Swedish Crown Princess Backs Ukrainian Culture
мCrown Princess Victoria of Sweden visited the Ukrainian Institute in Stockholm, where she took part in an event in support of Ukrainian culture, the press service of the Ukrainian Institute in Sweden, a cultural and diplomatic organisation dedicated to spreading knowledge about Ukraine and its cultural heritage, reports.
The Gaze reports on this with reference to Ukrinform.
The director of the institute, pianist Natalia Pasichnyk, spoke about the activities of the institution and thanked the royal family for their support and assistance.
"When I first came to Sweden from Ukraine 31 years ago, it was painful for me to realise how little the world knew about Ukraine. Not only its history, language or map, but also its soul - its art, thoughts and voices. In 2014, when Russia first invaded Ukraine, I wondered if the world would have reacted differently if it had known more about our struggle over the centuries. That is why the Ukrainian Institute in Sweden was established. We are very grateful to the Swedish people, government and royal family of Sweden for supporting our activities," said Pasichnyk.
In his turn, Peter Gulqvist, Minister of Defence of Sweden for 2014-2022, stressed that the Russian-Ukrainian war is a struggle of the Ukrainian people for their culture and identity. "This is a struggle not only for territory, but for identity. A nation that loses its culture loses itself. That is why we support the activities of the Ukrainian Institute in Sweden - its contribution to the preservation and presentation of Ukrainian culture abroad is truly invaluable."
At the end of the event, Ukrainian-Swedish pianist Natalia Pasichnyk and violinist Nazar Pliska performed Melody and Carpathian Rhapsody by Myroslav Skoryk.
In March 2025, the Swedish government announced that it would allocate more than 800,000 euros to the Ukrainian Institute in Sweden to implement projects aimed at promoting Ukrainian culture.
The Ukrainian Institute in Sweden was founded in 2014. It is headquartered in Stockholm. The main areas of its activity are cultural diplomacy, education and public opinion formation. The Institute is headed by the famous Ukrainian and Swedish pianist Natalia Pasichnyk.