On September 15 the Forum of Publishers in Lviv launched The Power of the Soft Sign, or The Return of Rus’ Truth, a new, 12th, book of Den’s Library. Let us say from the very beginning: a large number of publications were sold out on the eve of and during the event.
Den’s contributors and readers, as well the heroes of its pages, came to see the book launching ceremony at the Potockis Palace. Among those who came from Kyiv and Ostroh were those who took part in the creation of the book: Kyrylo HALUSHKO, Candidate of Sciences (History), chairman of the all-Ukrainian civic organization Liberal Arts Society, author of the book Ukrainian Nationalism: a Crash Course for the Russians; Serhii KOT, Candidate of Sciences (History), senior research associate at the Institute of the History of Ukraine; Professor Volodymyr PANCHENKO, Ph.D. (Philology); Professor Petro KRALIUK, Ph.D. (Philosophy), Pro-Rector of the National University of Ostroh Academy. What made the ceremony a multimedia event were video addresses of Dmytro STEPOVYK, Ph.D. (Philo-sophy, Theology, and Arts), and Oleksandr PALII, political scientist and historian.
“It is very important that we could see, at least on the video, and hear the wise opinion of Dmytro Stepovyk, the author of the well-known academic monograph History of the Ukrainian Icon,” said the forum moderator Iryna KLIUCHKOVSKA, a friend of Den, director of the International Institute of Education, Culture and Links with the Diaspora at the National University of Lviv Polytechnic.
Any Forum event would have taken pride in receiving such Lviv guests as the actors’ couple Taisia LYTVYNENKO and Fedir STRYHUN; poet Ihor KALYNETS; Vasyl PYLYPIUK; Lviv National University professors Bohdan ZALIZNIAK, Vasyl LYZANCHUK, and Yosyp LOS; writer Roman LUBKIVSKY.
Accordingly, the atmosphere was full of wise ideas, tolerance, and love of books.
And here is a story to be continued. We are sure many still remember a wonderful letter we received from Yurii VIZNIURA, a reader from Kalush, Ivano-Frankivsk oblast, a Ukrainian veteran of labor and schoolchildren’s medicine, and a Joy for Children volunteer. After the event, our reader shared his impressions, speaking with sincere delight (a rare thing now) about the presence of a special metaphysics at the forum.
“What is this metaphysics? The public mood is a bit subdued in this country, and the overall situation inspires no optimism. But when I mingled with Den… I feel charged with enormous energy by the aura of this hall and these people. Although I do not belong to mystics, there is some mysticism here. It must be the power of the soft sign.”
In a word, Den felt like a long-awaited guest in Lviv.
We are pleased to have been welcomed on this special day by those who financially supported the publication, namely: Liudmyla BEZPALKO, general manager of the Borshchahivka Chemical and Pharmaceutical Plant; and Bohdan HAWRYLYSHYN.
“Fifteen years is a long way and, let us hope, a tangible result. The latter would have been impossible without the trust of the active and thinking part of the society. Trust and cooperation are the key words for Ukraine,” Larysa IVSHYNA, Den’s editor-in-chief, said. “For many centuries, the Ukrainians were separated and had their sound aspiration to support one another suppressed. This nasty habit occurs, unfortunately, not only in politics but also in many other vital societal spheres. Den proves that this challenge can be overcome step by step.”
An interesting point of the launching ceremony was flowers for the editor-in-chief from Taisia Lytvynenko.
Although the time was more limited than when the previous Den books were launched (besides, it is a 800-page publication in this case), our contributors and readers managed to express an almost record number of sound ideas in 45 minutes.
COMMENTARIES
Volodymyr PANCHENKO, literary critic; literature expert; Ph.D. (Philology); Professor, National University of Kyiv Mohyla Academy:
“To begin with, this book, which bears such an enigmatic title, The Power of the Soft Sign, is polemical by its very essence, for it is about the history of an ancient culture. And history is – at least in the experience of Ukraine and our neighbors – a field for extremely important political or even geopolitical battles. This book is not only about the history of Ukrainians and Kyivan Rus’ but also about our relationship with our own past and our relations with Russia which also finds it difficult to restore its historical memory. In essence, the book’s linchpin is connected with the formation of and search for our own identity. It is about certain controversies of Ukraine and Russia, for the latter is also seeking its identity and trying to find it in the imperial grandeur, while Ukraine finds it very difficult to seek its own identity. Kyivan Rus’ is the polemical point here because, as is known, Russia is doing this even at the top governmental level – I mean the decree of President Medvedev ‘On Celebrating the 1,150th Anniversary of Russian Statehood.’ Russia is trying to appropriate the legacy of Kyivan Rus’. So it is just the case when we ourselves must know our own roots and legacy. I think one of the book’s most pivotal moments is we proper, Kyivan Rus’, and we with in relation to Kyivan Rus’. In my view, this subject is to be continued over and over again. The newspaper Den is exactly focusing on researching the history of Kyivan Rus’.
“It should be also emphasized that The Power of the Soft Sign is an example of brilliant political writing on a historical subject. It is a political writing based on a scholarly background: among the authors are people who specialize in history as well as journalists, which is also only natural. I am convinced that this kind of historical writing is very much in demand because there is an essential gap today between academic knowledge and mass awareness. For this reason, there is a bad need for intermediaries between academic, scholarly, knowledge and what is connected to social life and historical memory among the public at large. So this historical journalism with a serious academic background is very important, and The Power of the Soft Sign serves this purpose.
“The book’s authors use a sharply-pointed journalistic and, at the same time, academic pen. Naturally, we must also add Serhii Krymsky – we can say it is another instance of referring to his spiritual and intellectual legacy, his reflections on Sophia (wisdom). The book also contains Yaroslav Dashkevych and a conceptual work of Hryhorii Pivtorak on the history of the Ukrainian language. It is very good that it can be found in a popular-science publication. I also like it that the book begins with an illustration – a fresco fragment of the ruined Church of the Tithes in Kyiv dated 996, which depicts the eyes of a saint. It is a very penetrating look – although I know this fresco, this look nevertheless attracts me, for I can see many things, such as alarm and surprise, in the saint’s eyes. He seems to be asking us about what we have.
“The chief editor’s introduction shows brevity and aphoristic nature. For example, the following statement is important: recognition of Ukraine’s thousands-year history undermines Russia’s imperial instinct. One of the refrains of this foreword and, hence, of the entire book is the idea that Ukraine’s awareness of itself and its historical memory is very important not only for Ukraine and, after all, Russia but also for Europe as a whole. For this reason, I reread with great interest the works by British journalist Lancelot Lawton. What he wrote about the Ukraine of 1935 still has an impact on today. Indeed, in my view, the Ukrainian question is today the key for us, Russia, and Europe. It is a pivotal question for the Europe of that era and today. This is, so to speak, the main key in this book.”
Petro KRALIUK, Ph.D. (Philosophy); Professor, Pro-Rector for Education, National University of Ostroh Academy:
“When, almost a year ago, Larysa Ivshyna disclosed her plans about The Power of the Soft Sign project, I did not imagine, to tell the truth, the extent to which it will be urgent and topical. The point is not only in that many articles, which were published in Den as part of the project, caused heated debates and were posted on various websites. These materials were an adequate response to the aggressive humanitarian policy of our northern neighbor. Deliberately or indeliberately, Den has done what the numerous bureaucrats in the humanitarian sphere were supposed to do. The newspaper has built the Ukrainian World in contrast to the Russian World. And, indeed, this world proved to be much more interesting, multifaceted and constructive than that of our neighbors. The book The Power of the Soft Sign can be considered sort of an outcome of this project. But I hope this will be not just the completion of one project but the point of departure for another. The point is The Power of the Soft Sign project brought forth the initiative of marking the 1,160th anniversary of Ukrainian statehood next year. This initiative came out of the walls of Ostroh Academy which has been cooperating with Den for many years. So I think Ms. Ivshyna will launch a new project to properly mark this major anniversary.”
Iryna KLIUCHKOVSKA, director, International Institute of Education, Culture, and Links with the Diaspora at the National University of Lviv Polytechnic:
“I recently met a Pasternak couple in Paris. They are taking an active part in the life of the Ukrainian community in Paris. They told me about the Holy Russia exhibit that was held recently at the Louvre. These people were outraged when they saw Ancient Rus’ sacred objects being displayed in the well-known museum with alien signboards as heritage of Russian art. The Pasternak couple urged the Ukrainians to resist this. For this and other reasons, the publication of The Power of the Soft Sign is very timely. The publication brings us back to our roots, for Kyivan Rus’ was the foundation that was supposed to justify the existence of our state today. But the situation is different. We seem to have lost our belonging to this foundation due to numerous distortions and falsifications. So The Power of the Soft Sign reminds us of our original roots. The book is valuable, above all, in this. I am sure the work of many prominent progressive academics, who took part in the preparation of this publication, will not be a stepping stone for political speculations and will be treated as an axiom. Obviously, the Den’s Library and the new historical website Ukraina Incognita is an integrated educational project.”
