Not to cry, but to speak about Ukraine

Recently the presentation of the documentary about the writer and public figure Mykola Khvylovy King and slave of tricks was held in the National Mining University. The picture was based on the declassified materials of the Security Service of Ukraine. The presentation was a roundtable of the students, NMU professors and the city’s historians.

The event was organized owing to the history and political theory department professors, and especially its head. Professor Pushkin, having opened the presentation, noted that he knew his colleague and one of the authors of the film, historian Yurii Shapoval, and took advantage of this opportunity to invite him from Kyiv to the NMU. Although the university is supposed to be technical, and has recently become more research-oriented, its traditions of humanitarian education have long been known in the entire world and continue to develop.

Yurii Shapoval came to the Mining University with Iryna Shatokhina, director of the National Television Company of Ukraine and author of the film King and slave of tricks. Shapoval also brought his new book Hunting Valdshnep. Declassified Mykola Khvylovy, in which all the recent discoveries about the personality of Khvylovy were included.

The authors of the documentary told the interested audience about the book’s creation, and that they had found records with Khvylovy’s voice and his personal file, which stated that he was repressed. They said that they wanted to show the film hero’s character through the documentary, and uncover completely unknown sides of Khvylovy’s life and surroundings.

During their investigation it became clear that the writer lived through very difficult circumstances, tried to realize a plan for Ukraine’s development, and played a dangerous game with the system, with fatal consequences for himself. Disappointed with the Soviet reality and watching the unfortunate consequence of collectivization, the Holodomor, he committed a suicide in May 1933.

The investigation materials showed a completely different Khvylovy with all his problems, contradictions, weaknesses and virtues.

Iryna Tsiupiak, event MC, combined the roundtable conversation with the projection of fragments of the film. She tried to show the extraordinary means of expression of Khvylovy through the image of a clown, which the authors used in the film’s creation. At all times could a clown express all opinions before the king’s throne. Khvylovy himself was ready to become such a clown.

Shvydko, NMU professor, spoke about the complicated figure of the convinced communist and even the whole theory “khvylovism.” Kostiantyn Dub, DNU professor, reported that he had admired the works of the unknown writer and showed a collection of rare Khvylovy’s books. Kostiantyn Semenovych called his literary works absolutely extraordinary, just like his life – twisted, weaved from contradictions. “The are disrupted ‘I’,” the scientist excitingly quoted his favorite writer. Dub read a poem from his collection, devoted to Khvylovy.

Hennadii Pivniak, academician and rector of the National Mining University, also participated in the unusual roundtable. He confidently stated in his short speech that the bright history lesson gave technical departments’ students new ideas.

He also gave Shapoval a medal “For Merits” from the NMU for fruitful cooperation and noted that it was necessary to share with the new generation the truths of life, “to imitate their worthy peers.”

Shapoval said at the end, “Each of us should have an inner core. We should not cry but speak about Ukraine, remember the people who fought and were not afraid of prison or death.”

Director Iryna Shatokhina told about the congregation concerning another documentary film Separate opinion of Oleksander Shumsky (USSR people’s commissar of education in 1924-27). There is a series of documentaries planned, which are to reveal the secret pages of Ukrainian history.