The Class of the Revolution

Mykhailo is about to turn seventeen. He stands by the window in his home in central Kyiv, just as he did ten years ago. “This is where I waited for my parents to return from the Maidan. The revolution had just ended.” In a few weeks, he and his classmates will be going to Independence Square to honor those who died during those days, when they themselves were just seven years old. They had just started school when the Revolution of Dignity began, and Russia attacked Ukraine. Now, in the fourth year of full-scale war, they are graduating from school.

Photographer Alex Babenko met these teenagers last November. Since then, he has been photographing them as they run through school hallways between classes, attend Funds for the Armed Forces or Free the Azovstal Defenders rallies, or clear debris after yet another Russian air strike.

“I was deeply moved by these teenagers. Take Mykhailo, for example — he is preparing to become a soldier. He looks up to his father, Yehor Sobolev, a former journalist and lawmaker who now commands a UAV company in a special forces unit.

“Over the past year, Mykhailo has been learning to build FPV drones. He’s nervous as he tests his first creation, hoping everything goes well so his father will see it and entrust him with more serious work. His parents want him to pursue a college education, but he sees his future only in the military. He dreams of living freely, and with dignity — and to achieve that, Ukraine must win.

“Ania, his classmate, photographs every protest she attends. She wants to study journalism and shape the world through the stories she documents, though she’s not sure it’s possible. She also dreams of traveling to every corner of Ukraine, including Donetsk and Crimea.

“Hlib was born in Melitopol, which is currently under occupation. He is now raising money for the Georgian Legion. He says he is on his way to becoming Ukrainian, and doesn’t believe that this happens by itself: it must be worked for — earned.

“It is now May; soon, the high school seniors will take their national exams and begin applying to universities. Despite their remarkable civic awareness and the activities they take on, between classes or on walks, when Mykhailo smiles at his girlfriend or his classmates rehearse for a play, I’m reminded that they are still teenagers — it’s just that their youth is unfolding in a time of war. And war changes people, just like death, which has entered the life of every Ukrainian and settled on our doorsteps,” says Oleksandr Babenko.

Translated from Ukrainian by Liubov Kukharenko