“We won’t change geography, so we must change the ‘height’”

The first Den photo exhibit was held in this city 10 years ago. Unveiling the current exposition of about 200 best photographs at the Poltava Mykola Yaroshenko Art Museum, Den’s editor-in-chief Larysa Ivshyna pointed out a detail: like 10 years ago, the museum is located on a street still named after… the Bolshevik army commander Frunze.

Although Poltava has won the fame of “Ukraine’s spiritual capital,” it has problems with the revival of its own identity. “There is a plaque in the city center with the names of Poltava’s prominent people. Here’s a sly Little Russian compromise: Drahomanov can be here, but Symon Petliura, Ukrainian National Republic army’s Lieutenant-General Mykhailo Krat, and Olena Pchilka cannot,” says Mykola Kulchynsky, head of the Poltava oblast branch of the all-Ukrainian association Prosvita.

To what extent has Poltava changed since the previous meeting? And will it change after this one? The debate “How We Can Win” captivated a lot of local intellectuals. The roundtable attended by Ms. Ivshyna gathered historians, educators, public activists, human rights champions, journalists, and politicians. Among them were Mykola Stepanenko, Rector of Poltava National Korolenko Pedagogical University; Taras Pustovit, deputy director of the Poltava Oblast State Archive; Oleksandr Kulyk, editor-in-chief of the newspaper Poltavska dumka; and all members of Korolenko University’s Department of Journalism with Associate Professor Hlib Kudriashov at the head. The forum was moderated by Mykola Hrytsenko, president of the Charitable Foundation in Support of the Newspaper Den’s Initiatives.

Debaters were saying they expected radical reforms. They showered compliments on Den for promoting a civil society in Ukraine for a long time. But are Poltavians prepared to support quality in practice? Ms. Ivshyna asked the audience bluntly: “Are you prepared to change?” Most of the people put up, albeit slowly, their hands. It is important that this gesture be backed by real deeds.

Larysa IVSHYNA, editor-in-chief, newspaper Den: “We have themed our debate as ‘How We Can Win.’ If I begin to set forth my systemic vision of this matter, it will just be my soliloquy. I suggest we have a dialog, for I will be able to show my vision of the question through that of roundtable participants.

“A few words about the Den’s Library. We launched this project after 1999, when Yevhen Marchuk, the presidential candidate we supported, lost the elections. I was convinced that Ukraine had thus missed its historic chance. The further course of events confirmed this. There were no other people who were as much prepared to work at the top governmental level in Ukraine. For we are not a European country with a well-established life pattern – we need to bring the elites to their senses and cause them to work for the state.

“In 1999 our society met a formidable challenge. Ukraine failed to respond to this because, among other things, there were artificial obstacles, such as active use of the administrative resource and enormous abuses, which distorted the election results. I know for sure that our candidate ranked first in the foreign constituency, and then many of our ambassadors were dismissed, which dealt a serious blow to Ukrainian diplomacy. But the country itself was not bold enough to make the right choice. I said after those elections: ‘They have won, but we were right.’ To prove this rightness, I decided to deal with society – to set up a library and a summer school of journalism, and hold photo competitions. Den was and still is a newspaper of civil society. And a civic stand should be based on a clear awareness of identity and active citizenship, plus the level of development. If one comes out on the Maidan, they should know not only what to tear down, but also what to create.”

L.I.: “The Den Library’s first book was Ukraine Incognita, i.e. ‘Ukraine Unknown.’ It has run into more than seven editions, it is the ‘grandmother’ of our library, for it is 12 years old. The book touched the topics that were ‘closed’ at the time. We offered active knowledge for journalists and politicians to rely upon. Did they make use of it? Did the politicians understand that it was a program for a post-Soviet country to turn into a true Ukraine? Incidentally, we are not so unique on this road. Just look at Poland. It was withdrawing from the sphere of Russia’s influence at a different pace owing to a number of factors. Firstly, it is an undivided church and traditional Catholic upbringing, with the Polish-born Pope John Paul II spearheading the ‘anti-communist bloc.’ Secondly, it is the same language. Thirdly, Poland began to distance itself from Russia earlier than Ukraine did.

“Ukrainian history does not fit in with the European concept. We are learning some fragments which don’t seem to have any links. A changed view on history should be coupled with a positive bias and a new form of delivery. We are trying to do this to the best of our ability and have succeeded to some extent.

“Then we published the book Dvi Rusi on Kyivan Rus’ and Muscovite Rus’. Russia does not mention Kyivan Rus’ at all. If we fail to absorb this knowledge, we will be diluted in the ‘acid jar’ of the Kremlin’s propaganda. History is prodding us. We can no longer live the way we used to. And our literature has been preparing people for new challenges. When we published James Mace’s Your Dead Chose Me, everybody was asking why an American had written a book like this. It is obvious that it took us a long time to pull out of a post-genocidal condition. People really didn’t want to remember this because it was terrible and painful. And the fact that Russia refused to recognize the Holodomor was a major trouble which that country got into. Unwillingness to sympathize meant that they were ready to commit new heinous crimes.

WHO IS PREPARED TO CHANGE?

“Our latest ‘hit’ is Ukraine Incognita. TOP 25. It is the ‘cream,’ 25 texts in Ukrainian, Russian, and English. We are saying that Europe does not understand us. But have we done enough to have a different result? They are trying to understand us, but we are so mind-boggling at times. We must learn to explain things correctly and to be interesting to people.”

Mykola KULCHYNSKY, human rights activist, head of the Poltava oblast branch of the all-Ukrainian association Prosvita: “The newspaper Den has long been doing an excellent and much-needed job. It is of paramount importance to de-Russify, de-communize, and de-Sovietize Ukraine – it is here that we will find our identity.

“Den Library books were once given to Verkhovna Rada members. This produced a result. But you also began to do it on the streets. It is difficult in Poltava to reach out to people. There is a plaque in the city center with the names of famous Poltavians. Here is a sly Little Russian compromise: Drahomanov can be there, but Symon Petliura, the Ukrainian National Republic’s army Lieutenant-General Mykhailo Krat, and Olena Pchilka cannot. The trouble is that people do not want to renounce the experience they have had.”

L.I.: “Maybe, people did not want to associate themselves with defeats? They interpreted Ukrainianness as a defeat.”

M.K.: “I can often see this in Poltavians. Our people are very obstinate. They once betrayed Ukraine, began speaking Russian, which has spanned several generations. Such was the system. Then, after we had gained independence, they were not exactly rushing to get back to the Ukrainian language, which lasted until the Orange Revolution.”

L.I.: “In the Soviet era, Russian was spoken all over Kyiv, and there were some islands of Ukrainianness. There still were people who could charm Russian speakers. One of them was the linguist Alla Koval who was a model of style, taste, and level. Ukrainians should do very much to be liked. They should be attractive, clever, uninhibited, elegant, kindhearted, and educated and, at the same time, remain their real selves. It is good if a Ukrainian can speak many languages. Ukrainian must not be a language of defeat. One should reach a height from which everything will look differently.

“History is wrongly taught in our universities and presented in the informational space. If we impart this knowledge under the whiplash, our fate is to be a third-world country, a ‘Somalia,’ where oligarchs settle accounts by means of battalions. It is high time to disclose the basic knowledge of mankind. Russia is threatening Europe with a new order based on violence. Yes, the present-day younger generation no longer needs to be told who Mazepa was, but it is still necessary to discover all historical links. Neither journalists nor politicians are prepared for this.”

M.K.: “Ukrainian journalists go on spreading the myths created by Russia. The formula of victory has always been the same for all nations: unity of the government, the people, and the army.”

L.I.: “But the people should be prepared for this.”

Taras PUSTOVIT, deputy director, Poltava Oblast State Archive: “Thank you for visiting us. Your exhibits and efforts are very important to me as an archivist. I also used to stage documentary exhibits from time to time. I admire your work, for I know how much strength, money, and health it costs.”

L.I.: “You should also thank our partners. We would have done nothing without them. Our photo exhibit involves unprecedented prize money. But we are not Mother Theresa of the Ukrainian national scale. In various cities, I want to see how many people are able to support our initiatives. Regional journalists can stage exhibitions in district centers. Why not do so?”

T.P.: “Not all of the Den Library books reach the Poltava reader. But you are well known in Kyiv and the regional centers. But to what extent is your work known in district centers and villages? To what extent are you understandable to the grassroots beset with everyday problems?”

L.I.: “We’ve been trying to reach out to various social groups for many years. We are striving to gather every living soul in Ukraine for all kinds of events and send some signals to each audience. The framework of all this is a newspaper that comes out in three languages. This work is aimed at showing the world the Ukrainian view on many things. It is also a way of supranational communication with the few thinking people in Russia. These people have lost their mouthpieces in Russia and contribute to Den now.

“We have also been doing our best to help history buffs understand history. We have held a host of book launchings in universities and schools. We encourage a positive bias. Anyone can present a Den Library book to the school they used to go to. I wish everybody would take part in this.

“Our three photo reporters in fact organize photo exhibits and thus make it possible to display our school of photography. But we have also launched a mass-scale photography movement, groomed a large number of new photographers, and offered inner competition in this milieu.

“Another way to reach out to various strata is our website. It is read in different parts of the world. We have filled it with an unprecedented content. There is an online tour section, you can see Igor Stravinsky’s house-cum-museum in Ustyluh, Stepan Bandera’s death mask in London, etc. The people who spend a lot of time online have received a Ukrainian ‘satellite.’

“We make a monthly magazine, Route No.1, the 28th issue of which came out recently. This project with adverts and good texts is needed to mix the milieus. Many people in by no means humanitarian fields have felt the necessity of this.

“But a lot of Ukrainians are in fact unprepared to support their country’s high-quality things. How many people in Ukraine read the quality press? Everybody is a patriot in word but not in deed…

“I was suspected for 10 years of carrying out my projects in order to become an MP. Everybody wondered why, instead of living a high life in Kyiv, I was touring this country and trying to persuade people that they must read and do something. Or they ask me what I will show the next time I come, as if I were a magician. I don’t want to hurt anybody, but one should offer partnership and readiness to cooperate. My goal is to show ‘recipes’ that can really change the surrounding space.

“In addition to books, we are presenting in Poltava the abovementioned glossy supplement Route No.1. Yes, it is a commercial product, but it is in the Ukrainian language and of high quality. Some issues are about such Ukrainian cities and towns as Chyhyryn, Cherkasy, Odesa, and Sumy. We show these places from an unusual angle. We say that there are decent hotels and restaurants, and good service in them. And this service looks at itself differently through our glossy.”