“The ‘minimum requirement’ for politicians and must-read for the public”

Hundreds-meter-long queues of those seeking “books and impressions” have already become a tradition of the Book Arsenal in Kyiv, which ended on April 24. “The result of this Book Arsenal, it is safe to say already, will surpass that of past year’s event. This is despite the 2015 exhibition being a major event, even if we judge only by the number of its visitors, which hit 75,000 past year compared to 25,000-30,000 the year before, in 2014. This year, I think, there were even more. In any case, we know that there were 200 publishers this year against past year’s 150. It reflects the nationwide trend of unstoppable formation of civil society, of positive changes which happen in spite of the government rather than due to its policies. The trend unfolds against the background of private initiatives and horizontal relations,” The Day heard from president of the Fund for Cultural Initiatives ArtHuss, publisher, collector and philanthropist Kostiantyn Kozhemiaka. Summing up the event, he wrote on Facebook: “...I have a feeling that the Ukrainians do not evolve, but rather revolt.”

 Despite the daily work on the newspaper and two websites, Den/The Day still managed, just like “pure” publishing houses, to prepare “hot” books for visitors of the Book Arsenal. And they did sell like hot cakes! In particular, we mean the new edition of the journalistic trilogy which includes Ivan Kapsamun’s “The Trap,” or A Case without a Statute of Limitations, Valentyn Torba’s I, an Eyewitness. Notes from the Occupied Luhansk, and Catastrophe and Triumph. The Stories of Ukrainian Heroes, compiled by Maria Semenchenko, as well as historical bestseller Return to Tsarhorod, created under the general editorship of Larysa Ivshyna. Additionally, we presented A Case without a Statute of Limitations, the English version of “The Trap.”

AN OCCASION TO MEET READERS. DEN’S JOURNALISTS AND AUTHORS OF NEW BOOKS IVAN KAPSAMUN AND VALENTYN TORBA CAME TO MYSTETSKY ARSENAL / Photo by Ruslan KANIUKA, The Day

 “Den and its book project make up what is literally an islet which cultivates the image of a talented Ukrainian, a heroic Ukrainian who cares about their history and traditions. Yes, this country is going through difficult times, but the relationship with history and tradition is our inner core, which nourishes our modern achievements. And it inspires absolute confidence in our ultimate success,” Kozhemiaka told us.

 April 23 was one of the most dynamic days for the Arsenal in general and Den’s stand in particular. Authors of two books of the journalist trilogy Kapsamun and Torba presented the English version, A Case, talked to readers of Den’s Library series and held a book signing event. In particular, former mayor of Luhansk Oleksii Danylov came to the stand to buy a set of the “Contemporary History for Dummies” series. “I respect Den, because I see it as the only Ukrainian daily worthy of reading,” Danylov noted. “The newspaper’s team includes interesting people, like my countryman Torba, who wrote a very interesting book entitled I, an Eyewitness. Notes from the Occupied Luhansk. Thus, I will gladly buy all volumes of Den’s triptych.” Meanwhile, head of the NGO “Growth Focus: Education and Science” Svitlana Blahodietielieva-Vovk came to express her gratitude to Kapsamun for his consistent work on studying contemporary history as represented by the Gongadze-Podolsky case.