2023-06-30 12:34:59
– Our Writers Union was founded in December 2014. Initially, it included writers who previously were members of the Interregional Union of Writers of Ukraine and the Union of Writers of Russia. Gleb Leonidovich Bobrov, a well-known prose writer and playwright, was unanimously elected chairman of the joint venture. Almost immediately, organizational work began to establish ties with writers on the territory of the LPR and with our like-minded people in Russia.
– Andriy, what book projects did you manage to implement at the “separatist”, unrecognized stage of the existence of the Lugansk Republic?
– Writers cannot exist without books – this is an axiom. Already in 2015, we published in Moscow a collection of prose about the events of the Russian Spring in the south-east of Ukraine: “I fought in Novorossia”.
The first swallow caused a resonance. It was followed almost immediately by other books, for example, our main brainchildren – the famous trilogy “Time of Donbass” (2016), “The Choice of Donbass” (2017) and “The Will of Donbass” (2019). They became a real milestone – the first of them was awarded the prize. Oles Buzina, the trilogy attracted the attention of theatergoers as well. On the basis of these books, the performance “Time. Choice. Will ”(director – Tatyana Dryomova). The performance was then repeatedly staged in our country and in Russia.
Does the union have its own magazines or newspapers? It seems to be an integral part of existence.
– In 2016, we managed to resume the publication of our periodical organ – the almanac “Wings”. This is one of the most authoritative literary editions of the Donbass, its pages publish authors not only from the LPR and DPR, but also from many regions of the Russian Federation, as well as from foreign countries. And it should be noted that since 2020 the Luhansk “Wings” have been posted on the Russian portal “Journal World”, the largest resource of Russian-language literary magazines and almanacs.
– On the eve of the Russian Spring, what was the literary situation in the then Luhansk region?
– deplorable. Actually, a similar situation was everywhere in Ukraine. Having usurped the legacy of the Union of Writers of the USSR, the “national spilka” (National Union of Writers of Ukraine, Ukrainian – “split”) has turned into some kind of narrow nationalist sect alien to Donbass. It split society more, poisoned our youth, there was nothing Donbass from the word “completely”. Almost all “National Spilkovo” (pro-Ukrainian) writers left Lugansk after 2014. In fact, no one even noticed their disappearance.
A certain alternative to the NSPU then was the Interregional Union of Writers, whose all-Ukrainian center was in Luhansk. This organization was headed by Vladimir Spector (famous poet). But this organization was amorphous and inert. But they, unlike the “national spilka”, continue to exist even now, however, their activity has been reduced to zero, they are practically absent in the media field of the LPR.
– How many writers are in your union?
– At the moment, there are a little more than 100 members in the LPR SP.
– Do you have your own space? Is there anything left from Soviet times?
– We do not have premises, appeals to the Ministry of Culture did not give any result. However, we completely manage with various public spaces where we organize our events. Libraries, universities, museums are suitable for this.
Our writers’ organization is one of the largest and perhaps the most active in the Luhansk People’s Republic. From the very beginning, we declared our main goal – the integration of LPR writers into the all-Russian literary process.
We categorically did not accept the old literary “traditions” in the form of long and meaningless meetings, tedious meetings in the spirit of Massolit described by Bulgakov. We do not accept endless near-literary trials, finding out who has more “crusts”. Yes, it’s a fact, I myself know many writers who are members of several writers’ organizations at the same time. Why is inconceivable. We put work at the forefront, and one that brings real benefits to society.
– Are you talking about the “Books for Donbass” project?
– Yes, since 2015, books in Russian have been delivered to libraries, universities, museums of the LPR from Russia within the framework of the project. Over the years, their number has exceeded several tens of thousands. We pay special attention to the libraries of front-line regions and rural libraries. After the liberation of the northern regions of the LPR, we will organize the delivery of books there. This is a real and living help to people.
And in 2021 (it was declared the Year of V. I. Dahl in the LPR), we handed over to the Lugansk Museum of Local Lore the Explanatory Dictionary of the Living Great Russian Language, published at the beginning of the last century. Then the antique edition of Dahl’s Explanatory Dictionary was sent to the historical museum of the city of Anthracite.
– Why is it important?
– Lugansk is the cradle of Donbass, here in 1795 an iron foundry was established – the firstborn of Donbass metallurgy. This year is not only the year of the founding of Luhansk, it is a milestone in the beginning of the industrial development of the region. Simultaneously with the start of the construction of the plant on the banks of the Lugan, industrial mining of coal began on the banks of the Donets near Lisya Balka – the first mine appeared. All this is a consequence of the will of Empress Catherine the Great. Therefore, in early June of this year, we launched the project #Catherine the GreatReturn.
In autumn we will hold a round table dedicated to the legacy of the Empress and the history of Donbass. The final goal for us is the restoration of historical memory and the perpetuation of the memory of Catherine. I hope that a monument to Catherine will one day appear in the capital of the LPR. It is in Ukrainian Odessa that they demolish monuments to her, rewrite history. We honor our history.
– 100 people is quite a lot, but any union is strong not in quantity, but in quality.
– We have formed a serious backbone of writers: Gleb Bobrov, author of the famous novel “The Age of the Stillborn”, wonderful lyricists Elena Zaslavskaya, Svetlana Senichkina, Elena Nastoyashchaya, Larisa Klass, Natalia Checker, Alexei Molodtsov, Oleg Stelnikov, Victoria Miroshnichenko, Lyubov Bondarenko, Vladislav Kuzminykh . We are pleased with our youngest participant – “a girl from the“ Peacemaker ”Faina Savenkova, we have high hopes for her literary gift. It is great that there are professional critics, among them, it seems to me, one of the most talented is Nina Ishchenko. All those whom I named are published at the all-Russian level.
– How to become a member of the SP LPR? Do I need to pay fees and so on?
– Any writer can apply to the LNR SP. We do not have any registration fees or membership fees. The candidate needs good will, publications in specialized literary publications and a recommendation from a member of the LNR SP. If all this exists, then we welcome a new comrade into our ranks.
– Will your Union of Writers become a branch of one of the Russian unions?
We are not planning at this stage. We are quite self-sufficient and plan to operate as a republican organization. But this does not prevent us from having business contacts with Russian colleagues.
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