“A universal navigation system”

The Odesa Literary Museum receives more visitors daily, as people wish to share the emotional experience of the photographers who recorded our country’s life throughout the year. Many guests of our photo exhibition are foreigners, while quite a few are... our loyal readers who have been following Den/The Day’s projects for years.

Graduate student of the Mechnikov Odesa National University (ONU) Maksym Kashkaiev told us the story of his first encounter with this newspaper, shared with us his thoughts about the photo exhibition and impressions of his foreign friends whom he intentionally took on a visit to the Literary Museum.

“I saw my first issue of The Day almost 15 years ago. It was an English version of the publication which I bought at a newsstand in Odesa, my beloved hometown, while I was still at secondary school. I had studied English since childhood. I was amazed to see in that newspaper a combination of English language and revelations of unknown episodes in the history of Ukraine. I still keep at home those issues, my first copies of The Day. My mother and grandparents bought it for me every week, and I went on to pay for a subscription from my scholarship later. I always read James Mace’s column, written by a man of sensitive heart and true historian, as well as articles and comments by Stanislav Kulchytsky and Yurii Shapoval. It was likely these stories from the history of Ukraine and new facts, previously unknown to me, that captured my attention and influenced my final decision to enter the history department of the ONU,” Kashkaiev told us. “Larysa Ivshyna and Shapoval visited our university in February 2004 and held a presentation of The Day. I was happy to meet with the editor-in-chief and a contributor of my favorite newspaper. Ivshyna is very polite, positive, and professional, while Shapoval is a model of objective historian who has mastered a lot of archival evidence. Ivshyna presented me with a photo album published by Den, to reward me for the question ‘When will we see Ukraine Incognita published in English, to offer The Day’s unique product to foreigners?’ I used this album as illustration of the modern history of Ukraine in my discussions with my friends. Also, the photos helped me explain some topics to foreign medical students from Israel, India, Iraq, China, Moldova, and the US, who I taught the history of Ukraine and the history of Ukrainian culture in English in Odesa.”

According to Kashkaiev, the ongoing photo exhibition has made a powerful impression on him, because the end of last year and 2014 have seen Ukraine going through a turning point. The exhibition’s photo submissions tell it by themselves, obviating the need for explanations. “Den has always done everything in its power to have Ukrainians integrate with Europe and learn more about the European values, as well as encouraged teachers and students to obtain world-class knowledge and skills; it has also worked for us all to keep our uniqueness and restore the lost layers of our culture and history,” our interlocutor continued. “It is necessary to remember that the European atmosphere of peace and global openness prevailing in our city is well known in Ukraine and abroad, and this is probably the reason why Den/The Day feels itself an organic element of Odesa and has many followers here. The exhibition offers tragic, philosophical, and optimistic pictures. They look like a chronicle of events, starting with the Euromaidan and running into this day. All of them were done sincerely, without censorship and propaganda influences. They show the faces of true patriots who are now defending their country. It is important for the Odesites not to lose the emotional and cultural ties with Kyiv, Lviv, Donetsk, and Kharkiv. We were told that ‘Kyivites are arrogant, while Leopolitans do not look part of our community,’ that ‘history of the empire created by Russian rulers Peter the First and Catherine the Second is our history,’ that ‘Ukraine is two countries in one’ and ‘an artificial Austrian project.’ Now, I hope, most people understand that this babble is insidious and filled with hatred. Ukraine has emerged for good and has a great potential. We will overcome sorrow and pain.”

To tell his friends from Canada and the US more about Ukraine, Kashkaiev brought them to Den’s exhibition on November 28. “Instead of usual tourist attractions, we visited on that cold day Den’s exhibition, cozy and full of warm emotions. Each of my friends has a life story of his own, and the level of their knowledge of the Ukrainians and the country’s history varies. They had a great time and were grateful for the opportunity to visit the exhibition. They have left behind them a few entries in the guest book in Spanish and English. Hector wrote: ‘Let the peace of Christ be with the people of united Ukraine.’ Kyle, David, Lou, Rick, Yat, Stacy, Tony, Robert, and Billy wished Ukraine victory and Lord’s presence,” Kashkaiev said. “Many of the events and the names of people shown in the photos were, unfortunately, unknown to my friends, but they were pleasantly surprised by the unity displayed by different ethnicities, faiths and denominations in all momentous events to happen in Ukraine. I must say that it would be extremely difficult to explain the historical process without photos. The photo is a historical source allowing one to understand all without need for words. Meanwhile, Den’s Photo Exhibition is a universal navigation system that keeps one from getting lost and shows the way forward.”