25.09.2026
On 19 September 2026, the NURE History Museum hosted a presentation of Valerii Leiko’s book “The Price of a Smile. Chronicles of the Museum of Childhood”, dedicated to his work with children in Kharkiv during Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
In the book, the author describes his educational and volunteer activities, meetings with young Kharkiv residents, joint initiatives, creative events and excursions held during the years of the full-scale war. These stories portray childhood during an extremely difficult period for Kharkiv, as well as support, communication and efforts to create opportunities for children to learn, be creative and experience positive emotions.
Several pages of the book are dedicated to NURE. Valerii Leiko is a member of the NURE History Museum staff, and the University became one of the places associated with the events and initiatives described in the publication.
The children themselves — the main characters of the book — were the special guests of the presentation. Together with their parents and friends, they visited the NURE History Museum to meet the author and recall the events in which they had personally taken part.
The presentation of The Price of a Smile brought together the author and the young protagonists of the book at the University and provided another opportunity to preserve stories of childhood in Kharkiv, mutual support and humanity during wartime.
