I am writing already when colleagues advised me to calm down and brought me a glass. Then another and another… So forgive me for possible grammatical errors and overly complex compound sentences. Be that as it may, the second day of the professional holiday. The holiday was a success - the Volyn media beau monde rolled out Bondar's seemingly paper initiative to the fullest. They were supposed to sign a Memorandum about… that obligated nothing, except of course moral aspects. I no longer remember what about. It doesn't matter, because the joint statement was not signed not because of its name and content, but because of principle and ambitions. Let's conditionally call the paper a Memorandum, a pact of non-aggression between the authorities and the media. More precisely, it was mostly the authorities who promised not to attack, declaring complete non-interference in the editorial policy of newspapers and channels. Bondar was of course set up. The man came from Kyiv, and sincerely believing that there would be no objections from the editors, ordered champagne and chocolates (not "Tuzik") and nice stationery to be prepared to sign the paper. Bondar was signed. That evening Volodymyr Nalkovych probably understood that he should have probed the ground at least on Tuesday morning, before the media gathering. If only he had known… Maybe the meeting would have been postponed by a few hours or days. But the cardinal mistake is elsewhere. Bondar's team is still talking to editors in different languages. For example, the words from the Memorandum about "equal relations between the authorities and the media" were interpreted by some media people in a Soviet way - so what, Vasya, Petya and I will all get the same from the budget. And why? I love the authorities more. No one even had a thought that it was about the authorities treating all media equally, not loving any of them too closely and not giving preference in a purely informational context. Too cleverly written by the as-yet-unknown authors of the Memorandum… The same about the authorities' obligation to pay for materials that the RSA must publish (as the law requires). And what do you think? The people thought they would be paid for publishing weekly press releases! Bondar was given a demonstrative flogging. The editor of "Volyn" led the charge. He also hummed the "Requiem" for the "Memorandum": the staff said no, why write something unnecessary, the law already protects us well enough, good luck to you... True, let's be frank to the end: Sachuk found several truly important stylistic "pearls." For example, about the fact that journalists would avoid planning and conducting PR campaigns that defame the authorities. And how do you distinguish an investigation from a PR campaign? However, it seems to me, even say two months ago "Volyn" would have signed this document without hesitation. The refusal of a respected publication sends a signal to Bondar that the media no longer blindly sympathize with him and any decision of the new leader is now carefully analyzed. Especially after the administration's cavalry attack on the VDU and the so-far unsuccessful war with the prosecutor's office (and what if the prosecutor wins?!). It's just a pity that "Volyn" chose as its hook, I repeat once again, a declarative and beautiful document. But what about Stepan Dorofiyovych. The General Director of the regional "box" and "liar" sang along as the soloist. His speech boiled down to the phrases "what for, for what purpose and why," and also why do we get so little from the budget this year? And when from Pyrozhok's lips came adjectives and epithets about the orange and the role of the VDTRK in well-known events and about the General Director's meetings with a police general well-known in historical Volyn, the journalistic fraternity, stunned by the previous statement of the "Volyn" editor, became more cheerful - a real show began. Mr. Sviatoslav, it turns out, once appealed to the Hero, pointing to articles about non-interference of the authorities in editorial policy. And he will not sign the Memorandum, because the country has already emitted plenty of documents that protect journalists to no avail… Bondar turned blue (many journalists were also ready to sink through the ground from some of Pyrozhok's turns of phrase). Nalkovych quickly came to his senses and decided to extract victory from defeat. A master of verbal miniatures, a few minutes later he was singing about how even though we won't sign anything today, "how great it is that we all gathered here today!" And then the apotheosis. The doors opened and champagne was rolled into the Oval Hall (Who called it that?!!). The Head of the RSA walked around the long table, clinking his glass heartily. The day really was unsuccessful for him, because after Sachuk and Pyrozhok, V.N. approached with a stemless glass. It cracked and got lost under the feet of either Vasyl Prostopchuk or Vasyl Fedchuk… They drank. They picked out the tastiest chocolates from the "Assorted" box. And while the sharks of the pen and microphone were sipping their champagne (they craved something stronger), Bondar and Pyrozhok had a long peaceful conversation. Perhaps Mr. Sviatoslav told the true reasons for his position. Perhaps he told him that he knows how V.N. is itching to replace the General Director, who two years before had really salted and peppered him, and that the refusal to sign the Memorandum is simply a demonstrative poop on the back of the RSA head. The author of these lines did approach the folder and with his Yushchenko-era, half-broken pen signed the Memorandum on behalf of "Family and Home." We at least know that under this government no one called us extremists, hid information and invitations to events, or took us to court (knock on wood). And that this step didn't reek of sycophancy, you'll see for yourselves. Take the new issue of S&D, flip through the archive. I don't think that after the refusal of the first person of the VDTRK, its news about the RSA's activities will speak in a less sweet voice… …We're being picky, we're putting on airs. Maybe principledness should be shown on something else. Or at least shown later, when God forbid, the new pro-government triune party starts distributing temnyky… We also attach the text of the as-yet-unsigned Memorandum.