This year, the composition of the employees of the “Vestnik Cyprus” was updated. And now the story about the history of the newspaper will go in the first person - we bring to your attention fragments from the book of Natalia Kardash “20 years in Cyprus - in the center of events”, published in 2019.
A happy combination of circumstances
Since 2001, my life has been inextricably linked with the "messenger of Cyprus." At first I worked a lot to return the life to the newspaper, then to make the publication profitable, later - to double the income of my family: after the divorce, we and my children left one salary for three. And then ... I already forgot why the work should occupy 12-14 hours six days a week, got used to it. At one point, I decided for myself that the “Bulletin of Cyprus” is not a job, but a way of life. And from this thought it became much easier.
I stopped dividing my time into working and personal, I just learned how to include both in my schedule. And for almost 20 years I fall asleep and wake up with my thoughts about what else to come up with this for the "messenger of Cyprus", our publications, our events.
The new team "Vestnik Cyprus" - 2001 Serious "Laughter Day"
I started working in the "Bulletin of Cyprus" on April 1, 2001. I remembered the date, because it is a public holiday in Cyprus and the International Day of Laughter. So it was necessary to see whether the story from my venture would come out fun. The editor and the designer left for a permanent place of residence in Canada, and the director of the newspaper to Greece to serve in the Greek army. Debts were accumulated, equivalent to the income of the newspaper in six months. At the first meeting, they introduced me to date and offered everything that they could: the promotions of the newspaper and one salary for three (I came with a team from my husband-designer and editor's girlfriend). I decided that I could handle it anyway. And I will save the newspaper, and I will find money for printing and salaries. And on the day of laughter, she sat down at her new director and began to draw up an action plan.
If there is nothing to lose, then it’s not scary to experiment
Since then, the history of the newspaper has been performed before my eyes. More precisely, it was on me - on duty - it depended on what this story would be. At that time there were 24 lanes in the newspaper, less than a thousand copies came out weekly. At first we grew up in volume and circulation - new headings, new authors, new readers appeared ... This year glossy thematic applications first appeared. By the end of the year, the newspaper had 32 pages, and the circulation grew four times. Six months later, they decided to release the first application - the magazine “Limsoli stores” (later it will turn into “Cyprus stores”, and his two last years will be released under the Magazino brand - this project lived for about 15 years and brought a lot of benefits to readers and advertisers). To MITT (tourist exhibition in Moscow) we began to publish the Cyprus magazine. For several years in a row, I accompanied the Cyprus delegation to MITT, trying to help in attracting tourists as much as possible.
Even then, we realized that the newspaper is little interesting and have practical benefits. The team had a rule: in addition to complete dedication, work in the newspaper is also disinterested help to people and, above all, helping our compatriots in adaptation to life in Cyprus. This means that it is necessary to answer a wide variety of questions - and not only from the pages of the newspaper, but also, to a greater extent, in the process of personal communication.
In the same year, we first organized a children's New Year's matinee in Russian. But, due to inexperience, they did not guess to sell tickets in advance. It was assumed that all guests would buy an entrance ticket before presentation. If we knew what it would result in ...
The idea was so timely that our announcement responded ... several hundred people. I will not forget that day until the end of my life! Each child in the announcement was promised a gift from the hands of Santa Claus. We prepared a hundred boxes with sweets, no one could have imagined that there would be more children. And we had only an hour (while the performance lasted) to buy everything that still remained in Limassol toys stores! Then the question arose of how Santa Claus will cope with the “distribution” of gifts: every child wanted to hug his grandfather, tell him a poem. If for each for five minutes, then the presentation of gifts should last at least 16 (!) Hours.
And these are only the most difficult tasks. I’m not talking about the seedling (there were only 100 chairs, all with high backs, because of which the children from the second row was not visible), about the stone field (which children sat on), about different ages (the fairy tale was alone), about the language barrier (children from mixed children did not understand fabulous heroes).
I tell you in such detail that it becomes clear why we are now so smart and experienced. After that first, the most difficult matinee, we have already organized more than 150 similar events. First, 2-3 per year and all in Limassol, then 10-15–20 per year and already throughout the Cyprus. In the first year, the program was made by themselves (and my husband played the role of Santa Claus). He was at first against, not an artist, but there was no one else to work for free - and in the end he agreed. Then, money for salaries appeared amateur artists. Later, when we began to sell more tickets, we were able to afford not only to buy flights for professional artists from Russian children's theaters, but also to pay for fees. The matinees in Russian took root and since then passed every year.
This article is part of a series of articles about the history of the "Herald of Cyprus" dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the newspaper. Read other materials by tag #History of the Herald of Cyprus and by links:
How in 30 years the "Bulletin of Cyprus" has influenced the life of Russian -speaking people
1995. Advertising booklet, which accidentally became the beginning of a new era
1996. The newspaper comes to life: the first headings, the first letters of readers
1997. They came here, "to talk in Russian"
1998. "Bulletin of Cyprus" - almost "Literary Gazeta"
1999. "Bulletin of Cyprus" united lovers of books and films
2000. Library "Vestnik Cyprus" and the first KVN
