‘We took it upon ourselves to be their voice.’ How a local media in Lutsk is restoring a piece of the city’s history

A year ago, she and her team set out to research the history of the local Karaites, one of Ukraine’s small indigenous peoples, who had one of the largest settlements in Lutsk during the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Today, the only remaining representative of this people resides in the city.

The idea emerged after the team read the book ‘The Karaites in Volyn.’ A quotation ending with the words, ‘In the name of a dying people, I ask you to write something about us!’ inspired them so deeply that they could not let go of the idea. To bring their plan to life, they secured a House of Europe Media Content Grant. This is how the project Karayimshchyna. Those Who Disappear was born.

We spoke to Liudmyla about the challenges the team faced in piecing together this historical puzzle, what impressed them during the research process, and the role local media play in Ukraine today.

There is also a widespread perception that the Karaites are rather reserved. Even Yosyf Eshvovych (the last officially registered Karaite living in Lutsk — author’s note) was reluctant to engage with us, whereas his wife, Lydia, who is Ukrainian, was more open. I do not know where this reserve comes from — perhaps it is rooted in deep historical trauma — but it is what it is. Yet the existence of an entire people is, in my opinion, a treasure, something that deserves to be spoken about, so we took it upon ourselves to be their voice if they themselves did not wish to speak.

During our research, we travelled to Halych — the second city in mainland Ukraine with a large Karaite settlement — where only one confirmed Karaite remains, but where the Museum of Karaite History and Culture and a number of houses have been preserved, some of which were later purchased by descendants of former residents. In Lutsk, Karayimska Street is little more than a name: only one former Karaite administrative building has survived.

Pages of personal stories

As a result of this research, my understanding of the extent to which the Soviet authorities deliberately destroyed things in Ukraine has deepened. Wherever you look, you see traces of it.

But the team’s greatest discovery and surprise was the number of responses we received — in comments on social media and from people we knew personally. People shared stories about Karaite relatives or former classmates. What is more, these were often very distant, fragmented memories — as though someone knew that their relatives had been Karaites but did not really understand who they were. This is probably the clearest reflection of how thoroughly the topic was silenced. At that time, national identity was hidden to such an extent that people unknowingly lost touch with their own roots.

And these stories came from both local residents and people across Ukraine. One serviceman, himself a Karaite by birth, even wrote to us asking for contacts so that he could obtain a copy of the magazine.

So, I think that if this project helped several families rediscover this forgotten part of their history, that would already be a wonderful outcome.

A story that resonates more loudly

At the beginning of the research, we understood that simply publishing a series of lengthy articles would not be enough — we would miss an opportunity to attract broader attention. That is why we planned a wide range of activities. The Media Content Grant made it possible to organise everything on such a visible scale.

Since the grant requested that considerable attention should be devoted to promotion, this immediately set us on the right path. This is a common problem: media outlets produce a great deal of content, but there is never enough time to distribute it properly. Yet experience has shown us that effective promotion makes a real difference, and we have taken that lesson to heart.

Moreover, without the grant, we would never have found the resources to produce the magazine to a high standard, organise events such as a gastronomic evening, create a promotional video for local cinemas, or produce the six videos that formed part of the project.

After all, we have a more ambitious goal: to continue promoting these ideas. The main thing is that so much has now been documented, which will make it possible to develop historical initiatives in the future, both for the city and for the country as a whole.

By the way, Kateryna Musiichuk, the head of our tourism department, now takes a supplement to the magazine with her on excursions — a small, limited-edition newspaper created in the style of the only newspaper that was ever published in the Karaim language. She shows tourists the building where the publishing house once stood; today, it houses a café.

At the same time, we explored Karaite cuisine, and our friends at misto.cafe recreated traditional Karaite recipes, adding dishes such as kybyny and kinysh — traditional Karaite stuffed dumplings — to the menu. So, this story is already resonating more loudly, and rightly so. Why is it that, even when we would rather not, we remember the Soviet chapters of history, yet fail to acknowledge such an important chapter in the city’s past?

Bringing people together

We began our work during the full-scale invasion, and we understood that we had to focus on themes that would help Ukraine endure: to show what is valuable here, to demonstrate that we must continue to live, work, and persevere so that, once the war is over, there will still be a place to return to. Our common goal is to bring people together and create a strong community, even under the conditions in which we now live.

And this desire for unity is something people feel very strongly. Since 2022 in particular, many have begun to reflect more deeply on the things that keep them here, the things that connect them to this place — and very often, the answers are found in certain local things. I believe that this need for unity stems from the need to feel that one is not alone.

At the same time, another trend has emerged: people increasingly long for face-to-face interaction. We managed to respond to this need within the framework of the project by organising a public discussion with Nadia Vasylchuk, a researcher at the Museum of Karaite History and Culture in Halych, as well as a private presentation of the magazine at misto.cafe.

Over the past two years, however, we have also launched two offline initiatives that have become remarkably successful for a city of this size. These are the book club ‘The city reads’ and the sports and urban project ‘The city moves’. Both attract large audiences. People attend the book club, get to know one another, and then form smaller circles and communities of their own. And I believe that this is both our strength and our potential for the future.

Text: Kateryna Amelyna

Editing: Viktoriia Osipova

Translation into English: Iryna Goyal