All tagged Russia
On Sunday, August 24, 2025, I attended the Chicago Ukrainian Community’s annual Independence Day celebration, which included speeches from Congressman Mike Quigley and Congresswoman Robin Kelly. Most importantly, I had another opportunity to see the Ukrainian K-Pop All Stars perform. Here are my thoughts about and images from exhilarating event.
On Thursday, August 22, 2025, I attended the Ukrainian flag raising ceremony in in Chicago’s Daley Plaza. Here are my thought about and images from the celebration.
Tomorrow, Donald J. Trump heads to Alaska for an ill-advised summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Tonight, 30 Russian emigrés demonstrated outside of Chicago’s Wrigley Building, calling on Putin to stop the war in Ukraine. Here are my thoughts about and images from the demonstration.
On July 1, 2025, Chicago’s Ukrainian Community celebrated Ukrainian Village’s recent designation as an Illinois State-Designated Cultural District. Here are my thoughts about and images from the celebration at the Ukrainian Cultural Center
On Sunday, May 18, 2025, I covered a Chicago Ukrainian Community demonstration commemorating the second anniversary of the end of the siege of the Azovstal Iron and Steel Works in Mariupol, Ukraine. Here are my thoughts about and images from the demonstration.
On Sunday, April 6, 2025, I attended a late afternoon rally by members of Chicago’s Ukrainian Community. Their focus was Putin’s decision to murder nine children two days earlier in Kryviv Rih, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s hometown. Here are my thoughts about and images from the rally and march.
On Saturday, April 5, 2025, Indivisible Chicago staged a Mass Mobilization in Chicago’s Daley Plaza against the Trump/Musk agenda. Here are my thoughts about and images from the event.
On Thursday, March 27, 2025, I attended a fundraiser for the Ukrainian military at Le Piano, a jazz club located in Chicago’s Rogers Park. Here are my thoughts about and images from the evening of fun and music.
On Thursday, March 27, 2025, Congressmen Danny Davis and Raja Krishnamoorthi gathered in Daley Plaza for what was a small rally and press conference. Both Davis and Krishnammorthi were calling on Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to resign following his flagrant breach of security protocol in the lead up to the U.S. attack on the Houthis in Yemen. Here are my thoughts about and images from the event.
Chicago’s Ukrainian Community scheduled an emergency march and rally following the Oval Office dress down of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who actually was stylishly attired in his battle fatigues. I was not going to miss the Sunday rally at Jane Bryne Plaza, followed by the march to Daley Plaza. Here are my thoughts about and images from the demonstration.
Ten years ago, on February 27, 2015, Vladimir Putin had the Russian physicist and politician, Boris Nemtsov assassinated within eyesight of the Kremlin. Today, Russian émigrés in Chicago, gathered in the Wrigley Building Plaza to commemorate Nemtsov’s death, as well as the deaths of other dissidents. Here are my thoughts about and images from the gathering.
Sunday, February 16, 2025 marked the first anniversary of Alexei Navalny’s death at the hands of Vladimir Putin’s regime. Chicago’s Russian Émigré Community marked the anniversary with a solemn memorial service. Here are my thoughts about and images from the service.
On Sunday, January 26, 2025, Ambassador William B. Taylor addressed Chicago’s Ukrainian Community at its annual Independence Day banquet at the Chicago Ukrainian Cultural Center. Here are my thoughts about and images from the banquet.
On November 19, 2024, Chicago’s Ukrainian Community commemorated the 1,000th day since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his invasion against Ukraine on February 24, 2024. Community members gathered in the plaza outside the Wrigley Building for speeches and anthems, and then they marched north on Michigan Avenue to Jane Byrne Plaza (the location of Chicago’s historic Water Tower). Here are my thoughts about and images from this stirring rally and march.
Members of the Russian opposition to Vladimir Putin gathered in the plaza outside the Wrigley Building on November 17, 2024, taking part in a worldwide demonstration against Putin’s war in Ukraine. Here are my thoughts about and images from the rally.
Today, members of Russian’s émigré community, commemorated those who were killed by Joseph Stalin during the Great Purge/Great Terror (1936-38). Known as the Return of Names, this annual commemoration is particularly relevant to Americans this year, as presidential candidate Donald J. Trump, tosses the phrase “The Enemy Within” around during his speeches. Here are my thoughts about and images from this small, but important ceremony.
Chicago’s Ukrainian Community staged a demonstration in Lincoln Park, demanding that Russia release the Azovstal Defenders who are currently imprisoned. Not surprisingly, the U.S. Presidential Election cast a long and dark shadow over the event. Here are my thoughts about and images from the event.
On Saturday, Chicago's Ukrainian Community celebrated Ukrainian Independence Day outside the Ukrainian Cultural Center. The war dead were honored, several community leaders spoke, and Ukrainian tweens reprised last year's K-pop performance. Here are my thoughts about and images from the day's celebration.
On Saturday afternoon, a group of demonstrators gathered in Tribune Plaza to demonstrate against the government of Alexander Lukashenko, the president of Belarus. Here are my thoughts about and images from what was a low-key, but informative demonstration.
Chicago’s Ukrainian Community came together today for another demonstration in front of the Wrigley Building. The group staged some arresting street theater with a simulated immolation of three Ukrainian men—the victims of unbridled Russian aggression. Here are my thoughts about and observations from the rally and march.
