International Museum Day in Ukraine: the battle for Ukrainian culture
On the International Museum Day, May 18, Svoi.Global gathered information about the most famous Ukrainian museums that were destroyed by Russia.
Ivankiv Museum of Local History
On February 27, Russian invaders burned down the Ivankiv Museum of Local History. Beck then, Ivankiv was the center of hostilities in the northern Kyiv region. The collection of the institution contained, in particular, about 200 unique works of Maria Pryimachenko, a Ukrainian folk artist in the genre of "naive art", winner of the National Prize of Ukraine named after Taras Shevchenko.
Credits: ukrinform.ua
Although the building was completely burned down and about 25 paintings by Maria Pryimachenko were, unfortunately, lost forever, most of the collection was saved.
Credits: focus.ua
Credits: the-village.com.ua
Babyn Yar
On March 1, Russia’s missile attack destroyed the Holocaust Memorial Park in Kyiv, which commemorates the murder of Jews by the Nazis in World War Two. The building and the adjacent cemetery were damaged. It is told, that the missile attack was targeting a nearby TV tower.
Babyn Yar was the site of one of the largest mass killings, where Jewish people were lined up and shot. The international community, and Jewish groups, in particular, have condemned the actions of the Russian military.
Arkhip Kuindzhi Museum
On March 21, a Russian air bomb destroyed the Mariupol Art Museum named after Arkhip Kuindzhi. The originals of paintings by world-famous masters - Ivan Aivazovsky, Mykola Glushchenko, Tetiana Yablonska, Mykhailo Deregus, and many others - are now lost forever. Fortunately, the original works of Arkhip Kuindzhi were not in the museum at the time of the tragedy.
Credits: mind.ua
According to the latest data, all valuable exhibits were handed over to the occupiers by the director of the Mariupol Museum of Local History, Natalia Kapusnikova, who knew the exact place of secret storage of masterpieces.
Credits: 0629.com.ua
Thus, among the stolen exhibits there are the originals of three paintings by Arkhip Kuindzhi: "Red Sunset", "Autumn" and "Elbrus". In addition, the Russian military stole the original painting by Ivan Aivazovsky "Near the Caucasus," a painting by Mykola Dubovsky, three unique icons, and a bust of Kuindzhi by sculptor Volodymyr Beklemishev.
"Red Sunset"
Kharkiv Art Museum
On March 1, the Russians hit the center of Kharkiv with a missile. As a result of the attack, the windows of Kharkiv Art Museum have been blown out by the blasts, plaster and dust cover the floors and the surrounding streets are covered in debris.
Credits: idsb.tmgrup.com.tr
One of the most prized works at the Kharkiv museum is a version of the imposing work by renowned Russian painter Ilya Repin called "Reply of the Zaporozhian Cossacks," which has been taken down from the wall in advance.
The ornate, imposing building is still standing, unlike some others in Kharkiv.
"Reply of the Zaporozhian Cossacks"
This is by no means an exhaustive list of museums that were damaged by Russia's armed aggression against Ukraine. In addition to the abovementioned, the Hryhoriy Skovoroda National Literary Memorial Museum in the village of Skovorodynivka, Okhtyrka Museum of Local History, Trostyanets Museum of Local History, Vasyl Tarnovsky Museum of Ukrainian Antiquities in Chernihiv, and many more were destroyed, partially damaged, plundered or somehow impacted by the actions of the occupants.
Lacking its own, Russia has always tried to steal our history. With this war, they are now destroying and stealing our culture as well. Amid the Russian-Ukrainian war, the stakes of preserving Ukraine’s culture and past have never been clearer.
