Across Ukraine, a cultural counteroffensive against Russia has seen hundreds of Soviet-era streets renamed, scores of statues dismantled and Russian literature removed from bookshelves. Nowhere are these efforts clearer than in Kharkiv, a largely Russian-speaking border region in northeastern Ukraine. Many residents, including those who grew up speaking Russian and have relatives on both sides of the border, have switched to Ukrainian, long derided by some as a peasant language. Mykola Kolomiets, a 40-year-old head children's art studio head, says using Russian words now leaves him with "an unpleasant taste" as if he had "eaten something rotten". IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES ARRANGED IN SEQUENCES