![](https://birdinflight.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Prokhorenko-Horrors-of-War-8-1290x690-631.jpg)
Glorious Bastards: A Terrorist Country in Volodymyr Prokhorenko’s Drawings
![](https://birdinflight.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Volodymyr-Prokhorenko_200x200_acf_cropped-150x150.png)
A freelance artist. Studied at the Ukraine Typography Academy. Lives and works in Lviv.
— After finishing my studies, I worked as a graphic designer and created animation, which was a kind of a way to find my true self.
During the first two weeks of the full-scale invasion, I watched the news just like everyone else and got adjusted to constant stress. When I started drawing again, I wanted to show things that matter. Other than that, my life hasn’t changed — here, in Lviv, it wasn’t as bad as in the eastern parts of Ukraine or even in Kyiv.
Long before these events, I wanted to draw Lenin, however weird it sounds. It seemed incomprehensible to me, how such a small, bald, inarticulate man could have encompassed such a destructive force and left such a long bloody trail through generations and territories. My imagination painted a giant swollen bastard who blatantly moved forward, taking lives away and ruining all around. The same goes for Putin and Lukashenko. I decided to draw them naked to show their outright monstrous nature which they were trying to hide.
I decided to draw them naked to show their outright monstrous nature which they were trying to hide.
I used to live in Russia for some time, I had friends and family in this country. They are so deeply immersed in virtual reality, that even a homeless person feels like a chosen one. Propaganda has been drummed into Russians’ heads for generations. Now it’s all mixed up, boiling, and coming to life: Stalin, tsar Nikolai II, Hitler’s cap, Orthodox Christianity and many more. That’s how I came up with a toilet illustration. This society is so used to shitty propaganda, that it simply can’t live without it — it’s the coprophilia of a multimillion country.
![Lenin](https://birdinflight.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Prokhorenko-Horrors-of-War-7.jpg)
Lenin
![The west has created a monster which now terrorizes it](https://birdinflight.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Prokhorenko-Horrors-of-War-3.jpg)
The west has created a monster which now terrorizes it
![Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill blessing for military crimes](https://birdinflight.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Prokhorenko-Horrors-of-War-6.jpg)
Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill blessing for military crimes
![Ukraine surrounded by brotherly nations](https://birdinflight.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Prokhorenko-Horrors-of-War-13.jpg)
Ukraine surrounded by brotherly nations
![For kidZ](https://birdinflight.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Prokhorenko-Horrors-of-War-2.jpg)
For kidZ
![For Mariupol](https://birdinflight.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Prokhorenko-Horrors-of-War-1.jpg)
For Mariupol
![The majority of Russians approve of what their military does in Ukraine. Now you know why](https://birdinflight.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Prokhorenko-Horrors-of-War-12.jpg)
The majority of Russians approve of what their military does in Ukraine. Now you know why
![Russian ideology includes an insane mix of communism, church, criminal culture, militarism, and antisemitism](https://birdinflight.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Prokhorenko-Horrors-of-War-4.jpg)
Russian ideology includes an insane mix of communism, church, criminal culture, militarism, and antisemitism
Depending on how angry I am, creating an illustration can take a different amount of time. It took me about two days to draw one of the most popular images of a baby Lukashenko. But sometimes my emotions wear out and I can’t finish the work. I start by collecting references for their faces and then sculpt them with a ZBrush tool. Then I move those sculpted bastards to another program, to work on lightening and rendering. The final stage is my favorite: that’s when I draw in Photoshop, add hair, color and other things to make the creatures look more alive and ugly.
This is my art therapy and anger channeling. I think it works the same for people who are attracted to these illustrations. This is not a commercial project, at least for now. People can find these works in small art rooms in several countries.
This is my art therapy and anger channeling.
![How it feels under shelling](https://birdinflight.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Prokhorenko-Horrors-of-War-8.jpg)
How it feels under shelling
![The horror of 21st century](https://birdinflight.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Prokhorenko-Horrors-of-War-9.jpg)
The horror of 21st century
![Nuclear threat of 21st century](https://birdinflight.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Prokhorenko-Horrors-of-War-15.jpg)
Nuclear threat of 21st century
![About 360 Ukrainian children were killed during the war](https://birdinflight.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Prokhorenko-Horrors-of-War-10.jpg)
About 360 Ukrainian children were killed during the war
![EU dependency on terrorists’ gas and oil](https://birdinflight.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Prokhorenko-Horrors-of-War-5.jpg)
EU dependency on terrorists’ gas and oil
![Where does Russian army come from](https://birdinflight.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Prokhorenko-Horrors-of-War-16.jpg)
Where does Russian army come from
![Russia pollutes Ukrainian land](https://birdinflight.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Prokhorenko-Horrors-of-War-14.jpg)
Russia pollutes Ukrainian land
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