Viktoriya and Patrice Lajoye
Viktoriya and Patrice Lajoye are two specialists on the rusophone SF&F (russian and ukrainian ones), translators, editors and owners of the Russkaya Fantastika french speaking blog, a remarkable instrument dedicated to the analysis and discusssion of the russian, ukrainian fantastika and also of the eastern-european science fiction.
This is the end of the second day of the European Science Fiction Convention in Kiev. A second busy day, too.
Today the convention moved within the Scientific and Technical Library of the Ukrainian Polytechnic Institute, that is a very important scientific campus. Upon arrival we were greeted by the traditional Soviet monument
And very soon we can admire the incredible architecture of this campus opened in 1898, the architecture oscilates between the industrial nineteenth century and sometimes almost a neo-gothic style.
The library building, however, is a pretty unsightly building originally designed in the Soviet era. However, the interior is particularly surprising. Indeed, it is first of all built around a Foucault pendulum, which has been in operation for the occasion
The walls are decorated with a lot of amazing frescoes, rich in detail that often relate to SF. The remaining surface is completely covered with portraits of deserving men and women, scientists, astronauts, athletes, priests. A cult of great men to the extremes.
But let’s back to our work, first with the realization of a long interview with Oleg Ladyzhensky and Dmitry Gromov (Henry Lion Oldie). They speak to us at length about the state of publishing in Russia and Ukraine.
We’re continuing with the beginning of the General Assembly of the European Science Fiction Society, which referrs on the particular problem of the borders of Europe. For example, can ESFS welcome Kazakhstan among its members ?
However, we have to go and the debate is far from being closed, because the appointment was made with Mikhailo Nazarenko, a leading critic, author of a book study on the work of Marina and Sergey Dyachenko. Again it becomes a long interview.
Then we cross Dmitry Kolodan without the time to greet him, we set an appointment with Leonid Kaganov for tomorrow, before our meeting with Natalia Logvinenko, Professor at the Ukraine’s Pedagogical Institute and the author of a major textbook on modern Ukrainian Fantastika. The discussion has not had time to become interview, but it was still exciting!
Obviously, all this is regularly accompanied by exchange of books. And finally, Mikhailo Nazarenko and Volodymyr (Vladimir) Areniev have proposed us to be our guides for the evening. Thus we have crossed all Kiev on foot with two outstanding guides !
© Viktoriya and Patrice Lajoye (France)
Photos © Viktoriya and Patrice Lajoye (France)
Eurocon de Kiev – jour 2 : Viktoriya et Patrice Lajoye (France)
I have written a short report from Eurocon 2013 that you might wish to link to.
http://bugeyedmonsters.wordpress.com/2013/04/22/eurocon-2013/
Regards,
Tomas
Dear Tomas,
Kindly allow us to repost your report on Europa SF, mentioning your permission, crediting you as the author and inserting a link towards the original.
Thank you,
Best,
Cristian Tamas