Russian occupants destroyed his record collection. Now, there's a global response
10:57 AM EST, November 17, 2023
Vasyl Solianyk, a resident of the recaptured village of Kamianka in the Kharkiv region, has collected over 500 music records since 1982. However, during the occupation, his home was taken over by Russian occupants who destroyed his entire collection. Once media outlets reported Vasyl's story, people worldwide began sending him records, players, and speakers.
As noted by the Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne, Vasyl Solianyk began receiving numerous pieces of sound equipment and records from all corners of the globe.
This wave of support began in 2022 when Solianyk shared his experiences about the Russian occupation of his village, including his own personal loss, in an interview. The Ukrainian media were shown what was left of Solianyk's record collection after the Russians had moved out.
Vasyl's treasured collection of 500 records, started back in 1982, used to shelter rare imports from artists such as BB King and Manfred Mann.
Over the last weekend, Solianyk's story was shared on r/Ukraine, a Reddit forum dedicated to Ukraine with over 900 thousand members,. The users of this platform quickly decided to contribute to Solianyk's cause.
"I want to restore his music," said 27-year-old Mitchell Hindrum, a US Marine Corps veteran and a record collector, to Business Insider.
A special Google Sheet was set up for this purpose, listing many of the missing records and providing a space for people to indicate their contributions. By Thursday, dozens of albums were promised, including classics from Deep Purple, The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Ozzy Osbourne, and The Rolling Stones.
An extraordinary effort for the Ukrainian. His reaction follows
Vasyl Solianyk has already received recordings from various locations, including cities within Ukraine, the United States, the United Kingdom, Poland, and other places. He says he never expected such an outpouring of support and is deeply grateful.
However, Solianyk insisted that no one should spend money on this cause as he believed the war must be won first.
The Suspilne report indicates that Solianyk returned to his hometown of Kamianka, south of Izium, following a rapid Ukrainian counterattack in the autumn of 2022.
