On April 12, Deputy Minister Galyna Gryhorenko held a meeting with the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of Norway to Ukraine, Erik Svedahl, and the head of the Norwegian television production company Huldra Film, Harald Omland at the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy.
As the Norwegian Ambassador told, Harald Omland has a genuine interest in the historical ties between Ukraine and Norway, particularly in Harald Hardrada, who married one of Yaroslav’s the Wise daughters Elizaveta (Elisif/Elisiv) and later became King Harald III almost a thousand years ago.
“Considering that Norwegian historical focus was mainly on the Viking expansion to the West, Mr. Omland believes it is necessary to pay more attention to their travels to the East and their connections with Kyivan Rus’ and the Byzantine Empire. He aims to create a documentary-drama series about Harald Hardrada, which will be partially produced in Ukraine and will tell about the extreme importance of the historical ties between Norway and Kyivan Rus’, their impact on the formation of the Norwegian nation,” said Erik Svedahl.
Galyna Grygorenko welcomed this initiative, emphasizing the importance of involving Ukrainian historians and scholars in the creation of the series.
“Such projects are important both for drawing attention to the common history of the two countries, and for highlighting the fact that Kyivan Rus’ and Ukraine have always been an integral part of European history. In addition, this is a counteraction to the russian historiographical attempts to distort and appropriate the history of Kyivan Rus’ exclusively to the russian empire,” emphasized the Deputy Minister.
She assured that the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy supports the initiative and will facilitate the implementation of the project.
