A Song, a Film, a Festival, a Holiday: 56 Years of “Chervona Ruta”

In September 1970, on the live broadcast of the television program “Kamerton dobroho nastroiu” (Tuning Fork of Good Spirits) in the Bukovyna town of Chernivtsi, a song was heard for the first time. It was performed by its composer, Volodymyr Ivasiuk (Володимир Івасюк), and singer Olena Kuznetsova (Suspilne, Ukraine’s public broadcaster, 2021). The government newspaper Uriadovyi Kurier (2011) places the song’s first performance by its author at Teatralna Square, in the center of the town.

The song’s title is “Chervona Ruta” (Червона рута), meaning “Red Ruta.” In 1971 it became a musical film of the same title, and in 1989 a music festival was named after the song. Then, in May 2026, Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada established a “Day of Ukrainian Music” tied to the dates of that 1989 festival. This article traces what one song’s name has been attached to over 56 years.

The Composer, Volodymyr Ivasiuk

According to the entry in Енциклопедія Сучасної України (Encyclopedia of Modern Ukraine, “ESU” below; written by V. M. Selezinka), Ivasiuk was born in the town of Kitsman, Chernivtsi Oblast, the son of Mykhailo Ivasiuk. While studying at the medical institute in Chernivtsi, he also attended a music school, then moved to Lviv in 1972 to study at both the conservatory and the medical institute. ESU cites the combination of melodies rooted in Hutsul and Pokuttia folk song with the popular beat rhythms of the time as a hallmark of his songs.

His birth date splits between encyclopedias: ESU gives March 4, 1949, while the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies’ Internet Encyclopedia of Ukraine (IEU, first published 1988) gives April 4, 1949.

How Many Songs Did He Write?

The number of songs also differs by encyclopedia. IEU gives “about 50,” ESU “over 100.” IEU records that his first song, “The Cranes Have Flown Away,” came out in 1965, and that both the words and music of “Chervona Ruta” are Ivasiuk’s own. Neither encyclopedia explains how far the count goes — whether it includes works for which he wrote only the words or only the music.

The Title “Red Ruta”

Ruta (рута) is a plant name, and IEU translates the title into English as “Red Rue.” According to ESU, the idea for the words and music grew out of a collection of short folk songs called kolomyiky, compiled by folklorist Volodymyr Hnatiuk in his Ethnographic Collection (1905-1907, volumes 17-18). Hnatiuk’s other work is covered in our article on the animal folk tales.

The song’s background is sometimes told with a legend that ruta blooms red only on the night of Kupala. The encyclopedias cited here give no such explanation.

From Television to Film

According to ESU, the ensemble “Smerichka” from the House of Culture in Vyzhnytsia Raion, and its singers Vasyl Zinkevych and Nazarii Yaremchuk, performed Ivasiuk’s songs and won at Moscow television festivals in 1971 and 1972. Suspilne reports that “Chervona Ruta” was chosen in the 1971 “Song of the Year” competition in the Soviet Union.

In 1971, a musical film of the same title, Chervona Ruta, was made. According to ESU, it was directed by Roman Oleksiv, produced by Ukrtelefilm, and starred singers Sofia Rotaru and Zinkevych.

1989: A Music Festival in Chernivtsi

The music festival named after the song, “Chervona Ruta,” was held in Chernivtsi from September 17 to 24, 1989. The Chernivtsi Oblast State Archive’s online exhibit publishes a resolution dated February 28, 1989, “On the 1st Republican Festival of Ukrainian Contemporary Song and Pop Music ‘Chervona Ruta,'” as well as the program of events for September 17-24.

According to Suspilne’s video archive, the festival opened on September 17 at the “Bukovyna” stadium. The idea came from journalist Ivan Lepsha, and, per the same archive, the concept was worked out in 1988 by musicians Taras Melnyk, Kyrylo Stetsenko, and Anatolii Kalenychenko, together with poet Ivan Malkovych. The oblast archive’s exhibit also includes a document dated September 27, 1989 — after the festival — in which the Communist Party of Ukraine’s Central Committee gave the festival a critical assessment. ESU states that surzhyk (mixed Ukrainian-Russian speech) lyrics were also used at the first festival (see our article on surzhyk).

Held Every Two Years

The festival’s official site explains that it has been held every two years. Here are the host cities. Attendance figures are as announced by the organizers.

The official site gives 2025 as the year for the winners following those from 2019. As of September 2026, regional selections for the 18th edition are running from February through November across 24 oblasts plus Kyiv, Warsaw, and London, with the finals planned for 2027 (official site).

1979

ESU states that Ivasiuk died in circumstances that remain unclear, sometime between April 24 and May 18, 1979, in the forest of Briukhovychi near Lviv. He was buried in Lviv on May 22.

A Memorial House, and the “Day of Ukrainian Music”

According to ESU, Ukraine posthumously awarded Ivasiuk the Shevchenko National Prize in 1994 and the title “Hero of Ukraine” in 2009. Chernivtsi has an oblast memorial house, in the home where his family lived from 1971 to 1995, which also holds the manuscript score of “Chervona Ruta” (ESU).

On May 27, 2026, the Verkhovna Rada adopted a resolution (registration number 15053) establishing a “Day of Ukrainian Music.” It falls on the third Saturday of September every year, and the Rada explains the date as tied to the 1989 “Chervona Ruta” festival. In 2026, the third Saturday of September is the 19th.