The 22nd Publishers’ Forum has ended. Den’s journalists have come back from Lviv, the city which had its entire life focused on books, presentations, and poetry readings on September 9-13. Our bags are much lighter now, because people bought lots of books from Den’s Library series. However, we have brought many experiences and thoughts back that still need to be “sorted out.”
So, we presented our latest books in Lviv on September 11. The hall was full, with the audience including politicians, scholars, and First Lady of Ukraine Maryna Poroshenko with her children. Our readers, coming from around the country, seized this opportunity to talk with authors and compilers of our latest publications. For instance, pensioner Vasyl Khomra came to Lviv from Khmelnytsky. “I have been Den’s subscriber for five years or so. Having already bought books from Den’s Library this morning, I resolved to attend the presentation as well. I have arrived here with my nephew, a voracious reader,” Khomra told us. “I worked as a welder all my life. Now I want to read various history books so as to know more about the past. I have already read The Power of the Soft Sign and books from the ‘Armor-Piercing Political Writing’ series, both parts of Den’s Library. Now I want to add Ukraine Incognita. TOP 25 to my collection, but your stand has already sold all copies of the book’s Ukrainian-language edition.”
Indeed, only Russian-language and English-language copies of Ukraine Incognita. TOP 25 remained at the stand, for all others were sold in the first two days of the forum. People mostly bought our journalistic trilogy as a complete set. Maria Semenchenko, Den’s social affairs editor and compiler of Catastrophe and Triumph. Histories of Ukrainian Heroes, stressed that all three books (“Trap,” or A Case without a Statute of Limitations; I, an Eyewitness. Notes from the Occupied Luhansk and Catastrophe and Triumph. Histories of Ukrainian Heroes) must be read in that order. “Without reading Ivan Kapsamun’s and Valentyn Torba’s books first, one cannot understand and comprehend the reasons and circumstances in which these amazing Ukrainian characters, described in my book about Ukrainian soldiers, revealed themselves,” Semenchenko believes.
MARYNA POROSHENKO ALREADY HAS A COLLECTION KERCHIEF “RETURN TO TSARHOROD” DESIGN. THE FIRST LADY IMMEDIATELY TRIED ON OUR GIFT, THANKED US AND SAID: “DEN’S ACTIONS ARE PRICELESS. YOUR TRILOGY, YOUR ENTIRE WORK PROMOTE PATRIOTIC EDUCATION” / Photo by Ruslan KANIUKA, The Day
“We shed our old ‘skins’ and gain new freshness of sensations,” Den’s editor-in-chief Larysa Ivshyna said about the new journalistic trilogy. “Den has been totally nonconformist throughout modern history. Thus, our new book series shows a causal relationship between the events that took place in the 1990s (described in “Trap”) and current developments, dealt with in I, an Eyewitness and Catastrophe and Triumph. Our readers see that our history ‘wing’ has been complemented by another which writes about the present.”
The trilogy’s compilers, Den’s journalists Kapsamun, Torba, and Semenchenko, talked a lot with readers and TV reporters and signed brand-new books. These works were “a matter of honor” for Den’s contributors. Torba, a former resident of Luhansk and author of I, an Eyewitness, went as far as to admit that writing the book saved him during his time in Luhansk under occupation by the so-called Luhansk People’s Republic’s militants. For his part, Kapsamun (the compiler of “Trap”) stressed that his book dealt with more than the high-profile Gongadze case. It offered an example of how to be true to one’s ways at all times.
Return to Tsarhorod, another fresh addition to Den’s history collection, sparked the scholarly interest long before it went to the presses. “We created an original historical concept, which, however, does not discard results obtained by many diligent scholars. More generally, thousand-year-old events have become acutely relevant lately. In the preface to Return to Tsarhorod, I wrote: ‘It has long been common knowledge that Ukraine is not Russia. However, the top news of today is that Russia is not Rus’. We must go back to the ancient history, finish our lessons, and put this knowledge to practical use, display and rethink it,” Ivshyna commented on the book.
The Lviv presentation saw people discussing and communicating with Return to Tsarhorod’s authors: historians Ihor Siundiukov, Petro Kraliuk, Volodymyr Rychka, Serhii Kot, and Volodymyr Panchenko. The book’s compiler Siundiukov believes that “it would be a catastrophic error to see historical journalism’s subject matter as some abstraction. Our historical memory can go into oblivion in that case, just like the Pochaina River did, where people of Kyiv had been baptized back in 988. Both Maidan protests and the ongoing war in eastern Ukraine could have been avoided if we based our actions on our millennial traditions of state-building rather than the traditions of the USSR. We hope that Return to Tsarhorod will make its peculiar contribution to the fight with the enemy.”
Den’s team took care of fashion-conscious consumers as well, as we presented Den’s collection kerchief “Return to Tsarhorod” at the forum. For the first time, it pictures on one plane four St. Sophia cathedrals, standing in Polotsk, Novgorod, Kyiv, and Constantinople. The original drawing was created by our staff artist Anna Havryliuk. Maryna Poroshenko was among the first owners of the new kerchief. The first lady immediately tried on our gift, thanked us, and said: “I felt it very important to come to your presentation, for Den’s actions are priceless. Your trilogy, your entire work promote patriotic education, help Ukrainians to tell good from evil.”
Traditionally, we publish reader reviews of our new publications, coming from those who came to the Forum as well as those who ordered them online.
“THE RETURN TO TSARHOROD OFFERS A SOBER LOOK AT THE PAST”
Larysa HIRILISHENA, economist:
“The first book to catch my attention was The Power of the Soft Sign. I saw it in the store and liked it. But when returned with the money, the book was gone. Then I had been looking for that publication for a time, until I found your website. And there I saw the Return to Tsarhorod. Both the subject itself and the presentation of the material looked quite ‘tasty,’ so I ordered the novelty as well. First I started reading the Return to Tsarhorod, but there were many references to The Power of the Soft Sign, so I began reading the latter before the former.
“In general, I’m interested in the books that are not purely historical, but those that offer some analysis of the past events. And not necessarily the ones on Ukrainian history – it may be a ‘debriefing’ on European or American history. If one knows about these mistakes, they would not commit them again. However, the entirety of Ukrainian history is poorly presented. The school curriculum was biased to one side 20 years ago, and now it is biased to the opposite. And also, in its essence the school is only about emotions or learning the dates. But all the necessary data is at hand, we just have to take that data and apply it properly – ignoring the politics of today, along with the distortions that come with that. The yesterday’s curriculum was ‘soviet,’ as if we had lived all our time in Union with Russia. Nowadays, the presentation of facts is totally different. I would not say it’s wrong, but it is a bit radical and full of emotions, lacking the facts and analysis.
COMPILERS OF DEN’S JOURNALISTIC TRILOGY MARIA SEMENCHENKO, IVAN KAPSAMUN, AND VALENTYN TORBA ACTIVELY COMMUNICATED WITH READERS AND TV REPORTERS, FOR WE NEED TO DISCUSS AND RETHINK MANY “SECTIONS” OF UKRAINE’S CONTEMPORARY HISTORY / Photo by Ruslan KANIUKA, The Day
“The Return to Tsarhorod will be useful to people who had attended a Soviet school, because it offers a sober look at the past. In Soviet times, the history was taught in the manner of a ‘parallel existence’: Europe lives by itself, and we are apart from it minding our own business. The Return to Tsarhorod presents the material in a manner that helps to understand, that we have always existed in the European context.”
“I WAS INTERESTED IN THE COMPREHENSION OF THE LUHANSK EVENTS”
Mykhailo, former Luhansk resident who now lives in Poltava, has bought Valentyn Torba’s book I, an Eyewitness. Notes from the Occupied Luhansk:
“I learned about the book from the author’s Facebook page. The novelty has sparked my attention because I am from Luhansk myself, and many of the events described had taken place before my own eyes. It is interesting to know the opinion of a person who had also experienced it all. I just started reading it, and so far I like everything about it. My views coincide with the author’s – both about what had happened in Luhansk last summer, and on what had we observed during the 20 years of independence.
“I personally left Luhansk in June 2014. From time to time I come to the city to see what’s going on, to take some of my things. Some parts of the book describe what I had witnessed already in the evacuation, so to speak. Therefore, I wanted to read the impression of a person who saw it firsthand. But the most interesting for me was the comprehension of the events that occurred.
“It is difficult to get unbiased information from the occupied Donbas, especially for Ukrainian media. The situation as it is highlighted in the media is usually different from what actually happens. There is no information about the people’s pressing needs, about how they are going through the blockades, which are supposed to ‘bring us closer to victory.’ But I understand that learning and comprehending it all is objectively not easy. Any Ukrainian journalist who comes into a city controlled by the terrorists will be swiftly ‘taken care of’ by them.”
“A DEVASTATING BLOW TO THE ‘RUSSIAN WORLD’ IDEOLOGY”
Taras BUKRIEIEV, history teacher, editor of the Our Khersonshchyna portal:
“When the Return to Tsarhorod was announced, I immediately became interested in this book. I was intrigued, because, I thought, what else can one write in regard of the Rus’ and the Cossacks history? And when I received the book, looked through the contents, and read the preface, I understood that that publication, similarly to the previous books in the Den’s Library, is intended to fill the ‘blank spots’ in Ukrainians’ notion about our history. I would call the Return to Tsarhorod an invention of the concept of Ukrainian geopolitical situation in times of Kyivan Rus’, Byzantium, and the Cossacks. And this is our very own concept, not imposed by Russia or even by some of our own historians who have not freed themselves from Soviet cliches.
“The book contains articles by some very prominent historians. And the material is presented in a fashion that will be valuable not only for professionals, but also for the ordinary citizens. Additionally, I think those who write textbooks on Ukrainian history should take a closer look at the Den’s novelty – as many textbooks still use Soviet sources, from which just some paragraphs were translated and purged from the communist ideology, adding nothing new. The past 24 years saw a lot of good material, concepts, and research published. And this book collects many of these progressive works. This is the most recent exploration in the study of Ukraine’s place between the East and the West. The preface asserts that that Ukraine is not Russia, and Russia is not Rus’. And the materials collected prove that we are not a ‘Russia’s little brother,’ but a separate nation, culture, and state.
“The Den’s novelty offers a valuable intellectual weapon in the arsenal of any reader, as it provides interesting factual arguments to the debate about Ukraine’s place in the world. In the first section I liked the article by Volodymyr Rychka, entitled ‘Millennial Volodymyr. The Great Baptist of Ukraine-Rus’ and His Mark in History.’ Recently, when we celebrated the anniversary of the baptism of Rus’, Den was one of the few media that actualized this important issue. And this article is continuation of the debate on the prince’s actions, their importance in the history of the state. It was also interesting to read an article by Ihor Siundiukov ‘Time and Space without Borders.’ The author well demonstrates the mutual cultural influences of Kyivan Rus’ and Byzantium. On the second and third sections I marked the most of the material to which I will return and read again, because they are essentially a destructive attack on the ideology of the ‘Russian World.’ Materials relate specifically to Ukrainian identity, to the relations with European civilizations, culture, and traditions of governance, which were introduced in our land.
“The main idea of the Return to Tsarhorod I would express as follows: Ukraine has harmoniously absorbed the cultural heritage of the East and the West and on this foundation its uniqueness arose. The book shows that our country has always been an integral part of not only the European, but of the global historical process. I advise this book to everyone who doubts Ukraine in general and its old tradition of state, to all who have inferiority complexes. The book gives a reasonable ground to think not only about our true past, but about our successful future.”
“EVERYTHING VALENTYN TORBA WRITES IN HIS BOOK, HE WRITES AS IF ABOUT ME”
Inna RYBIANTSEVA, Director of Maxim Gorky Luhansk Oblast Universal Scientific Library:
“I purchased the book by Valentyn Torba, because I am familiar with his work. I am also from Luhansk, but I moved from there only it July 2014. I have always followed Torba’s writing. The style of his writing was already interesting in the pre-war period, and in the today’s events his style is unique. I find it difficult to speak about it, and likewise, it is difficult to read about it too. For all that Torba writes, he writes as if about me. When a person doesn’t know these houses, streets, and intersections personally, those texts are easier to perceive; but I know all that because I live there, and I feel the texts differently. I know very well the reason why all of this had happened there. We had long been led to this war. Since 2004, our regional authorities had been saying, that if our leadership did not want to listen to us, they would call Russia for help. It is a pity that their statements and actions were not taken seriously by us. Thanks to Valentyn Torba for having raised the subject and writing the book.”
“I HAVE NO DOUBT THAT ALL THE BOOKS WILL BE INTERESTING”
Valentyn NALYVAICHENKO, former head of SBU:
“I have been reading Den from the time I became a diplomat, somewhen in 1996. I have even improved my proficiency in English, reading the newspaper’s English edition. The Two of Rus’s book once became a breakthrough for me, a kind of subversive literature. I also like those handy pocket-format series of ‘Subversive Literature’ and ‘Armor-Piercing Political Writing.’ Today I bought some new books – the journalistic trilogy. All three books will surely be interesting; I have no doubt in that fact.”
By Maria PROKOPENKO, The Day; Ivan ANTYPENKO, The Day, Kherson; Daria TRAPEZNIKOVA, Mariana CHORNIIEVYCH, Den’s Summer School of Journalism
