Lesik
Fooling near the front line—Davyd takes a rest on the road
(English translation by Nataliia Neshevets and Yustyna Kravchuk)
Davyd Chychkan: With ribbons and flags (2022-2023)
Davyd Chychkan was at the forefront of the grassroots anti-fascist movement in the 2000s. He was killed in an armed struggle against Russian fascism on August 10, 2025, on the ancient Cossack lands of Zaporizhzhia. He was a consistent and sincere anarchist with an extraordinary charisma; he was able to find common ground with people of different views and convictions and always eager to lend a hand. Davyd considered himself an ideological successor of Ivan Franko, Mykhailo Drahomanov, Lesya Ukrainka and Nestor Makhno. He was convinced that only through social liberation could national liberation be achieved for the Ukrainian people, and that Ukraine’s future lay in an egalitarian and democratic society.
Davyd was born into a family of artists and in the mid-2000s, he joined the early sprouts of Kyiv’s grassroots anti-fascist movement. At that time, his rivals were racists, subcultural neo-Nazis spiteful of punk culture or any one who dared to differ, as well as the supporters of pan-slavism (the idea of “three brotherly peoples”). He considered enemies – and acted accordingly – the authoritarian “left,” Stalinists, and defenders of the USSR: the so-called tankies who today serve Russian imperial propaganda. Identifying with the SHARP subculture (Skinheads Against Racial Prejudice) as a young man, he wasn’t afraid to manifest the power of solidarity with his fists.
Davyd approached the established art world with skepticism. Though he developed an authentic art style of his own, he preferred to call himself a draftsman rather than an artist.The heroes of his early works were street antifas and protesters. Diego Rivera, Heorhiy Narbut and Maria Prymachenko seemed to unite in his works in a common struggle. In his more mature works, Chychkan drew upon Ukrainian classical heritage, narodism and Ukrainian revolutionary history. Davyd was persistently at odds with the establishment, demanding engagement in substantive political discourse. The artistic legacy of Davyd Chychkan is priceless.
He compensated for his lack of formal higher education with persistent political and humanitarian self-education. Davyd immersed himself in both Ukrainian and international leftist classics, as well as in philosophy, anthropology, and cultural studies of the second half of the 20th century. He was among the first of our generation to explore the intellectual legacy of the late 19th-early 20th century Ukrainian socialist thinkers who are regarded as the founding fathers and mothers of the Ukrainian political nation. Though exceptionally well-read and knowledgeable, Chychkan preferred to engage through physical work and direct political action.
Known for his humor and sincerity, Chychkan entered debates with comrades and opponents, delivering compelling arguments while fairly acknowledging others’ perspectives. Among leftists, he was known as a steadfast dissident—a man of his own mind who was never easy to debate. Even his enemies could only “shout over” Davyd—they never managed to refute his arguments or facts. Far-right extremists smashed his exhibitions and demanded censorship (which the cowardly establishment sometimes yielded to), but none could stand their ground in public debate with him. He embraced his Ukrainian identity with full awareness, viewing the Ukrainian national project as a struggle against all forms of injustice.
Davyd supported and actively participated in all major political movements and social protests over the past 20 years. He was involved with several anarchist organizations and stood as an ally of the trade unions. As a Maidan activist, he criticized the parliamentary opposition and partiality of the post-revolutionary achievements.
Being recognized by the art world, Chychkan consistently debunked propaganda about a “coup” and “Nazi junta” on international platforms. At the outbreak of the full-scale invasion, Davyd was not accepted into the military right away and became the visual chronicler of the anti-authoritarian soldiers within the Ukrainian army. Once his health improved, Davyd volunteered for service. He had the option to serve under less perilous conditions, but chose instead the hardships of a frontline soldier, fighting fascism, imperialism, and totalitarianism—the very struggle he committed his life to, and for which he made the ultimate sacrifice.
Davyd’s ideas were not purely idealistic; they were practical and closely aligned with the realities faced by Ukrainian society. In his view, hromadivstvo (communalism) and anarcho-syndicalism called for concrete, urgent action: defending and widening the rights of workers and women, dismantling colonial oppression, and shifting wealth toward those who have been left behind. He believed that Russian fascism posed the gravest danger to making these ideas a reality today. Davyd uniquely fused his ideals with a practical mindset, emerging as a pillar and legend of Ukraine’s anti-authoritarian movement.
Davyd Chychkan’s beloved wife and young son remain after his passing. Forever remembered for his smile, kindness, and caring nature, he lives on in the hearts of countless friends and comrades. His fight will be carried on by others; the darkness will be conquered, and life will blossom with the radiant colorful ribbons.
NOTES 1. Ivan Franko (1856 –1916) was a prominent Ukrainian writer, poet, translator, and political activist. As one of the pioneering figures in the Ukrainian socialist movement, in 1890, he co-founded the Ruthenian-Ukrainian Radical party (RURP), the first modern Ukrainian political party.
2. Mykhailo Drahomanov (1841–1895) was a Ukrainian intellectual and a public figure with socialist political leanings. He was active in the Hromada movement, one of the first proponents of Ukrainian autonomism as a result of federalisation of the Russian and Austro-Hungarian Empires.
3. Lesya Ukrainka (1871–1913) was a prominent Ukrainian writer primarily known for her poetry, and theatre plays. A socialist political activist and a feminist, based on some unconfirmed accounts, she may have been the first translator of The Communist Manifesto into Ukrainian language.
4. Nestor Makhno (1888 – 1934) was a Ukrainian anarchist revolutionary and the commander of the Revolutionary Insurgent Army of Ukraine during the Ukrainian War of Independence. He established the Makhnovshchina (loosely translated as "Makhno movement"), a mass movement by the Ukrainian peasantry to establish anarchist communism in the country between 1918 and 1921.
5. Heorhiy Narbut (1886 – 1920) was a Ukrainian graphic artist. He is known for designing the Ukrainian People's Republic's coat of arms, banknotes, postage stamps, charters, and for hismany illustrations in books and magazines. He co-founded and presided over the Ukrainian Academy of Arts.
6. Maria Prymachenko (1909 – 1997) was a Ukrainian folk art painter, who worked in the naïve art style. A self-taught artist, she worked in painting, embroidery and ceramics.
7. Historically, Narodism is the ideology of the Narodniks who were members of a movement ofthe Russian Empire intelligentsia in the 1860s and 1870s. Some of them became involved in revolutionary agitation against tsarism. Narodism was a form of agrarian socialism.
NOTE: For more appreciations of the life of Davyd Chychkan see ENSU-RESU Facebook page, EuroMaidan Press, Kyiv Independent and United24Media