MP: Rada to introduce Day of Old Rus fleet’s campaign against Constantinople

The Verkhovna Rada. Photo: wikimedia

Work continues in the Verkhovna Rada on a new list of state, religious and commemorative dates. As MP Maksym Buzhanskyi wrote on his Facebook page, "spectacular innovations are expected."

According to him, among the proposed dates are the Day of the Constitution of Pylyp Orlyk and the Day of the Coronation of King of Rus Danylo Halytskyi. Moreover, on the list of Days of Military Glory, as the deputy claims, there is no mention of victory over Nazism, but there is a "day of the ancient Rus fleet's campaign against Constantinople."

"But there is a day of the ancient Rus fleet's campaign against Constantinople," Buzhanskyi wrote, commenting on the initiative.

The "ancient Rus fleet's campaign against Constantinople" usually refers to the event of 860 AD – the first major attack by the Rus on the capital of Byzantium. Historical sources link this campaign to the names of princes Askold and Dir. Byzantine chronicles describe the sudden appearance of the fleet at the walls of Tsargrad and the siege of the city, which became one of the first known contacts between Rus and Byzantium.

The deputy also noted that formally the process of preparing the initiative is handled by the Deputy Minister of Culture, however, in his opinion, the conceptual content is related to the position of former head of the Institute of National Memory Volodymyr Viatrovych.

As the UOJ wrote, earlier Stefanchuk stated that moving Christmas and other church dates is a matter of ideology.

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