Today, I continue to cover events in the temporarily occupied Crimean territory, the state policy of de-occupation and reintegration, and I continue to combat Russian myths, propaganda, and disinformation. I also report on the Ukrainian ethnic community in Crimea that resists occupation, aiming to support pro-Ukrainian people and counter pro-Russian forces — this is essentially a battle in the information space.
Endurance, resilience, and perseverance are the foundation of our team. We work to bring Crimea back, and we understand that if we leave the information battlefield, we will lose crucial moments in matters of de-occupation and reintegration.
Later, our team received initial grants, allowing us to develop the newspaper further. It was founded by the NGO "Ukrainian House" (Bakhchisaray) and distributed for free because the main goal was to overcome the barriers to understanding Ukrainian culture caused by Russian disinformation.
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Cooperate with Andriy
I entered journalism as a Ukrainian language and literature teacher in a Crimean school. At that time, there were not enough media outlets published in Ukrainian, and the content of Russian-language media did not align with my worldview or didn’t correspond with Ukrainian national identity. So, I decided to launch another Ukrainian-language newspaper in Crimea — "Dumka." In the beginning, we published the first issues in A3 format, on individual sheets printed on both sides using a risograph, and stapled the pages together. We manually drew illustrations for each article.
Public figure, journalist, and political prisoner.
Andriy Shchekun is a founder of Ukrainian-language media in Crimea — the "Dumka" newspaper and "Voice of Crimea" agency. He is active in the de-occupation and reintegration movement for Crimea and Sevastopol. Shekun coordinates the "Humanitarian Policy" working group at the Crimean Platform Expert Network, and represents the Crimean Ukrainians' Regional Council.
Andriy
Shchekun
I began my career as a Ukrainian language teacher in Crimea, at a time when Ukrainian culture was largely invisible. Today, my focus is on covering events in occupied Crimea, fighting misinformation, and raising awareness of the region's struggles. The transition of Crimea’s schools to the Ukrainian education system would symbolise the final step in reclaiming both the land and its cultural heritage.