BOOK EXHIBITIONS
UKRAINE
In connection with the exhibition, we will highlight Ukrainian literature and works dealing with Ukraine through the eyes of both Finns and Ukrainians.
Over time, Ukrainian literature has been influenced by both the East and the West.
Welcome to explore and enjoy the cultural experience of literature. Here are the tastes of the exhibition.
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Gogol was born in the village of Surchyntsy near Poltava, Ukraine. As a child, he was influenced by the peasant life in rural Ukraine, the traditional and rich folklore of the Cossacks. His father was a playwright inspired by Ukrainian folklore.
Gogol attended high school in Negin, and Gogol’s literary and artistic talents appeared at the age of 12. He published poems for him in a magazine.
Written and edited by Arto Luukkanen, University Lecturer in Russian and Eastern European Studies at the University of Helsinki, the collection discusses the causes and backgrounds of the "unknown war" between Russia and Ukraine from the Maidan uprising to the current Russian-Ukrainian fraternity. The story of the book is an immersive and fascinating journey into the recent history and politics of our neighbor. In addition to historical in-depth sounding, the book contains information sessions written by Docent Arto Luukkanen's students on the use of humor in the Maidan revolution, the role of corruption in the Ukrainian economy and the role of the media in the Russia-Ukraine information war. "The book is the most relevant and penetrating masterpiece of the autumn, which also provides insights into the current situation in Russia," says Arto Luukkanen.
Thousands of dead, tens of thousands wounded, more than a million fleeing their homes, ruined towns and villages. All this just a few hours away from Helsinki. In November 2013, Kiev began to boil.
The convergence agreement with the European Union did not go as the people wanted. In February 2014, the situation escalated into demonstrations and riots on the Maidan in Kiev, which claimed more than a hundred lives. Investigations did not even have time to begin, as Russia had already taken over the Crimean peninsula in March. Soon the situation in eastern Ukraine also began to escalate. In April 2014, locals who revolted with Russian support took over administrative buildings and police stations. At the end of May, a war broke out.
Timo Hellenberg, PhD in Political Science, and Nina Leinonen, a journalist, followed developments in Maidan and eastern Ukraine. Much has not been said in the news. Lots of skin coming, detailed. Even scary. Everything written has been seen and experienced, behind the news. Hellenberg stayed in Kiev for four years when his wife worked there as Finland's ambassador. In the winter of 2013-2014, Hellenberg spent time with protesters in Maidan tents and barricades, observing the situation in different parts of the city and meeting people fighting on the streets for Western Ukraine. Leonen works as a journalist for Iltalehti. He followed the development of the crisis in eastern Ukraine into a full-scale war and a still frozen conflict from March 2014 to the end of 2015. Leinonen has visited eastern Ukraine a dozen times and lived in Kiev in early 2015.