Skip to content

← Home

Valeriy Verkhovsky

Valeriy Verkhovsky is a Ukrainian journalist, publicist, and researcher of history, author of materials in the all-Ukrainian newspaper "Krymska svitlytsia" ("Crimean Light-Room").

Overview

Valeriy Verkhovsky explores little-known and controversial pages of the history of Crimea in the 20th century and earlier epochs, debunking Soviet historical and mythological clichés, as well as covering the cultural, cinematic, and biographical heritage of the peninsula.

In the newspaper "Krymska svitlytsia" he published a number of resonant studies and local-history essays:

  • The article "Who Are the Germans of Crimea?" ("Nimtsi Krymu — khto vony?", 2017, issue No. 13), dedicated to the history of the Germans of Crimea, from the medieval Crimean Goths and the Principality of Theodoro to the German colonists of the 19th century and the deportation of 1941.
  • The article "Who Was He Really?" ("Khto vin naspravdi?", 2018, issue No. 47), in which he provided a critical analysis of the figure of Pavlo Makarov and exposed the fictional nature of the Soviet myth about Bolshevik underground intelligence in the camp of the White forces in southern Ukraine ("The Adjutant of His Excellency" / "Adyutant yoho vysokopovazhnosti").
  • The article "And Kings Have No Power Over Me" ("I koroli ne vladni nado mnoyu", 2018, issue No. 5), in which he analyzed the film Yevgen Sherstobitov's Andromeda Nebula ("Tumannist Andromedy"), shot in Crimea, and its artistic and ideological features.
  • The article "Both Bar and Madagascar" ("I Bar, i Madahaskar", 2018, issue No. 40), in which he covered the life path of Moritz Benyovsky, his participation in the Bar Confederation in Crimea and his stay in the domains of the Crimean Khanate.
  • The article "In the Fire of Ukraine" ("V pozhezhi Ukrayiny", 2018, issue No. 40), in which he analyzed the figure of the Polish poet Yuliush Slovatskyy and the Crimean plot cycle in his poem Benyovsky ("Benovskyy").
  • The article "N-sky District and Its Surprises" ("N-skyy raion i yoho syurpryzy", 2019, issue No. 15-16), in which he described the little-known steppe Nyzhnohirskyi District, the Nohaychyn Sarmatian kurgan, the Shatilov estate, and the Vvedensky Castle.
  • The article "What Is Needed" ("Te, shcho treba", 2018, issue No. 52), in which he covered the fate of the Kyiv test pilot Oleh Sokolovskyi and the first tests of supersonic aviation in Crimea at an airfield near Saky in late 1948.
  • The article "The Magician" ("Charodiy", 2017, issue No. 20), in which he covered the biography and artistic path of the outstanding animator of Krymchak origin Ralph Bakshi.
  • The article "Lethal Gift of the Sea" ("Smertonosnyy darunok morya", 2018, issue No. 29), dedicated to the tragedy of the fishing seiner Shkval in 1998 and the residual-explosive hazard of Soviet naval test ranges near Cape Lukul.
  • The article "Why Did You Kill Me?" ("Chomu vy mene vbyly?", 2019, issue No. 31-32, co-authored with Veronika Zhuravel), in which he covered the figure of the Italian classic Ugo Tarchetti and his anti-war novel "Noble Madness" ("Shlyakhetne bezumstvo") about the Crimean War.
  • The article "The Death of the Flagship" ("Zagybel flahmana", 2018, issue No. 5), dedicated to the catastrophe of the battleship Novorossiysk on 29 October 1955 in Sevastopol, the activities of Italian naval saboteurs under Valerio Borghese, and the resignation of Admiral N. Kuznetsov.
  • The article "The Speed of Light in the Dark Kingdom" ("Shvydkist svitla v temnomu tsarstvi", 2018, issue No. 33), dedicated to Erwin Freundlich's 1914 expedition to Crimea for the astronomical verification of Albert Einstein's theory of relativity.
  • The article "Poison Without Which Life Is Impossible: The History of Crimean Salt" ("Otruta, bez yakoyi nemozhlyve zhyttya: istoriya krymskoyi soli", 2017, issues No. 24-25), dedicated to the history of the salt industry in Crimea, the flourishing of chumak trade, and salt competition with Bakhmut.
  • The article "Crimea in the Works of Foreign Literature: Jack Ryan Saves Ukraine" ("Krym u tvorakh inozemnoyi literatury: Dzhek Rayan ryatuye Ukrayinu", 2018, issue No. 11), dedicated to Tom Clancy, his Jack Ryan series, and the novel "Threat Vector" ("Pravo ostatochnoho rishennya", 2012), which foresaw the russian occupation of Crimea.
  • The article "The City of russian Misfortune" ("Misto rosiyskoho neschastya", 2016, issue No. 48), in which he analyzed the historical myth of Sevastopol as the "city of russian glory," the course of the Crimean War (in particular the Charge of the Light Brigade at Balaklava, its depiction in literature and rock music), the role of Ukrainians on both sides of the front (the Cossacks of Mykhailo Chaikovskyi) and the chain of systemic russian military defeats in Crimea.
  • The article "VODA" (2016, issue No. 47), in which he analyzed the ecological balance, geological risks, and water-deficit problems of Crimea after the shutdown of the North Crimean Canal.

Key Details / Subtopics

  • Analysis of the myth of Sevastopol as the "city of russian glory" (2016): debunking the imperial myth, analysis of the technological backwardness of the russian empire in the Crimean War, the Charge of the Light Brigade at Balaklava, defeats on the Alma, and viewing Sevastopol as a city of systemic military-political defeats of russia (the Crimean War, World War I and II).
  • Publication about Pavlo Makarov (2018): analysis of Makarov's memoirs, exposure of the absence of intelligence activity, and debunking of the cinematic myth about Pavlo Koltsov.
  • Coverage of intelligence services' activities in Crimea: study of the confrontation between the White, Red, and Ukrainian State of Pavlo Skoropadskyi intelligence services in 1918–1920.
  • Study of the cinematic heritage of Crimea and the film "Andromeda Nebula" ("Tumannist Andromedy") (2018): analysis of the adaptation of Ivan Yefremov's novel by director Yevgen Sherstobitov (Dovzhenko Film Studio, 1967). Coverage of Crimean locations (Ai-Petri, Alushta, Novyi Svit, Kapsel, the buildings of "Artek"), the contrast between the communist utopia and living human feeling, and the key role of William Shakespeare's 29th sonnet.
  • Biographical study of Ralph Bakshi (2017): analysis of the biography of Ralph Bakshi, his origin from the small indigenous Krymchak people, the creation of the cult animated films "The Adventures of Fritz the Cat" ("Pryhody Kota Fritsa"), "Wizards" ("Charodiyi"), "The Lord of the Rings" ("Volodar persniv"), and the development of rotoscoping animation.
  • Study of the figure of Moritz Benyovsky (2018): analysis of the biography of Moritz Benyovsky, his participation in the Bar Confederation, his retreat to the Crimean Khanate, and his subsequent epic up to his proclamation as King of Madagascar.
  • Analysis of Yuliush Slovatskyy's poem "Benyovsky" ("Benovskyy") (2018): study of the work of Yuliush Slovatskyy in the rubric "Crimea in the Works of Foreign Literature," analysis of the "Crimean Adventures" ("Krymski pryhody") of the nobleman Benyovsky, the Bakhchysarai episode, and the freeing of the captive Aneli.
  • Local-history study of Nyzhnohirshchyna (2019): coverage of the history of Nyzhnohirskyi District, the hypothetical port of Kremni, the finds of the Nohaychyn Sarmatian kurgan, the Shatilov estate, and the Vvedensky Castle near Syvash.
  • Study of the history of the Germans of Crimea (2017): coverage of the Gothic period, the heritage of Ogier de Busbecq, 19th-century colonization (Kronental, Tsurikhtal), German national districts, and the special operation of expulsion in 1941.
  • Study of the breaking of the sound barrier in Crimea (2018): analysis of the biography of the Kyivan Oleh Sokolovskyi, the tests of the La-176 fighter at an airfield near Saky, and reaching a speed of 1,105 km/h in the skies over Crimea in December 1948.
  • Study of the tragedy of the seiner "Shkval" (2018): coverage of the circumstances of the sinking of the fishing seiner Shkval in 1998 due to the explosion of a WWII depth charge and analysis of the mine threat in the Black Sea.
  • Study of Ugo Tarchetti and the novel "Noble Madness" ("Shlyakhetne bezumstvo") (2019): analysis of the anti-war novel of the Italian classic Ugo Tarchetti (the Scapigliatura movement), co-authored with Veronika Zhuravel, revealing the theme of the mutilated fate of the Italian Filippo Sporta during the Crimean War, the battle for Malakhov Kurgan, Inkerman, and the episode of the murder of a young Pole.
  • Study of the sinking of the battleship "Novorossiysk" (2018): analysis of the circumstances of the catastrophe of 29 October 1955 in Sevastopol, the sinking of the ship by Italian saboteurs under Valerio Borghese (10th MAS Flotilla), and its military-political consequences.
  • Study of the attempt to verify the theory of relativity in Crimea (2018): coverage of the history of Erwin Freundlich's 1914 expedition, the arrest of German astronomers by russian counterintelligence, the role of the solar eclipse, and how the disruption of observations saved Albert Einstein's calculations from premature refutation.
  • Study of the salt industry and chumak trade (2017): analysis of the history of the salt industry in Crimea, the role of the Perekop lakes (As, Tuzla), the privileged trade of chumaks and Zaporozhian Cossacks with the Crimean Khanate, as well as competition with the salt-making of Bakhmut.
  • Analysis of the ecological and water balance of Crimea (2016): study of the geological structure of the limestone foundation of Northern Crimea, substantiation of the significance of the North Crimean Canal as the only reliable source of water supply, disclosure of the risks of soil and groundwater salinization, and a critical analysis of the uncontrolled operation of wells after 2014.