When I first learned about the idea of creating Ukraine Incognita project, I felt happy just because it was a possibility of functioning of a certain new quality and, most importantly, dialogic content in the Ukrainian Internet space. Besides, this Den’s project draws readers’ attention to national history, which has been a subject of many discussions and arguments for quite a while.
The need for a civilized, constructive dialog, and not only about history, is quite urgent in Ukrainian society. This is one of the key tasks for the domestic media, but only a few of them are prepared to undertake it (and have been successfully doing so for some time now).
It is Den and its project Ukraine Incognita that prompted the object of my master’s paper: I am doing a research into Ukrainian intellectual web resources and their impact on the national information space.
Of course, the research process involved the immersion into the paper’s “laboratory of ideas.” I discussed the features of Ukraine Incognita, the way the resource developed in the past six months, and the way the editorial staff sees its further development, with Artem ZHUKOV, the administrator of the website. Though I am sure, most of Den’s readers keep up with the “historical department” of the paper, this conversation draws attention to some interesting details. For example, the way its section Museums Online promotes the improvement of the international dialog, what the Intellectual Map of Ukraine is going to look like soon, or which section of the website readers should go to first thing in the morning, while having their cup of coffee.
Where did the idea of Ukraine Incognita project come from? How did it all start?
“I wrote in the headline of the press announce we released before starting the website: ‘Ukraine Incognita: real sequel in virtual world.’ Hundreds or even thousands of historical, ethnographic paper publications, thousands of printed copies of the paper’s books (the most recent one is The Power of the Soft Sign, the 12th in the library) – all of this formed the foundations in the very beginning. The website would not exist if not for the Den’s 15-year-long work in the area of forming a ‘quality Ukrainian.’ Nowadays there is a need to transfer online, so it is quite logical that we are working on it.
“Many people’s problem is that they underestimate their historic heritage. Some of them try to abstract from it, and some historians and politicians are trying to restrict the access to historical knowledge for the youth. Of course, there is the other side of the medal – the way the facts should be delivered. The balance between tampering with facts and healthy patriotism is quite fragile. For example, in the Soviet Union history was one of the tools in the shaping of the ‘Soviet citizens,’ who would not associate themselves with a certain nation or language. Unfortunately, the Soviet machine functioned too well, and today our goal is to bring the alternative point of view on some processes to the public. Luckily, a part of society understands the importance of historical memory in the formation of the national country, but still there are those who put spokes in wheels.
“The idea of creating a website that would first of all systematize all the materials obtained in 15 years, and secondly, go beyond the limits of the newspaper’s official website, was prompted by Larysa Ivshyna, Den’s editor-in-chief. She expressed it a few years ago. While studying at the Summer School of Journalism during my college years, I wanted to join in the creation of such a website, but it did not work out. I took an active part in the development of the project after graduation.
“Besides the sections that are traditional for a newspaper, we also suggested that our visitors fill the Intellectual Map of Ukraine, where everyone can describe the history of their city, village, or even farmstead. This way we will be able to recreate the country’s genuine history.
“Another special feature of the website is Museums Online section. Rich or privately-owned museums can afford the creation of virtual tours. However, there are plenty of good museums in Ukraine, which cannot afford it due to various circumstances and lack of state funding. Our photographer goes to the museum, do a photo shoot, we compose a 3D-tour of the photos, attach the sound... Kyiv or Odesa dwellers are not likely to travel across the country to visit the Lypynsky Museum in Zaturtsi, but we offer an opportunity to do it online. This is a truly unique feature, because you have an opportunity to visit a museum in any region without even leaving your house. And this does make Ukrainians closer in a certain way, through the feeling of common heritage.”
Doubtlessly, today we can say that Ukraine Incognita is Den’s brainchild. How did the concept of the project emerge, if we take the periods of development of the periodical itself into consideration?
“Den has always paid a lot of attention to history. For example, take a copy of the paper of the late 1990s, and you will see the column ‘History and I,’ or the one printed in the beginning of the new millennium, and you will find the ‘Family Album’ and ‘Route No. 1’ there. And 12 books of Den’s Library (by the way, the book Ukraina Incognita has been reprinted six times!) is a huge amount of work done in the field of history. We make history easily accessible and talk about certain things while the others remain silent. Ivshyna always says that we are not afraid of our archives. And this is true, Den is one of the first newspapers to open a website. It happened in 1997, and we keep the electronic archives of all the issues of the paper. And separating historical materials into a distinct project is a logical step that keeps up with modern life. The Internet is a kind of space with no delays or subscriptions. The number of people who use it is constantly rising, so does the number of those who think critically, the target audience for our intellectual projects.”
What is the main goal of the new website?
“To develop the existing sections and create new ones, and to involve new authors. When we launched the project, the ratio of ‘old’ and ‘new’ materials was 95 to 5 percent respectively. Now we have a number of contributors who create content specifically for this website. More and more Ukrainians join the creation of the Intellectual Map: people write their family stories, scientists touch upon the issues that are of great importance for society. This ratio is changing constantly, and we are receiving more and more unique materials.
“I could not even suppose that Museums Online would be so popular. And this suggests another task: keeping on revealing unique museum heritage for society online.
“In the conditions of serious competition, we have to make a quality product in order to stay in the game. ‘Journalism never sleeps,’ and since Ukraine Incognita is Den’s brainchild, as you have aptly remarked, we try not to give up the traditions of quality journalism, and maintain a tendency towards history.”
What is the rating of this web project?
“Right now I can say with certainty that among similar websites we are one of the leaders as to the number of unique visitors and hits. But the most gratifying thing for me is that it is not the peak yet, these numbers are constantly growing. Since there still are many new ideas that should be brought to life, the best is yet to come.”
Do you spin your website? In what ways?
“Naturally, we do. Any project requires promotion and drawing attention. We use the standard methods of spinning, search optimization, contextual advertising, and social networks. Many people ignore banners exchange as a way of attracting new visitors, but I think that it is a serious tool for visual influence on the audience. Another important thing is placing our logo on theme printed products and banners on our partners’ websites. We are increasingly more often acting as information partners at historical events, which allows us to place our graphics on handout materials. We have a unique platform, Den/The Day’s website, to spin Ukraine Incognita projects.
“It is great when a website attracts people who are interested in its contents and eagerly bookmark it. It is even better when visiting the website is like having a cup of coffee in the morning or reading a fresh newspaper. We have made the Intellectual Calendar specifically for this purpose; it goes very good together with the cup of coffee in the morning.”
Are there any other features to be introduced, besides the existing ones?
“We have a lot of ideas for the website innovations. We plan to create new media sections, for example. But you will see it all yourselves soon, as for right now, I would like to keep some of the secrets. Concerning the plans for the near future, we want to create a video and audio archive of the most important events of the contemporary history recorded by eyewitnesses. This is that kind of microhistory that is revealed by our authors in the columns ‘Family Album’ and ‘Route No. 1,’ but in a visualized version. Through the everyday life and mentality of single individuals we can create a general picture of the history of Ukraine, so different, yet a single image at the same time. It should be remembered, that great history was created in villages and farmsteads as well. As a part of innovations, we plan to attract more interesting authors for whom Ukraine Incognita will become a platform for realization of their artistic reflections and visions.”
Quite a large amount of material from the website was once published in Den/The Day, as well as some of the new works. On which criteria is the selection of the texts based? By not only the authors who were already published, but the new ones also.
“When there is a tremendous information array, it is appropriate to publish any material according to the occasion. We have a set of articles, old ones as well as new, for about each ‘day in history.’ Therefore, the readers get the constant supply of food for thought, and on the other hand, it is the evidence that 12 to 14 years ago Den was already shedding light on matters that determine the headlines in press today. As to the ‘new’ texts, we publish the most interesting ones right away, and leave thematic ones for the proper occasion. We publish texts by our constant reporters in the appropriate section.”
Can your project be considered an example of new media? Or does the mission of the website stands a level higher than common Internet resources?
“Yes, I think Ukraine Incognita is an example of new media. We were pioneers in many things, but in others there were ones who came before us. However, we offer quality content for the intellectual part of Ukrainian nation and the young generation in particular. Forming an undistorted historical memory is a great responsibility. And it is clear that while fulfilling this task we use all the modern tools available. But it is for our readers to appreciate the resource at its true value.”
Does Ukraine require an international dialog? Does Ukraine Incognita promote the mutual understanding between the ethnic minorities?
“Den has had a clear stand as to this for a long time now. Ukraine needs a healthy discussion among the minorities within the country, and Den is one of the newspapers to support such initiatives the most actively. Just remember, how many publications and photographs on Crimean Tatars were published in Den. The national composition of the population of Ukraine is quite diverse, so besides Russians, Ukraine is a home for Belarusians, Crimean Tatars, Bulgarians, Hungarians, Greeks, Romanians... Oxana Pachlovska has got it straight to the point once, saying, ‘Ukraine is Europe because it knows the ‘other’ category.’ By the way, a virtual tour round the Bukovyna Jewish Museum of History and Culture will be available on the website in the near future.
“Today not having a clear stand in such matters is unfavorable at the least, the ‘world context’ is really easy to lose.”
What do you see in Ukrainian media space in, let us say, 10 years? What place are intellectual dialogical resources like Ukraine Incognita project going to occupy in it?
“I would rather be talking on what I would wish to see there, because it is rather hard to make some certain predictions. Ukraine needs quality, moderately patriotic (without running to extremes) resources that are going to destroy the stereotypes, inherited from the Soviet era and gained in the past 20 years. A sensible dialog and constructivism in healthy debate are not things to desire, they are necessary for us to create the undistorted idea of our past. It is utterly wrong to underestimate the importance of humanitarian policy in the process of creation of the national country. Moreover, deviations in this area influence the existence of the nation itself. History is a substantial and often crucial element in the system of shaping the European Ukrainian. That is why we need to treat things such as historical memory with a special care and give it a lot of thought. The sooner we comprehend this need, the sooner the transformations will take place in the mind of the nation, and the sooner we will build a country for Ukrainians to come back to, but not leave.
“It should be understood that the broad Ukrainian public does not know its true history. This is one of the things that slow down our promotion into the international scene. It is possible that in 10 years the major task of the websites similar to ours will be the creation of a positive image of Ukraine in Europe, the US, or Asia. It does not mean that this task should be neglected today, it is quite the contrary: the more areas we embrace the higher are the chances of a positive outcome. And all the more, we should not sit on our hands and wait for a miracle. The situation is similar to the one at the beginning of the 1990s. We have an opportunity to lay the foundation of a truly Ukrainian idea. And curiously enough, this is a feasible task for a generation of Ukrainians who care about their future.”
