On today’s International Women’s Day we show solidarity with the Ukraine by celebrating strong and resilient women from Ukrainian history.

International Women’s Day was first observed in Denmark, Austria, Germany and Switzerland in 1911. It is painfully ironic to note that 8 March was chosen as this was the date on which women in Soviet Russia first marched for the right to vote.

The theme for this year as declared by the United Nations is “Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow”. The campaign theme, which calls for supporters to post their photo on social media posing with forearms crossed, is #BreakTheBias: “Imagine a gender equal world. A world free of bias, stereotypes, and discrimination. A world that is diverse, equitable, and inclusive. A world where difference is valued and celebrated. Together we can forge women’s equality. Collectively we can all #BreakTheBias.”

Looking back into Ukrainian history, we find scores of resilient women who defied the norms of the times, stood up for what they believed in, and changed their worlds. May that same resilience prevail today.

Grand Princess or Saint Olha of Kyiv
Born in 890 in the ancient Slavic state called Kyiv Rus, which was situated in what is today Ukraine, Saint Olha is the first recorded female ruler in Russia. She became regent of the principality of Kyiv after the assassination of her husband Prince Igor I, as their son was still a minor at the time. She became the first member of the ruling family of Kyiv to adopt Christianity. Her efforts to bring Christianity to Russia were resisted by her son but continued by her grandson and marked the transition between pagan and Christian Russia. She was canonised as the first Russian saint of the Orthodox church and is the patron saint for widows and converts.

Anna of Kyiv
Ukrainian royalty who was born around 1024 in Kyiv, and received a good education at the princely court. She was known to be able to read fluently in several languages at a time when many Europeans were still illiterate. Anna married into the French royal house, becoming the consort of the widowed King Henry I of France. She is the ancestor of almost 30 French monarchs. Legend has it that she presented her groom with a very special book on their wedding day:  a copy of the New Testament written in the old Slavic language in Cyrillic script. Until 1793 new kings of France were sworn in with their hands on this Bible. After the death of her husband the king, she actively participated in governing France.

Solomiya Krushelnytska
An opera legend deemed one of the greatest sopranos who ever lived, Krushelnytska (born 1872) was the darling of Wagner and Puccini and performed in all the great opera houses of the era, from St Petersburg to Buenos Aires, Odessa to New York, and all the European stages in between. She sang in eight languages and performed 63 roles, one of these, famously that of Madame Butterfly at the invitation of Puccini himself.

Nataliia Polonska-Vasylenko
A respected academic considered one of the foremost Ukrainian historians of the 20^th Century, Vasylenko (born 1884 into Russian nobility) wrote almost 200 scientific papers on the history of Southern Ukraine. She was a a lecturer at Kiev University and director of its archeological museum, and later became a professor at the Ukrainian Free University in Prague and moved together with this institution to Munich where she continued to teach until her death in 1973. She was a member of several scientific bodies, including the Ukrainian Free Academy of Sciences and the International Academy of Sciences in Paris, and was the vice president of the American-based Ukrainian Historical Association in the 1960s.

Nataliya Gotsii
The Ukrainian fashion model and television personality (born 1984) was the winner of the Ford Supermodel of the World 2004 search. She has graced the covers of Italian Marie Claire and French Elle magazines and has modelled for the great fashion designers from Christian Lacroix, Vivienne Westwood and Marc Jacobs to Gucci and Dolce & Gabbana. Follow her on Instagram at @nataliiagotsii

Elina Svitolina
A professional tennis player, Svitolina was born in 1994 and reached career-high rankings as No 3 in the world in singles and 108 in doubles. She has won 16 Women Tennis Association (WTA) Tour singles titles and finished as runner-up three times. She came out in support of her country by calling for the ATP, WTA and ITF to follow the recommendation of the IOC to accept Russian/Belarussian nationals only as neutral athletes without displaying any national symbols, colours, flags or anthems. Until such a decision is taken, she has declared that she will not play any matches against Russian or Belarussian tennis players. Follow her on Instagram at @elisvitolina.

Yaroslava Mahuchikh
The Olympic high jumper (born 2001) made her Olympic debut in 2020 and took a bronze medal home, after being a gold medallist at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games. She joined Elina Svitolina and her fellow Ukrainian athletic fraternity in a video addressed to the president of the International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach, in response to the Russian invasion of the Ukraine, to call for the suspension of aggressor countries from participating in the XIII Paralympic Games in Beijing. Follow her on Instagram at @rosya_dp

Sources: Wikipedia, Empr.media, brittanica.com, euromaidanpress.com