lyzhychko was also an active participant of the 2004 Ukrainian Orange Revolution, a three-week protest against presidential
election rigging which overturned the victory of Viktor Yanukovych, who became president in 2010 and was ousted as a result of the EuroMaidan Revolution. In 2006 she became a lawmaker in then-President
Viktor Yushchenko’s Nasha Ukraina party. Currently Ruslana is a UNICEF Goodwill
Ambassador.

Kyiv
Post staff writer NataliyaTrach can be reached at
[email protected].