Фортеця Звягель. Як місто Лесі Українки та Валерія Залужного повертає своє | УП. Репортаж

History has a unique sense of humor. At the end of winter 2022, a Soviet cannon aimed at Europe was dismantled in Zvyagel in the Zhytomyr region. Local craftsmen converted it into a working weapon: with a barrel from a modern, captured Russian infantry fighting vehicle. “We used to expect that the enemy would come from the West,” smiles Viktor Buslenko, head of the All-Ukrainian Brotherhood of the OUN-UPA. “Now what is needed is a cannon in our defense ready to meet the Russian occupier.” From 1795 to 2022, the ancient town on the banks of the Sluch River bore the imperial name “Novograd-Volynskyi.” It became Zvyagel again only after the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation. Thanks to the efforts of local patriots, Lenin was removed from Zvyagel when it was not yet mainstream - in the summer of 2013. Memorial plaques to Dontsov and Konovalets appeared on the facades of houses at different times. And among the renamed streets there are those named after Stepan Bandera, Roman Shukhevych and the Azov regiment. Those with a short memory perceive the changes in Zvyagel as a political conjuncture. In a city where there were many military personnel during the USSR, where families of former army personnel from all over the Union still live, everything that is not connected with Russia still causes emotional friction in some people. But for those who know history, it is precisely pro-Russianness that is unnatural where the foundation of the fortress of Konstantin Ostrozky remains. Where Lesya Ukrainka and General Zaluzhny were born. Where Hero of Ukraine Andriy Verkhoglyad rests among fresh military graves. How is the city being decolonized? Why is Olena Pchilka, Lesya's mother, called the "mother of Ukrainian nationalism"? And who do the locals see Zvyahel more - the city of Lesya Ukrainka or Valery Zaluzhny? In the UP report. Authors: Yevhen Rudenko, Nazariy Mazilyuk, Yevhen Buderatsky _________________________________________________________ Join the Ukrainian Truth Club: https://club.pravda.com.ua/?utm_sourc... Website: https://www.pravda.com.ua TikTok:   / pravda_com_ua   Facebook:   / ukrpravda   Twitter:   / ukrpravda_news   Telegram channel "UP.Strichka": https://t.me/ukrpravda_news Telegram channel "UP.Damn Questions": https://t.me/ukr_pravda Telegram channel "UP. Off the record": https://t.me/off_the_record