Jerusalem

Yesterday the Organization of Islamic Cooperation recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine.

In particular, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called on the international community to recognize the Palestinian state and proclaim Jerusalem the capital of this "occupied by Israel" country.

To say that it's a nonsense is not to say anything. Recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine is all the same as proclaiming Paris the center of Zimbabwe or the people of Kiev to "collect suitcases" and recognize the jurisdiction of Honduras.

Such decisions are no more than manipulation in their own interests. This is simply Erdogan's miserable attempt to hold the electorate to his side on the eve of the election.



For its long history Jerusalem was at least twice destroyed, many times captured and attacked. And it will survive this "attack". Jerusalem is the capital of Israel. It was so three millennia ago, and so it will always be

Nikolay Leontovich

140 years ago, the Ukrainian composer Nikolay Leontovich, the author of "Shchedryka" processing, who conquered the whole world under the title "Carol of the Bells", was born! In honor of the birthday of the great maestro, I will tell you a few facts about his life and the history of the legendary work.

1. Mykola Leontovych was born in the village of Monastirok, which is in Vinnitsa region. The boy's father was a village priest, but he knew how to play many instruments and taught his son to play cello, violin, guitar, poetry and balalaika. The mother of composer Maria Yosypivna was a woman of "unique spiritual and physical beauty," sang well, taught the son some folk songs. The boy did not only sing, but also conducted a peculiar chorus consisting of brothers and sisters.

2. Parents wanted Mykola to be a priest. After graduating from the Shargorod bourse he studied at the Kamyanets-Podilskyi Seminary. But Mykola still loved music, he started self-education. After graduating from the seminary, he worked as a teacher of a village school in Chukovo, where he organized a choir, an orchestra, and attracted students there. He bought instruments for his own money. With a monthly salary of 27 rubles, for each instrument he gave 25-40 rubles. Than Leontovych composed his "First collection of songs from Podillya" and worked on "The Second Collection of Songs from Podillya."

3. For several years, Leontovych has been a teacher of chants in the Donetsk region and Podillya. During the 1905 revolution, Leontovych organized a chorus of workers who sang at rallies. This attracted the attention of the police, because of which Leontovych was forced to leave.

4. A significant part of his life (Leontovych lived only 43 years), the composer put on work on "Shchedryk." The first author's edition appeared in 1901, the latter - 1919. For the first time, "Shchedryk" was performed by the choir of Kiev University in 1916, and in 1921 it was heard in the USA - the work was performed at Carnegie Hall in New York. The world famous "Carol of the bells" appeared in 1936. Then an American of Ukrainian origin, Peter Wilkhovsky, created the English version of words. Since then, the whole world has known the Ukrainian "Shchedryk" under the name "Carol of the Bells". You can hear the legendary song in modern films, including "Home alone", "Harry Potter", "The Hard Nut" and others. "Shchedryk" became an integral attribute of Christmas holidays.

5. The prominent Ukrainian composer was killed on the 23d of January, 1921, when he came to visit his father. For many years, this information was concealed, but now it is known that the killer of Leontovych was a Chekist Athanasius Gryshchenko, who asked to stay in his father’s house for a night. In the morning, he robbed the house and shot Mykola Leontovych. The text of the report revealing the name of the killer of the composer was made public only in the 1990s.

In addition to "Shchedryk", Leontovych made 150 wonderful works, among which such famous as "Dudaryk", "Pryala", "Kozak carry". Be sure to turn on one of them today to enjoy the immortal talent of the great Ukrainian composer!

Joyful holiday of light!

Friends! Today, with the first star, Hanukkah's holiday will begin!

Its story dates back to ancient times. Syrian king Antiochus IV in 167 BC condemned Judaism. The Torah became a forbidden book, following Jewish laws - a crime. Moreover, the two Jewish women and their babies, for whom they secretly made the circumcision, were executed. Because of this, a Jewish uprising broke out. The army was small, poorly equipped. However, it only took them three years to dislodge Antioch with his troops from their lands. After the control on Jerusalem was established by the army of Judah Maccabee, the Jews managed to restore the Second Jewish Temple.

On the day of his consecration it was necessary to light the menorah and maintain its fire. But there was no olive oil for the lamps, only one jug was left. And manufacturing of a sufficient number could take eight days. But the Jews still decided to light the candles. And they had burned on that oil for 8 days, instead of one. It was just a miracle! Therefore, the wise men decided that, starting from the 25th day of Kislev, within 8 days, the Jews would have days for joy and fun, they have to pray and read Galeel, and light candles.

The holiday was called Hanukkah, which means "a solemn opening, a sanctuary." This day, the worship was restored at the Temple of Jerusalem. Another explanation of the name - "Hanu" means rest, "kkah" - 25th day of the month kislev.

At Hanukkah family gather at the big family table and chic meal. People sing traditional songs and talk about the miracles God has made for ancestors. They eat donuts with jam, called sufganite and, imagine, derynu! But they are called "latkes". Kids are on vacation, so they love the holiday. According to tradition, the children are given a lot of toys and money, some of which they have to pay for charity.

Friends, there is a wise Jewish saying: "A little light is enough to dispel the great darkness." In this great holiday for the Jewish people, I urge you never to be disappointed and not destitute. Miracles are very close to us; we just need to believe, and they will come true.


Hag sameah! Joyful holiday of light!

Israeli Friends of Ukraine

"You exist at the expense of what you get. You live when you give, - Winston Churchill said. On Sunday, I had the honor to read a lecture to the people who really live - Ukrainian and Israeli volunteers. Public organization Israeli Friends of Ukraine on the 10th – 11th of December held a seminar is held on the topic of cooperation between volunteer and public organizations of Israel and Ukraine.

I saw the most loyal people from all corners of Ukraine: from Vinnitsa, Kharkov, Odessa, Zhitomir ... And also people with a big heart from Israel who sincerely want to help Ukrainians. The purpose of the event was the development of joint projects and their launching in Ukraine.

I sincerely support such initiatives, because I am sure that the eternal bond of our two peoples should grow stronger. The new bridges between Ukrainians and Israelis, who extend a helping hand to each other, are the foundation on which friendship is built. Interpersonal contacts, support and understanding are indispensable attributes of strong relations between our peoples.

I want to wish the volunteers and their cooperation to develop rapidly and be closed in a solid ring. Because it helps thousands of people to live better. Thanks again to all volunteers for their hard work and sincere help.

Day of Prosperity and Freedom

Friends, today Ukrainians celebrate the Day of Prosperity and Freedom!

On this day, we recall two important events that shook the newest history of Ukraine - the 2004 Orange Revolution and the 2013 Revolution of Dignity. The Day of Merit and Liberty became a kind of successor to the celebration of the Liberty Day celebrated in honor of the Orange Revolution from 2005 to 2011 on November 22, but was subsequently abolished by the decree of Viktor Yanukovych.

And, of course, on November 21, 2013, the first protest actions on Maidan began in response to the decision of the then authorities to end the course on European integration.

I think that you now remember the events of the Revolution of Dignity as if they were unfolding yesterday. The country was tired of the dominance of corruption, constant theft, the tyranny of law enforcement agencies, neglect of human rights and decided to say no, to fight for the future for themselves and their descendants. It took a little time and blood was spilled on peaceful rallies. Then the revolution became different, all-embracing, general one. Bloodshed has become a definite symbol of the government's desire to suppress those who have a different stance. Beating students, burning tires, gunpowder, Molotov cocktails, Berkut, snipers, shooting and "Heavenly hundred" - all these terrible things somehow symbolize the events of the Revolution of Dignity. One of the most tragic and most necessary events in the history of modern Ukraine. Three months of protests, 106 dead and more than 2,000 wounded - that's it, the terrible price that had to be paid.

This day should be crocheted forever in our memory in honor of those who gave their lives for changes in Ukraine. The Orange Revolution and the Revolution of Dignity were the first impetus for us to never return to the past, to fight for the future – independent and free. The process of change is still ongoing. But despite the ups and downs, joy and disappointment, victories and losses, the process that started then must come to an end. Because we are responsible for the kind of state in which our descendants will live and we must make every effort, unite, and work for the benefit of our country.

I wish you all strength, courage, patience. Stay honest with yourself and your Motherland and never despair! The eternal memory for all those who perished in order for us to live better.

Talented author - Yevgeny Adamtsevich.

Did you hear the famous "Zaporozhian march"? When this melody was first heard in the hall of the Kyiv Opera House, nobody doubted - it's music of independence. Years passed, "Zaporozhian March" became a folk melody, and few people remember that it had a talented author - Yevgeny Adamtsevich.

Ukrainian musician was born on January 1, 1904 in the village of Solonitsa, Poltava region, in the family of a station officer. When Eugene was only two years old, he lost his sight due to illness. But it did not make the boy lose his thirst for life. Parents sent him to study at the Kiev school for the blind. There, Eugene learned to play bandura, violin and sopilka. He sang well - his baritone covered two octaves. Mussi Olexeienko, a bandura player, taught boy to play the hardest instrument.

Subsequently, the young man moved to live to his grandmother to Romny, a city that in the 1920s was a prominent regional cultural center. There was a drama theater, and a significant cell of kobzaws. Yevgen Adamtsevich joined the Mirgorod chamber of bandura players, had started to play on public from 1927.

An outstanding musician over the years experienced a lot of grief: the hard 30th years of extermination of kobza and bandurgery, persecution, poverty, repression and oppression. However, Adamtsevich had a strong spirit and never folded his hands.

The girl Lidia fell in love with such a strong, courageous and talented handsome man. A cute young woman threw everything, escaped from home,

just in order to be close to her beloved Eugene. Couple had three daughters, for whom Eugene had built a house near the railway in Romny.

Eugene earned money hardly, he sang on the Romanian market. The Soviet government interpreted this as begging, so talented musician was often persecuted. There were occasions than he, the blind man, was taken away from the city, thrown alone in the forest, sometimes got arrested.

The life of a kobzar was not easy after the Second World War, because he did not have a seniority, he did not earn a pension. Again and again he had to return to the playing on the bazaar. The material position of the family improved when the union of singers-kobza-players appeared. There they began to organize concerts and pay for them some money.

Now imagine: Kiev Opera House named after T.G. Shevchenko, concert of kobzars and lyre players. Young girls bring to the scene a blind bandurist Yevgen Adamsevich. A high and strong kobzar touches bandura strings, and timidly says: "Zaporozhian March". At first, the hall stopped, listening to an unknown for many melody, then people began to rise from the seats ... the hall burst into applause. This work immediately became something important for all Ukrainians. A melody of the spirit, which spoke from the heart of an unbroken man.

At nnight on January 13, 1972, the second mowing of the intellectuals took place. The Kobzar Association closed its activities. Adamtsevich and his wife moved to their daughter to the village of Kholmovka, Bakhchysaray district in the Crimea. There, Yevgeny Adamtsevich, died - 45 years ago, on November 19, 1972. He was 67.

This is sad, instructive, full of strength and faith, story of the outstanding Ukrainian bandurist Yevhen Adamstsevich. He lived a hard life, but he was able to urge Ukrainians not to give up and believe in a bright future. So let's follow his calls.

Friends!

Friends! Today is the day of memory of Vasyl Krichevsky, Ukrainian painter, architect and graphic artist. It is he who is the author of the Ukrainian state emblem, adopted by the Central Rada, the person who designed money and state signs UPR. Vasyl Krichevsky is a man who revived the art of decorating the Ukrainian books, which has been lost since the XVIII century. He was a talented architect and painter, a representative of "Ukrainian Impressionism".

Vasyl was born on January 12, 1873 in the village of Vorozhba (now - Sumy Region). He was the oldest of the 8 children of the burgher Grigor Krichevsky and his wife Praskovya. Vasyl Krichevsky studied in Kharkiv, at the railway and technical college. At the end of the study he assisted the city architect's assistant.

Krichevsky began his artistic activity in the late 1890s and devoted more than fifty years to artistic scientific and pedagogical work. He was a distinct landscape painter. Currently, a significant part of his works are abroad, most of them in the Ukrainian Museum of New York. In 2003, the granddaughter of Vasyl Krichevsky, Oksana de Linde, donated approximately 300 his works to Kharkiv, Poltava, Lebedin and Kiev as a gift to Ukrainian museums. In particular, up to 40 works are in the collection of the Kharkiv Art Museum. A unique collection of paintings by the artist is kept at the Museum of the Ukrainian Diaspora in Kyiv.

In 1903, his construction plan won the competition at the home of Poltava Zemstvo. It became an example of a new architectural style - Ukrainian Architectural Modern. Till 1908, Vasyl Krichevsky has participated in the management of the construction and design of this building. Krichevsky was involved to the construction of various interesting buildings, in particular, the home of the writers "Rolit", the Literary and Memorial Museum of Shevchenko on Taras’s Hill, the Profit House on the street. Streletskaya, 28 in Kiev and others.

In 1912-1913 Vasyl Krichevsky led carpentry workshops of Khanenko and ceramic school in Mirgorod. For the order of the famous patron of the millionaire Bohdan Khanenko, Vasyl Krichevsky made sketches of carpets on the themes of Ukrainian folk art. Olenivska studio wrapped those carpets for the Khanenko spouses.

Krichevsky was one of the organizers and the first rector of the Ukrainian Academy of Arts. For many years, Vasyl collected items of Ukrainian folk art. He was the author of the first textbook in Ukrainian folk art, which, unfortunately, did not manage to publish. The collection of Krichevsky, which was in the house of Mykhaylo Hrushevsky, was burned down during the artillery shelling by the Bolsheviks in 1918.

The time has come for the Ukrainian People's Republic. Vasyl Krichevsky was in good relationship with Mykhaylo Hrushevsky. It was he who was asked to make the first state seals. Then the task was to develop the coat of arms. Several ideas were discussed - "a sign of obscure meaning, something like trident" from the coins of Prince Vladimir, the crossbow - the old emblem of Kiev, and a Cossack with a musket, which was the coat of arms of the Hetmanate in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the Galician Leo, and the Kiev Archistrateg Mikhail. Finally, Mala Rada approved the large and small state emblems, as well as the large and small stamps of the UPR. The trident sign of Volodymyr the Great emphasized the heredity of the new state from Kievan Rus. "This decoration is petty, not borrowed, it is connected with our millennial state political and cultural history", - noted Mykhaylo Hrushevsky. The stylized olive wreath that surrounded Tryzub in both coats of arms, executed by Krichevsky, symbolized the peace policy of the Ukrainian People's Republic.

Vasyl Krichevsky also directed the artistic part in the production of the great Ukrainian films "Taras Shevchenko", "Taras Treyaslo", "Borislav Laughs", "Zvenigora", "Nazar Stodolya" and the first Ukrainian color film "Sorochinsky Fair".



During the Second World War Vasyl Krichevsky with his wife and daughter moved to Lviv, where he was the rector of the Highest Fine Art Studio. In autumn 1943 Krichevsky family emigrated firstly to Czechoslovakia, then to Austria, Germany, France. In early 1948 they settled in Venezuela. Eminent artist and architect died on November 15, 1952, exactly 65 years ago in the city of Caracas. In 1975, Krichevsky was reburied at the Ukrainian cemetery of St. Andrew in Bowden Brook, New Jersey, USA.