As the enemy destroys the towns and villages of Donetsk Oblast, the material and cultural achievements of many generations are being lost. However, what matters most are the living people—the witnesses and participants of past events. Although the village of Ivanivske in the Bakhmut district lies in ruins and its residents are scattered across the globe, the shared history of a passion for soccer that united generations cannot be destroyed.
In December 2024, a unique popular science publication was released: “The History of Football in the Village of Ivanivske (Krasne).” The idea to create this chronicle arose even before the start of the full-scale invasion, and it was precisely this that allowed the memory to be preserved despite the buildings destroyed by the aggressor and the archives lost due to the occupation.
The book’s authors—our fellow villager Serhiy Nahorny and the legendary player and coach of several generations of athletes, the longtime physical education teacher at the Krasne School, Mykola Sokolov—have, in fact, achieved the impossible. They have captured a century-long chronicle of rural soccer, the names of people who lived for the game, memories, and photographs that are priceless to the residents of Ivanivskyi, their descendants, and soccer fans in the Donetsk region.
Most of the archival photos survived because they were stored on the authors’ phones. The rest of the facts were gathered bit by bit, tracking down fellow villagers across Ukraine, in Germany, and in Switzerland.
Today, this story has been given new life. For the convenience of readers and to preserve the memory, the book has been adapted into a video podcast. From now on, the book about the football phenomenon of the indomitable Ivanivskyi can not only be read but also watched.
The video version is available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1G3FPcDyXEs
The publication also remains freely available at https://surl.li/igokvy
Read, watch, and remember your loved ones. The true story continues as long as we pass it on.
Based on materials from the Bakhmut City Council