On December 21, 2021 in the reading hall of the library of Korsun-Shevchenkivskyi Professional Pedagogical College named after Taras Shevchenko the presentation of the book “War in the East of Ukraine: testimonies of participants” took place. Book is based on the Reserve’s stock sources; it contains testimonies of 30 participants of the Russian-Ukrainian war in eastern Ukraine – natives and residents of Korsun, who fought in volunteer battalions, in military formations of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The memoirs were recorded by Larysa Ivanenko, a researcher at the Reserve, who in 2015-2019 researched the participation of Korsun residents in the Russian-Ukrainian war.
Prepared the book for publication: Paraskoviya Stepenkina, Director of the Reserve, Candidate of Historical Sciences, Stanislav Stepenkin, Head of the Historical Museum, Candidate of Historical Sciences, Svitlana Dremlyuk, writer, member of the editorial board of the Korsun Magazine and many other publications of the Reserve.
Speaking at the event about the work on the book and her emotions caused by the memories contained in it, Svitlana Dremlyuk noted that in contrast to the memories of World War II, which were almost always pathetic, the testimonies of Russian-Ukrainian war veterans are true, objective and convincing.
The speech of Vasyl Otzemko, a teacher of history, civic education, defense of the motherland and jurisprudence of the Lyceum in Kvitky village, was sincere and interesting for students and guests. From September 2014 to June 2015, he defended Ukraine on its eastern borders as part of the Cherkasy Territorial Defense Battalion. Holding their breath, the students listened to his story about the life and work of a soldier in the war, about human values and humor, which helped them survive in difficult situations. Vasyl Mykolayovych also achieved significant success in pedagogical activity. In 2021, according to the Global Teacher Prize Ukraine, he entered the top 50 best teachers in our country.
Emotional, full of warmth and boundless love for their relatives were the speeches of Tatiana Polyakova, head of the Museum of History of the Korsun-Shevchenkivska Battle, mother of Oleksiy Polyakov, participant in the anti-terrorist operation, commander of the engineering and sapper unit of the 59th separate motorized infantry brigade and Kateryna Loenko, a junior researcher at the Reserve’s Department of Nature Protection, the wife of Bohdan Loenko, a soldier in the 40th Kryvbas Territorial Defense Battalion.
The value of the presented book is that it is a book about a man at war, about humanity and self-sacrifice, about love for Ukraine and devotion to our people.
The organizer of the event is Halyna Davydenko, the head of the scientific and methodical department of educational work of the Reserve