Iurii Ivanenko
Year of birth: 1961
City of birth: Kherson, Ukraine
Origin: Servitka Roma
Education: Higher musical education (music college, conservatory)
Main areas of activity: development of Roma culture, preservation of historical memory, human rights protection, literary work, interethnic dialogue.
Key contribution: founder of one of the first Roma organizations in Kherson (1996); President of the Roma Council of Ukraine, which unites 47 organizations; organizer of all-Ukrainian Roma cultural events and conferences; author of the first Roma fairy tales in verse; honorary citizen of the city of Kherson, Roma translator.
Impact: united Roma leaders of Ukraine, promoting the consolidation of the civil society movement; fundamentally improved the positive attitude towards Roma in Kherson; became a role model as a Rom with higher education in a high state position; enriched Roma culture with unique literary and artistic projects, including translations of world classics into the Romani language.
“Every day I thank my father for insisting and making me study. If it weren’t for him, I would never have become an educated person.”
“If we all unite as one, then we are a force. Unity is our true strength.”
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Biographical Information
Iurii Ivanenko is a prominent Ukrainian Roma public figure, musician, writer, and head of the International Roma NGO “Ketane.” His journey from a talented musician to a national leader is a vivid example of combating stereotypes and building Roma civil society.
Early Years and Upbringing
Iurii was born in Kherson to a family of Servitka Roma, whose parents came from the Poltava and Kyiv regions. His father, despite having only seven years of education, became the first Rom in the city to work as a taxi driver in the state taxi fleet, which was a sign of high trust and professionalism. It was his father, realizing the importance of education, who insisted that Iurii study and literally forced him to become a professional musician. His childhood was spent in exhausting accordion (bayan) lessons under the supervision of a demanding teacher and his father with a switch. This path led him to a music college and conservatory, where he was one of the few Roma pursuing higher education.
Iurii Ivanenko’s family memory preserves stories of 20th-century tragedies: during World War II, his grandmother saved an entire camp by leading women and children out of occupied territory, for which she earned the unique right to vote in men’s assemblies. The family also suffered during the Holodomor, during which his grandmother’s sister died.
Professional Path and Public Activism
After graduating from the conservatory, Iurii Ivanenko faced systemic discrimination in employment. However, thanks to his talent and a stroke of luck, he got a job, and later, with the support of the head of the culture department who believed in him, he became an inspector in the regional administration, and subsequently the director of the philharmonic, where he has worked for over 30 years.
His journey into public activism began in 1996 when local authorities prompted him to create a Roma organization to work with questionnaires for genocide victims, as others avoided working with Roma. This forced initiative grew into his life’s work. Iurii quickly became a notable figure at the national level, uniting leaders from different regions and organizing the first large-scale Roma conferences.
Activities and Contributions
Under Iurii Ivanenko’s leadership, his organization transformed into a powerful center for the cultural and human rights movement. He initiated the “Friendship of Peoples” festival, uniting all national minorities of the Kherson region, and numerous artistic projects dedicated to Roma history. A special contribution to Roma culture was his writing of the first Roma fairy tales in verse, for which his wife was the inspiration.
Iurii Ivanenko is the President of the Roma Council of Ukraine. For his work, he was awarded the title “Honored Artist of Ukraine” upon the recommendation of Roma organizations and became an honorary citizen of the city of Kherson. During the occupation of Kherson by Russian troops, he endured interrogations and threats of execution but refused to cooperate with the occupiers.
Photo archive of the Zolotarenko family
