Whether the real deal or cheaper alternatives, LEGO has been part of a lot of our childhoods. Being able to construct the most incredible puzzles or just place random pieces together to form various combos, it truly brings back some nostalgic feels. Wouldn’t it be lovely if we could construct our lives in a similar way? (Though mine would most likely fall apart anyway.)
Talking about lives falling apart, I’m sure you’re aware of at least some of what’s going on in Ukraine. With 3 million people having left their home country, hundreds deceased, and thousands holding on to the dream of a better tomorrow, people around the globe have tried their best to raise funds and offer help to Ukraine. One of these has been Citizen Brick, who’ve designed a few LEGO lookalike figurines of the symbols of resistance to raise money for medical supplies in Ukraine.
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Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has become a symbol of resistance and resilience. Another element that shares the title is the Molotov cocktail
Image credits: zelenskiy_official
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been commended across Europe and the US for standing up to Putin and leading the country during the crisis. But a leader needs a weapon and what better than a Molotov cocktail to aid the fight against an aggressor?
According to National Geographic, the cocktail, also referred to as a petrol bomb or a gasoline bomb, has been the most accessible weapon for underdogs, being more effective than stones, but not much harder to come by. All that’s needed is a glass bottle and a few flammable ingredients. We can’t really say what the exact combo is, but I’m sure you can figure it out.
Citizen Brick decided to unite the two elements together to raise donations for Ukraine and created LEGO figures of both Zelenskyy and the Molotovs
Image credits: zelenskiy_official
Citizen Brick is a store in Chicago that designs custom LEGO pieces, but they’re not affiliated with LEGO. Their mission—to make things LEGO wonʼt, and in a way others canʼt.
They decided to model one on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as well as create tiny little LEGO Molotov cocktails. They’re aiming to honor and stand in solidarity with those still remaining in Ukraine, fighting for their lives, and those who have had to uproot their own.
The company posted the figures on their Facebook page, saying “in light of the recent invasion of Ukraine by the Russian military, Citizen Brick has decided to raise donations to help Ukrainian refugees.” People could purchase the Molotov Cocktail for $10 and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy minifig for $100.
Image credits: ukraine.ua
The proceeds went to Direct Relief and, after selling out the first time, they had to run a second batch, aiming for an even greater sum of donations
Image credits: Kalison Cook
All proceeds went to Direct Relief, an international humanitarian aid organization that is currently working with Ukraine’s Ministry of Health to help both refugees and people who are trapped or voluntarily remaining in the country and assisting with medical needs and supplies to both Ukraine and neighboring countries.
It is not surprising that everything sold out nearly as soon as it went live on their website. With one batch of these unofficial LEGO pieces, the company initially raised $16,540 in direct sales and netted another $170 in Facebook donations, all of which went to helping the people of Ukraine.
Image credits: citizenbrick
They soon promised to be making a second batch, launching an even more ambitious fundraising campaign with a goal of $100,000.
Ukraine’s official Instagram page shared this initiative and the owner of Citizen Brick told Vice they were scrambling to make another batch. The second campaign was even more successful, selling out yet again after just one day.
They managed to raise $145,000 for Ukraine and have encouraged others to make a donation straight to Direct Relief, as they won’t be able to make more on short notice due to a limit in parts.
The history of the Molotov cocktail is an interesting take on the past and the similarities to what we're seeing today
Image credits: USMC Archives
Few know the story of how the name Molotov Cocktail was born, so we shall digress from the main topic of the article to bring you a piece of history, which you might use in some trivia. Feel free to skip it by scrolling, but for those of you still here, the Finnish were the ones to come up with the name.
When Soviet forces attacked Finland in 1939, Vyacheslav Mikhaylovich Molotov, Stalin’s foreign minister, claimed the warplanes were airlifting food to the country, not dropping bombs. The Finns responded by dubbing the bombs “Molotov’s bread baskets” and offered to provide drinks—or cocktails—to go with them.
State liquor factories had already switched from making vodka to preparing bulk quantities of the improvised incendiary devices, which Finnish troops used with great effect against Soviet armor. The name “Molotov cocktail” stuck and isn’t it coincidental for it to become a weapon of choice against even more Soviet… I mean, Russian propaganda.
The Ukrainian people are standing strong, creating Molotov cocktails to fight off the aggressor
Image credits: denismeyer_hl
The people of Ukraine have been coming together to fight the aggressor, learning how to make and throw Molotov cocktails without hurting themselves. Everyone—kids, men and women of all ages—who has stayed behind is doing their part.
Pravda Brewery, located in Lviv, has even created special designs for bottles meant to become Molotov cocktails. Every little thing counts to both boost morale and the hopes of fighting off enemy forces.
Image credits: denismeyer_hl
The Pravda Brewery in Lviv has even designed special bottles to be used in the fight
Image credits: pravdabrewery
It is unclear whether more figurines will be made, but you can support Ukraine by other means
Image credits: diarioelmural
If you're looking to get in on the next round of Zelenskyy figures and Molotov cocktails, your best bet would be to follow Citizen Brick on Instagram or Facebook so that you'll get the announcement when and if they're available again. If you’d like to support Ukraine in other means, here is a list of resources.
"We will sing again" say the Ukrainians, preparing to stand strong each and every day that the war continues
Image credits: europeinwar
The war continues on, nearing a month since its beginning, yet the Ukrainians stand strong and all of us are watching the events closely.
The Ukrainian official Instagram has written on one of their posts a message of encouragement and we can hope the day they’re describing isn’t too far away: “We will win. There will be new cities. There will be new dreams. There will be a new story. There will be, there’s no doubt. And those we've lost will be remembered. And we will sing again, and we will celebrate anew.”
We didn't tell you anything, this is a cake recipe that can be modified to suit your needs
Image credits: Cshaw253_2020
People are loving the initiative, suggesting their own ideas for future launches and anticipating the third release
