Huliaipole is a small town in the eastern part of the Zaporizhzhia region that has become a symbol of freedom and defiance.

At the beginning of the 20th century, it was the birthplace of Nestor Makhno — a leader in the liberation and peasant uprisings that swept across the Ukrainian steppe during the revolutionary events of 1917–1921.

It was here that people tried to build a society free from coercion and centralized power, based on self-governance, mutual aid, and equality.

What remains of that history today — in a town once again living to the sounds of war? This is the story of our report from the homeland of the Makhnovists.