A famous Christmas song that inspires defenders of Ukraine

Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine is home to one of the world’s favorite carols.

But there are few Christmas signs in the city this year. Only the dusting of snow on deserted streets and skeleton buildings — and the constant sound of heavy shelling.

Pokrovsk is Russia’s next target. Its troops are now less than two miles (three kilometers) from the center of the city.

And not only buildings and houses are destroyed. Ukraine accuses Russia of also trying to erase its cultural identity – including associations with this famous carol.

Most of the population of Pakrovsk has already run away. Gas supply is cut off, many houses remain without electricity and water. Those who remained, as well as 59-year-old Igor, are struggling only in search of the most necessary. He says it’s like living on a powder keg – you never know when and where the next shell will fly.

Oksana, 43, says she is too scared to leave the house, but during lulls in the shelling she goes out to find wood and coal to keep warm.

She tells me she hopes Ukraine’s armed forces will be able to hold the city, but thinks it unlikely. Pokrovsk, she says, will probably fall.

The city has already prepared for the worst. The monument to its famous composer Nikolay Leontovich has already been removed. The music school that bore his name is now boarded up and empty.

Levontavich is perhaps not well known in the West. But the melody he wrote is known all over the world – with its sonorous vocals. It is believed that Leontovych wrote the first scores of the work, based on Ukrainian folk songs, when he lived and worked in Pakrovsk in 1904-1908.

In Ukraine, it is known as Shchedrik. It became known to most of the world as Carol of the Bells after American composer Peter Wilchowski wrote the English lyrics for the song. The use of the tune in the Hollywood film Home Alone helped boost its popularity.

Victoria Ametova calls it a “masterpiece – Pokrovsky’s signature song.” Until recently, she also taught music in the city, at a school named after Leontavich.

Now she has moved to the relative safety of the Dnieper. It is here that many former residents of Pokrovsk still try to preserve memories of their former home.

Under the salvaged portrait of Leontovych, Viktoria watches 13-year-old Anna Hasich play the familiar carol chords on the piano.

The Hashichev family fled from Pokrovsk this summer. But they are determined not to forget the place they still call home. Anna’s mother, Yulia, says that she is glad to see that her daughters are engaged in “Schedrik”. “We will not forget the history of our city,” she says.

For Anna, this tune brings back memories. “When I played with her at home, she seemed happy. It reminded me of winter and Christmas,” she says. “It’s a sadder song for me now because it reminds me of home and I really want to go back.”

But for one Ukrainian military band, “Shchedrik” became a song for resistance. They play even in the trenches – with weapons as handy tools.

They may be musicians, but their commander reminds me that they are first and foremost soldiers. Everyone was on the front line. The head of the orchestra and its conductor, Colonel Bogdan Zadorozhny, says that the song lifts the spirits of the soldiers. “These rhythms and beats encourage the guys on the front lines and inspire them to fight,” he says.

Roman, 22, uses a rocket-propelled grenade casing filled with rice to shake vigorously to the beat of the music. “Schedrik”, according to him, “is the pride of our country, it is freedom, it is in our souls, this song gives me goosebumps.”

Colonel Zadorozhny says that “Shchedrik” shows that Ukraine is a civilized nation that is now at war, fighting for its identity.

Pokrovsk may well fall into Russian hands. But its inhabitants do their best to preserve their culture and identity.

The director of the Pokrov Historical Museum, Angelina Razkova, has already rescued and transported to a safe place most of the valuable things, including exhibits from Leontovich’s life in Pokrov.

Russia, she says, does not just want to seize the territory of Ukraine – “it wants to destroy our culture and everything dear to us.”

Angelina says that the residents of Pokrov understand that they may never return, “but they do not accept it with their hearts and souls.” Therefore, they do everything possible to preserve the past. New motto: “keep and keep equals victory.”

It’s hard to say you’re winning when your city is being destroyed. But its people, like Leontovich’s music, show extraordinary resilience.

Leontovich’s life was cut short in 1921, when he was shot dead by a Soviet agent. His composition became a symbol of the struggle for Ukraine’s independence. It’s still there.

Additional reporting by Anna Chornous and Anastasia Levchenko