News
04/02/2024. Presentation of a new book by Jana Zhemoitelite
February 4, 2024:
The National Library of Karelia held a presentation of a new book by Jana Zhemoitelite. The book’s name is Postradavshye (Eng. The Aggrieved). The book includes two stories that are thematically related, since both events take place in Karelia. The two works are completely opposite in content, that it is why it is paradoxical to see them in the same collection. In the centre of the first, there is the story of the life and death of people connected with the miraculous icon of the Mother of God in a small Karelian village, in the second – the life of a political commissar who “sacredly” believed in the ideals of the World Revolution and Soviet power, described by him in his diary. An icon brings moments of inexplicable, “higher” intervention into people’s lives, but in the life of a political commissar everything is extremely material and explainable. In contrast, both stories are perceived unusually brightly.
The story is not documentary, but it is based on authentic notes from a participant in the events. At the presentation of The Aggrieved book, library employees Dmitry Guryev and Alexander Dokuchaev played the roles of several characters from both stories. The book aroused general interest among the presentation participants.
Jana Zhemoitelite. The Aggrieved. Petrozavodsk, Severnoye siyaniye, 2023. 231 s. Age restrictions: 16+ The book could be bought at the book stall of the National Library of Karelia