An event, however, is an extraordinary phenomenon. Once it has taken place in the life of a person or of mankind, it irrevocably determines the subsequent course of life for an extended period, becoming a reference point by which we define ourselves while shaping the present. Remaining faithful to such great revolutions or immense dramas (the Holocaust, deportations, genocides), we save them from oblivion, and we retain the ability to learn lessons from them. At the same time, as Alain Badiou wrote, “fidelity is both fidelity to the event and fidelity to oneself as a subject – if the subject ceases to interrogate a situation, he ceases to exist.” Therefore, “the still, small voice of calm”, i.e. the voice of silence, can be heard only by one who “has reached silence within himself.” Therefore, fidelity to the event presupposes spiritual discipline and external rituals. This is why Nikolay Karabinovych made a pilgrimage to the village of Chilik and left his mark there – a trace of loyalty to the place and the event that took place there.
Viktor Misiano