It seems entirely clear to me that China has no desire to relinquish Yunnan to the Lolo people, Poland has no intention of giving us Galicia, and Moscow will not surrender Ukraine. Yet, on the other hand, it is completely normal that Ukraine wishes to be free. For centuries it has fought, and it will continue to fight, for its independence.
Sofia Yablonska
Sofia Yablonska is a Ukrainian and French writer, traveler, photographer, and documentarian whose life and creative work spanned several continents.
She was born on May 15, 1907, in the village of Hermaniv in the Lviv region, into the family of the priest Ivan Yablonsky. At the beginning of the First World War, the Yablonsky family moved to Taganrog, where they spent the war years, after which they returned to Galicia. In 1926, she moved to Paris, where she studied acting and cinematography, worked in the film industry and journalism, and later became deeply engaged in documentary work and photography.
During the 1930s, Yablonska undertook extensive journeys. She traveled throughout North Africa, China, Java, Bali, Tahiti, Australia, and New Zealand. She spent a significant amount of time in China, where she worked on film projects, wrote and photographed. There she also met her future husband, the Frenchman Jean Oudin. Yablonska traveled extensively and lived among local populations, documenting their everyday life, everyday practices, and ways of life.
These journeys resulted in several books written in Ukrainian, including «The Charm of Morocco» (1932), «From the Land of Rice and Opium» (1936), and «Distant Horizons» (1939). Combining travel narratives with the author’s own photographs, these publications gained considerable popularity among readers.
Despite living abroad for most of her life, Yablonska consistently identified herself as Ukrainian. She carried a copy of «Kobzar» and a Hutsul doll wherever she traveled, spoke about Ukraine, and explained to others that Ukrainians and Russians were distinct peoples.
Following the end of the Second World War, in the 1950s Yablonska settled in France with her husband and sons. She worked in decorative arts, photography, and architectural design, and designed the architecture of her own house on the island of Noirmoutier. She continued to write memoiristic prose, completing the book of memoirs «The Book About My Father. From My Childhood in Ukraine» (1971).
Yablonska died in a car accident on February 4, 1971. Her books «Two Weights – Two Measures» (1972) and «The Book About My Father. From My Childhood» (1976) were published posthumously.
Today, Sofia Yablonska’s legacy is being rediscovered by the Ukrainian public at large, and her writings continue to remain relevant and are being republished by contemporary Ukrainian publishing houses.
