Tracks East

<p>Tracks East highlights the multiplicity of creative and surprising expressions of solidarity with Ukraine by artists in Ukraine and elsewhere.</p>

Solidarity

Tracks East highlights the multiplicity of creative and surprising expressions of solidarity with Ukraine by artists in Ukraine and elsewhere.

 In war it is often the children who suffer the most. Their stable home lives are destroyed and they have to flee. According to Ukrainian sources, 12,000 Ukrainian children have been taken to Russia, the Kremlin says they have been ‘brought home’.

Children of War

How is the war in Ukraine affecting children? According to Ukrainian sources, 12,000 Ukrainian children have been taken to Russia, the Kremlin says they have been ‘brought home’.

It will soon be a year since Russia invaded their country, but Ukrainians remain optimistic: 88% of them are convinced that within ten years their country will be a member of the European Union and will enjoy prosperity. And many Ukrainian artists, singers, inventors and entrepreneurs believe that their country should not be reduced to the role of victim. Musician Olga Osinnya meets people in Kyiv who are looking towards the future with hope.

The Day After Tomorrow

Tracks East meets people in Kyiv who are looking towards the future with hope.

Addressing the issue of exploitation and power relations in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Tracks East focuses on Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia.

Hierarchies – Who’s in Charge?

In Kyiv's Closer Club, Ukrainians are trying to preserve a bit of normality in wartime. In the past, dance fans from across Europe made the pilgrimage to the Ukrainian capital's legendary techno nights. Every December, the Black Factory Night takes place, and this winter is no different. If there’s a blackout, they’re got generators at the ready.

Blackout

In Kyiv's Closer Club, Ukrainians are trying to preserve a bit of normality in wartime as the country experiences blackouts.

Religion has played a major role in the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill supports the war - Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov is sending Muslim soldiers to Ukraine in a "holy war". We meet the Ukrainian muslim bloggers. Artist Masha Maroz takes us on a journey through the ancestral rites of Polesia and Mihaela Drăgan invokes Roma superstitions about witches.

Myth, Religion and War

Religion has played a key role in the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

When bombs are raining down all around, when freedom of expression is removed, does this make you laugh? Tracks East looks at how humour is used as a weapon in testing times in Belarus, Ukraine and Bulgaria. (And how dictators don’t have a very developed sense of humour.)

Humour as a Weapon

Tracks East looks at how humour is used as a weapon in testing times in Belarus, Ukraine and Bulgaria. (And how dictators don’t have a very developed sense of humour.)

“The world has lost its love for democracy. The world has become disappointed with the power elite. The world has begun to turn to dictatorship” So said Dmitry Muratov, editor-in-chief of the Moscow opposition newspaper Novaya Gazeta, on receiving the Nobel Peace Prize in 2021. While Belarus and Russia are striking examples of dictatorships,  Tracks East also looks at the situation in Iran.

Dictators: Control over Mind and Body

Dictatorships want to control your mind and body. Tracks looks at the situation in Russia, Belarus and Iran.

Suddenly it's back - the fear of nuclear Armageddon. Tracks East explores this highly explosive topic in this latest episode. Ukrainian writer Mitya Churikov recalls the Chernobyl disaster and ask whether Zaporizhzhya will be the trauma of the next generation. Tracks East also meets bestselling Russian author Dmitry Gukhowsky, whose novel Metro 2033 imagines a post-apocalyptic Moscow after a nuclear war.

Going Nuclear

Suddenly it's back - the fear of nuclear Armageddon. Tracks East explores this highly explosive topic in this latest episode.

As much of Western Europe worries about having enough gas for the winter, Tracks East looks at how people in Poland, the Czech Republic and Ukraine are facing the energy crisis and a cold winter ahead.

Winter of War

Tracks East looks at how people in Poland, the Czech Republic and Ukraine are facing the energy crisis and a cold winter ahead.

Tracks East interviews Ukrainians who refuse to take up arms and Russian men who have been living in fear of being called up since the call for partial mobilisation.

Tracks East - Mobilisation

In this tenth and final part of Tracks East, Central and Eastern Europeans - journalists, artists, a male model and a former sex worker - hold up a mirror to Western Europeans.

The West Seen from the East

Most Ukrainian refugees are women. Just like much of the visible resistance in Russia. With the men at the front, the women find themselves taking on new responsibilities. On more than one level. They fight, save their families, reinvent themselves. What role do they play in this war? And how has this conflict affected them?

Women in War

Most Ukrainian refugees are women. Just like much of the visible resistance in Russia. With the men at the front, the women find themselves taking on new responsibilities.

More than 30 years have passed since the collapse of the Soviet Union. What remains today of what was the largest federation of states in the world? As the Ukraine war shows, the ghosts of the USSR still linger. Nowhere is safe for critics of the Kremlin: they could be denounced to the authorities by their own families and neighbours.

Soviet Heritage

Nowhere is safe for critics of the Kremlin: they could be denounced to the authorities by their own families and neighbours.

In 1991, the Soviet empire collapsed, giving rise to the Russian Federation and fifteen other independent states. Today, Vladimir Putin does not respect the sovereignty of these independent nations, particularly Ukraine. How is a nation defined? Are borders the only constituent element? A focus on the renewed patriotism in the post-Soviet world.

The New Patriotism

At the cusp of adulthood, an entire generation is now facing an unprecedented crisis. Between escape and resistance, Gen East shares its vision of tomorrow with us.

New Generation

Between escape and resistance, Gen East shares its vision of tomorrow with us.

Can identities be forced, discarded, changed or revived? In the USSR, national identities were a political instrument. Millions of people were resettled, deported, and Russified. Today, the multi-ethnic social fabric of post-soviet nations harbours explosive tensions and the Ukraine war is opening up old wounds. What does identity mean for the next generation?

Identity

The multi-ethnic social fabric of post-soviet nations harbours explosive tensions and the Ukraine war is opening up old wounds. What does identity mean for the next generation?

Whether they have fled, been banished or deported, some exiles find themselves alone, while others form communities in their host countries. But all feel nostalgia and even homesickness. Tracks East goes in search of the exile experience.

Exile

Tracks East goes in search of the exile experience of those who have fled, been banished or deported.

A Polish cyber elf, a Ukrainian DJ on the front line, a militant Russian grandmother, and Belarusian hackers... On the face of it, they have little in common. And yet they are all resisting the Russian invasion of Ukraine, fighting back on different fronts.

Resistance

A Polish cyber elf, a Ukrainian DJ on the front line, a militant Russian grandmother, and Belarusian hackers...They are all resisting the Russian invasion of Ukraine on different fronts.

If the truth is the first victim of war, many voices are trying to defend it in Ukraine, Russia and elsewhere. Alternative culture programme Tracks goes east to meet journalists and artists from Lithuania, Ukraine and Russia who have a different perspective on the war in Ukraine. On the programme: propaganda and counter-propaganda in times of conflict.

Propaganda and Truth

lternative culture programme "Tracks" goes east to meet journalists and artists from Lithuania, Ukraine and Russia who have a different perspective on the war in Ukraine

Russian artists have two choices: silence, or exile. There's been a mass creative exodus in recent weeks, including Russian rap stars like Face and Oxxxymiron. Art rockers IC3PEAK post protest videos that would get them arrested in Russia. TikTok star Nikita Sass bravely continues to post his opinion and stays. Few dare to do that.

Russian Artists Against the War

Russian artists have two choices: silence, or exile

Tracks

More than 10 million people in the world are behind bars with half of the world's prison population in Russian, Chinese or American jails. In the United States, where the prison population has risen sharply in recent decades. Artists are sounding the alarm: Jay Z, Denzel Curry and Meek Mill are calling for judicial reform.

More than 10 million people in the world are behind bars with half of the world's prison population in Russian, Chinese or American jails. 

Tracks: Planet Prison

At age 67, Arno's prolific career includes 35 albums and numerous tours. A sensitive portrait of the king of Belgian rock. His is a complex personality; unlike the Kardashians, he doesn't want to reveal all. 

At age 67, Arno's prolific career includes 35 albums and numerous tours

Arno: Dancing Inside My Head

Meet Olivier Latry, the organist of the famous Notre-Dame in Paris: one of the most prestigious organist gigs in the world. Join him on an exciting musical and historical journey to the heart of the organ.

Meet Olivier Latry, the organist of the famous Notre-Dame in Paris

The Organ of Notre Dame

We tie knots every day without a second thought, but it's all about context. Tying your shoelaces is nothing special, but that very same movement becomes charged with meaning when it is practised as part of Shibari. This Japanese art of tying someone into a tightly woven mesh of intricate knots and bindings started off as a form of punishment. But it is now a sexual fetish, and a craft, full of precision.

Bondage: The Ties That Free

The tradition of Shibari started off as a form of punishment. But it is now a sexual fetish, and a craft, full of precision.

Gymnastics

Reggae emerged in the 1960s and in 1985 Wayne Smith's Under Mi Sleng Teng revolutionised the genre. But the riddim of this famous song didn't come from the island - it was written by a Japanese woman, Okuda Hiroko, an employee at Casio.

Japanese Regqae

The riddim of the revolutionary song Under Mi Sleng Teng was created by a Casio employee from Japan. 

Taboo since ancient times, periods are also taboo in art. But thanks to a generation of feminist artists determined to end the shame around menstruation, period blood is making a big splash in the art world - even if social media has yet to catch up. 

The Art of Menstruation

A generation of feminist artists are determined to end the shame around menstruation

Could your perfect look alike be out there in the world somewhere? The idea that a stranger could be living a completely different life to us, but wear the same face, is a troubling, intriguing concept. New technologies might make finding our 'twin' even easier.

Do We All Have Dopplegangers?

Could your perfect look alike be out there in the world somewhere?

Bonuses and Extracts

Discover more

Highly influential indie rockers from Boston, famous for such tracks as Debaser and Where is my mind perform in Paris as part of a European tour for their latest album Doggerel.

Legendary and highly influential indie rockers perform in Paris as part of their European tour.

Pixies - Live at the Paris Olympia

Music director of the WDR Symphony Orchestra, Cristian Măcelaru takes his musicians on a tour of his homeland, Romania. A tour stopping in Timişoara, his hometown. On the programme: The Piano Concerto No. 2 by Johannes Brahms with soloist Simon Trpčeski.

Concert from the European Capital of Culture 2023

Conductor Cristian Măcelaru and the WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne perform Brahms and Klaus Lang in Romania.

Cristian Mācelaru in Timişoara

At once seductive and dangerous, historical myth and male fantasy, the femme fatale represents both erotic promise and a death trap to the male observer. Conceived at the end of the 19th century in the works of Gustave Moreau, Franz von Stuck and Lovis Corinth, the femme fatale was completely reinvented in the 20th century by many female artists.

Seductive and dangerous, the figure of the femme fatale in art was completely reinvented in the 20th century.

The Femme Fatale in Art

An exclusive investigation into the Russian paramilitary organisation Wagner, headed by oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin. 2,500 documents were leaked from Prigozhin’s servers by anti-Putin hackers, shedding light on this secretive group of mercenaries, a key element in the war in Ukraine.

Data Sources

An exclusive investigation into the Russian paramilitary organisation Wagner, headed by oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin. 

The Prigozhin Papers

Behind his polite exterior lies a formidable leader with a ruthless character, ready to do anything to make China the world's leading power by the People’s Republic’s centenary in 2049. This well-documented portrait of the Chinese president gives an unprecedented insight into his politics and shows how Xi Jinping's personal journey has shaped his choices as he steers China towards world domination.

A portrait of the Chinese president giving an unprecedented insight into his politics and showing how Xi Jinping's personal journey has shaped his choices as he steers China towards world domination.

The New World of Xi Jinping

The Greek government is under intense pressure to explain how February’s tragic train accident happened. The crash has sparked widespread anti-government protests. We take a broad view of the state of gender equality across Europe and find out about a pioneering law to help menopausal women in Spain.

Greece train crash / Gender equality / Photography

Massive protests engulf Greece after a deadly train crash, with the public pointing fingers at the government.

ARTE Europe Weekly

The UK and the EU reach a new agreement on Northern Ireland, a focus on how bad fast fashion is for the environment, and the rise of literary influencers on Tiktok.

New Northern Ireland Agreement / Fast Fashion in Europe

The UK and the EU reach a new agreement on Northern Ireland and a focus on how bad fast fashion is for the environment, plus literary Tiktok,

In El Salvador, gangs have terrorised the country for decades. But when Nayib Bukele was elected president in 2019, becoming the youngest head of state in Latin America, he vowed to take back control from the gangs by installing a state of emergency.

El Salvador: The coolest dictator in the world?

When Nayib Bukele was elected president in 2019, he vowed to take back control from the gangs by installing a state of emergency.

ARTE Reportage

The decisive moment in 1618 that triggered the Thirty Years' War between Catholics and Protestants and changed the course of European history.

The decisive moment in 1618 that triggered the Thirty Years' War between Catholics and Protestants. 

The Defenestration of Prague

Far from the metropolitan centre of Tel Aviv, Sderot show another side of Israel. One with high-levels of social deprivation and strong support for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government’s controversial judicial reforms.

Sderot - The Other Israel

Far from the metropolitan centre of Tel Aviv, Sderot is a different Israel with strong support for Netanjahu and high levels of social deprivation.

Palestinian prisoners in Israeli gaols have fathered around one hundred children over the last ten years. Their sperm is smuggled out of prison to be used in IVF with their partners.

Israel-Palestine: Secret Babies of the Intifada

Palestinian prisoners in Israeli gaols have fathered around one hundred children over the last ten years.

Working her way out of poverty as a sex worker all while supporting her family in Romania. That’s Andrada’s goal. She speaks confidently and openly about her work in a red-light district in Germany’s Ruhr region.  
This programme by German channel ARD is part of The European Collection, a joint initiative of European public media (ARD, ARTE, France Télévisions, SRG SSR and ZDF), coordinated by ARTE.

Portrait of a sex worker in the Ruhr region, Germany.  

Hard Life – I sell sex for money

One aspect of the war in Ukraine is being played out in the shadows. Our reporter met partisans in the Kherson region, which was occupied by Russian forces until last November. These Ukrainian civilians have set up resistance networks in Russian-occupied territories.

Ukraine: Resistance in Occupied Territories

Our reporters met partisans in the Kherson region, which was occupied by Russian forces until last November. Ukrainian civilians there have set up resistance networks in Russian-occupied territories.

Lyubov, which means love in Russian, is 80 years old and lives alone on the shores of Lake Baikal. She bears witness to this wonder of nature and possesses and unbreakable bond with the world’s deepest lake in Siberia. Her life here is hard, especially in winter, but she would not live anywhere else.

On the shores of Lake Baikal, an old woman lives alone in a beautiful place that is dear to her heart.

The Old Woman and the Lake

With all the religious wars, the 17th century was a tense time in Europe. And in art one theme caught everyone’s imagination: the Virgin Mary.

Assumption of the Virgin - Nicolas Poussin

Look But Don't Touch

To celebrate 50 years of French radio station FIP, Sting gives a special performance in the monumental surroundings of the Pantheon in Paris.

50 Years of FIP Radio

Sting at the Pantheon in Paris

Less than 40 kilometres separate the French coast from England at Calais. The crossing seems easy to many, although in reality it is highly dangerous. Smugglers have recently been launching more and more small boats from the French beaches crammed with young people in the hope of a better life.

Children of Calais

Smugglers have been launching more and more small boats from the French beaches crammed with young people in the hope of a better life in England.

Cosmetic surgery is becoming more popular in Europe and the world. We talk about the plastic surgery craze with French plastic surgeons Mauricio de Maio and Oren Marco and philosopher Heather Widdows.

We talk about the plastic surgery craze with French plastic surgeons Mauricio de Maio and Oren Marco and philosopher Heather Widdows.

Crazy for Plastic Surgery

Piano/electric duo Grandbrothers perform at Cologne Cathedral to celebrate the 700th anniversary of its consecration, in a spectacular show featuring their ‘augmented’ piano and light show.

Grandbrothers from Cologne Cathedral

Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania were once little-known countries nestled away in northeastern Europe, but they now have a front row seat to the invasion of Ukraine. Former members of the Soviet Union and neighbours of Russia, they see the war as a threat to their own security. They fear that they'll be next.

Baltic States: On the Edge of War

Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania view the Ukraine war as a threat to their own security.

Tracks East

Tracks East

Children of War

Tracks East

The Day After Tomorrow

Tracks East

Hierarchies – Who’s in Charge?

Tracks East

Blackout

Tracks East

Myth, Religion and War

Tracks East

Humour as a Weapon

Tracks EastSolidarity

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