Tereny and Local History publish a special issue on the Poltava region
In August 2026, Local History (Lokalna Istoriia) magazine and Tereny Cultural Agency presented a special issue devoted to the Poltava region. It treats the region’s history as part of the broader Ukrainian story, and uses its cultural heritage as a reason to look more closely at both its past and its present.
The authors write about the region’s Cossack history, the state of Hetman Ivan Mazepa and the figure of Marusia Churai, the legendary 17th-century poet and singer. They also tell the story of the Galagan family garden in Sokyryntsi, the artist Marie Bashkirtseff, Reshetylivka’s “white-on-white” embroidery, the town of Myrhorod and the region’s food traditions. One idea runs through the whole issue: local does not mean peripheral.
Speaking at the issue’s presentation in Kyiv, Galyna Gryhorenko, Head of the Culture Programme at the Mnozhyna Foundation, reflected on how understanding the past shapes the way we imagine the future:
“Ukraine, now fighting a genocidal war and a war for its identity, is returning to analysing, understanding and planning its future. We are talking not only about the past, but also about the future, about our contemporary and modern Ukrainian identity.”
The Mnozhyna Foundation supported the preparation of the issue for print through its Culture Programme. The programme supports cultural and educational practices that build knowledge, cooperation and the exchange of experience between regions.
With the Foundation’s support, Tereny also donated 300 copies of the magazine to 64 libraries in Poltava and across the region, so that readers in local communities can explore the history and cultural heritage of their area.
The special issue Poltavshchyna #5 (2026) is available from the Local History online shop (in Ukrainian).