Russians claim Ukrainian graphic artist Heorhiy Narbut their own

A Russian graphic designer who designed a font that fuses the Russian and Ukrainian languages says he derived inspiration from a Ukrainian artist whom he claims is Russian when creating the new typeface. 

Aleksander Shimanov’s ST-Surzhik print type (surzhyk is a mixture of Ukrainian and Russian -Ed) actually serves as a symbol of colonialism. 

He states on social media that he was inspired by the works of the renowned Ukrainian graphic artist and illustrator Heorhiy Narbut. 

In his description, Shimanov referred to Narbut as a “great Russian artist and typographer.”

“Narbut is an author who grew up within the Russian cultural code, absorbed Russian classics, and became a Ukrainian nationalist towards the end of his life,” writes Shimanov.

The font created by Shimanov does not promote the Ukrainian language. 

However, it is available for speakers of Russian, Belarusian, Bulgarian, Serbian, Chuvash, Tatar, Mari, Bashkir, Udmurt, English, German, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Croatian, Finnish, and Slovenian.

“Undoubtedly, Narbut is the father of Ukrainian typography, both Soviet and nationalist. Remove Narbut – Ukrainian typography, as distinct from the general Russian letter forms, will disappear instantly. But the letters of Narbut themselves are of Russian origin,” states Shimanov.

The Russian designer says that “Russian classics should not be exclusively given to Ukrainian nationalists.” 

Shimanov, who hails from Nizhny Novgorod – Russia’s sixth biggest city – is known for his fonts inspired by Soviet propaganda posters, as well as the “Soviet lettering” section on his website.

Russians continue to downplay the significance of Ukrainian achievements, and “the words that the “Kyiv period” of Heorhiy Narbut life is not as important as his activities in St. Petersburg are only an example,” write analysts from the independent media literacy campaign Po toi bік novyn (On the other side of the news).

“They also continue to deny Ukrainians their own identity by appropriating part of our culture merely because the artist studied in a Russian city,” the text states.

Fonts are considered a component of cultural influence, say specialists in this field. 

“Appropriating Ukrainian cultural heritage, as in the case of Heorhiy Narbut, and using Russian fonts in the public space are tools of ‘visual occupation’ that undermine Ukrainian identity,” the text adds.

Narbut was an outstanding Ukrainian graphic artist and illustrator, one of the founders and rector of the Ukrainian Academy of Arts. In 1917, he created the Ukrainian alphabet and also designed the state symbols and currency of the Ukrainian People’s Republic when it was an independent state. 

His work had an invaluable impact on the development of Ukrainian graphics in the first half of the 20th century.

“He planned to create the ‘Alphabet’ in the Ukrainian language and considered it the most important of all his work as a graphic artist,” writes the Ukrainian media about reading culture, Ukrainian cultural website Chytomo says.