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On 4 January in Vilnius, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Linas Linkevičius met with the authors and publishers of a historical book about the House of Wiśniowiecki of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which was selected as the best book of 2016 in Ukraine. Lithuania’s Foreign Minister noted that the preservation and promotion of a common historical memory in the region were important for Lithuania.

“We are glad that the book that depicts notable historical figures of Lithuania and Ukraine, and the publication of which was partly funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania, was so well received in Ukraine,” said Linkevičius. Lithuania’s Foreign Minister stressed that the Lithuanian epoch in Ukraine was considered to be one of the brightest periods of the country’s history that had laid the foundation for promoting European values in Ukraine.

Professor Alfredas Bumblauskas, who attended the meeting, noted that in recent years the Ukrainian society took a great interest in the period of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the history of Ukraine. This period was rediscovered, researched and considered to be an example of democratic coexistence of nations.

The publisher of the historical book “The Princes Wiśniowiecki” (Князі Вишневецькі) that was published by the publishing house “Baltia-Druk” in Kyiv, historian Virginijus Strolia and the authors – historians Genutė Kirkienė and Professor Alfredas Bumblauskas – gave Linkevičius a signed copy of the book as a present. This 319-page historical book was jointly compiled by Belarusian, Polish, Lithuanian and Ukrainian historians. It is based on historical documents and archival material from various museums, archives, galleries and libraries in Belarus, Poland, Lithuania and Ukraine.

The book about the family of European noblemen – Wiśniowiecki – has won the 2016 Book of the Year Award in Ukraine. The publication was selected to be the best book among 42 books published by 15 Ukrainian publishing houses. Last year, the book about the Princes Ostrogski published by the same publishing house won the Book of the Year Award in Ukraine.

Lithuania and Ukraine have joined efforts to restore a gravestone of the Prince Konstanty Ostrogski, a famous Lithuanian military commander, who is buried in Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, near the Cathedral of the Dormition.

The project “The Princes Wiśniowiecki – a common historical memory and cultural heritage of Lithuania and Ukraine” aims to promote the cooperation of the region’s scholars in researching and promoting the history and heritage of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. In 2016, this project received a contribution of EUR 15,664 under the Development Cooperation and Democracy Promotion Programme of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania.

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