Memorial event in memory of the "Titanic" was held in the town of Chuguev, in Ukraine

Chuguev is known for its respect for the past. Although today in Ukraine is not the best of times, the citizens of the town remember and honor the memory of the history of their city.

The famous painter Ilya Repin was born in Chuguev. From Chuguev there are: the pilot of World War II, Ivan Kozhedub, the world-famous doctor Mukhin, the city used to be his military school and was the residence of Russian emperors.

July 12, 2019, an event organized with the assistance of the Volunteer Group "Slavs" and its chairman Andrey Vasilyev was held in Chuguev. The event was held by the Association "Echo from the "Titanic". The event - the presentation of the book "Return to the Titanic" - was dedicated to the memory of the Goodwin family, who died on the night of April 14-15, 1912 during the wreck of the Titanic. The inhabitants of Chuguev also remembered their compatriots - subjects of the Russian Empire - who died during this tragic event, from which the disasters of the 20th century began. 

Goodwin family

The Goodwin family, the British Titanic class III passengers, the British engineer Frederick Joseph Goodwin, his wife Augustus and six children, the youngest of whom were two years old, died during the Titanic crash, becoming one of the legends living to this day. The question of what really happened to the Goodwins was raised by the American researcher of the crash of the Titanic liner Frank Goldsmith in his book Echos of the Night. The Goodwin family is also dedicated to the book of our countryman, the Chuguev writer and publicist, historian and researcher of the Titanic wreck, Meir Landau. Frank Goldsmith, who survived the crash of the Titanic at the age of nine, was only miraculously saved on the last boat, devoted his life to the most important task - the restoration of truth and justice, the debunking of the myths about the Titanic and many of the events of that night. The book by Meir Landau is also devoted to the restoration of justice in relation to the passengers of the third class. Meir Landau says that the true tragedy of the Titanic did not take place on the boat deck where the millionaires seated their households in boats, but in the third class. He is convinced that the image of the Goodwin family should serve as a true symbol of the Titanic tragedy. In this, many agree with the author. But, unfortunately, the book of Meir Landau is the first book in 107 years, a novel dedicated to passengers of the third class. Regardless of the fact that the Titanic was filmed and a ton of different literature was written, the mythical and fabulous image of the Titanic tragedy, the tragedy of millionaires and aristocrats alone, is imposed on viewers and readers, although 95% of the liner’s passengers and 3/4 of the dead were most ordinary people! Russian passengers "Titanic" is a separate issue, which do not like to recall either abroad or in the former USSR, the former Russian Empire. The need to perpetuate the memory of our countrymen - passengers "Titanic", at the event reminded Ataman of Slobozhansky Cossack Army, Cossack General Viktor Ilyich Bely. The example of the Russian tragedy "Titanic" is the death of the Panula family, the mother and five children, which are little remembered in their homeland and which, until recently, compatriots did not even know. Everyone knows about John Jacob Astor and his young wife, Madeleine Force. Although the name "Titanic", for those who live in the spaces of the former Russian Empire, should be associated with the names of fellow countrymen. The name of Rosa Pinskaya, whose grave was found through the efforts of the activist of the Echo Titanic Association, a Ukrainian journalist Zoreslav Zamoyski, is also little known in Ukraine. But Ukraine has its Rose on Titanic, whose story is not fictional and no less dramatic. Rosa Dawson’s story, we know very few people. Rosa Pinskaya survived the death of "Titanic", but perished during the Holocaust in Volyn. There she was buried.

The event took place an hour more than planned.

Residents of Chuguev learned about the noble work of Trevor Baxter, a British researcher at Titanic. For many years he has been engaged in the search and preservation of the graves of passengers and sailors of the Titanic. In a city where more than a hundred historical graves are carefully preserved, the work of Trevor Baxter was appreciated.

Trevor Baxter also does research on the Sage family, a family of 11, which. Unfortunately, she died on the Titanic. Sage family there was 11 in the family sadly they all died and the thing  is there is no memorial. 

Sage family; photo - Jill Carlier

Together with his friend from Switzerland, the author of several books about Titanic, Günther Barbler, Trevor Baxter is working on an important and necessary project to perpetuate the memory of passengers of the Titanic.

A monument to Russian passengers will also be installed on the Chuguev Land soon.

Residents of the city asked questions that Meir Landau tried to answer briefly, but this did not always work. We can say one thing: the death of "Titanic", even after 107 years, excites the souls and hearts of people and despite the efforts of many figures of history - lives in the hearts of the descendants of the inhabitants of the Russian Empire, whose ancestors were also passengers of the liner, and in the hearts of people interested in the true history of that distant night.

Jacob Koval