In 1991 Ukraine stepped forward and declared its independence. For better or worse, gone too is the state funding that supported a once vibrant music scene when Ukraine was held in Moscow’s grip. Once a source of great pride and honor for the former Soviet Republics, many formerly celebrated Ukrainian musicians are now destitute, while young students of music have an uncertain future. The spiritual repression of the Soviet era, ironically, inspired creative genius and stands in marked contrast to the evolving state of music today in Ukraine (2000s). The void has been partially filled by a surge of Ukrainian nationalism that emerged in the light of freedom as the population and musicians alike searched for a unique Ukrainian heritage from a history dominated by Russia.