Sumy’s non-trivial history

With just a few days to go before the Vilnius EU Eastern Partnership Summit is on, Ukraine’s information space is full of uncertain, but loudly promoted news... Meanwhile, the city council of Sumy, capital of the region on Russia’s border, where traces of hundreds-strong truck columns blocked recently from entering the neighboring country due to “changed regulations” are still fresh, responded to its citizens European aspirations quietly and without much ado back in early spring of 2013.

On March 27, the councilors agreed to use the flag of the EU during official functions and public holidays in Sumy.

Moreover, the city sent Den an interesting proposal and no less interesting invitation in mid-October.

Represented by its mayor Hennadii Minaiev, Sumy invited us to open Den’s Photo Exhibition in the city gallery, introduce many other projects of this newspaper to the city, and prepare a special Sumy-themed issue of Den’s glossy supplement Route No.1. We were only too glad to respond in the affirmative!

In our Editor-in-Chief Larysa Ivshyna’s observation, the idea to publish an issue devoted to Sumy’s non-trivial history appeared as the Sumy City Administration and our newspaper met each other half-way.

“The modern Europe emerged as a union of cities, so nationwide drive to know each other better is just what we desperately need on our way back to the European house,” Ivshyna writes in her traditional column in the latest issue of Route No. 1. “Many cities in Ukraine were autonomous entities governed by Magdeburg law, meaning that we already were in the EU once. However, harsh winds of history have worn us out a little, and this is why we should put much effort into the rehabilitation and restoration of the national character and appearance of our cities... I often repeat: ‘It is impossible to love consciously what one does not know.’ When one starts to learn more, one understands that we are on the threshold of an age when great happiness will come with love for this country. We need to work hard to make it happen.”

Thus, Den’s team is ready for November 22 meeting, as that date is when Sumy will see Den’s Photo Exhibit and a presentation of our projects involving Ivshyna. The special issue of Route No. 1 contains memories and stories about the city by its most prominent citizens such as theater and cinema actor Oleksii Vertinsky, choreographer Olena Koliadenko, biathlete Vita Semyrenko, detailed tours of Soborna, Romensky, Gorky, Voskresenska, and Petropavlivska streets... Now we know all, or almost all, versions of the name of Sumy’s origin and have seen an exclusive tour of the city for those in the know, as our social affairs editor Maria Semenchenko produced a unique overview of Sumy’s street art. One will find all these contributions and even a little bit more in the latest issue of Route No.1.

The issue will become available at newsstands on November 22 and can be ordered online, as always, at www.day.kiev.ua.

By the way! The team of Route No.1 has prepared a wonderful surprise for its readers. Following fantastic matches played by Ukraine’s soccer team, almost every Ukrainian wants to know more about its coach Mykhailo Fomenko. Every detail of this silent man is worth its weight in gold, but our young reporter Roman Hryvinsky managed to talk the prominent native of Sumy into agreeing to a whole exclusive interview. Read on! Be with Den!