From September 18, the Museum of Kyiv History invites visitors to the large-scale multimedia exhibition project “On Guard of Saint Sophia,” which presents the contemporary Russian-Ukrainian war as the outcome of a centuries-long confrontation between Russian and Ukrainian civilizations with their completely opposing values.

The exhibition encourages visitors to deeply reflect on military events, both past and present. The exposition is built on global antitheses, vividly symbolizing the main message of the project: light and darkness, peaceful state-building and imperial ideology, defense of one’s land and aggressive campaigns, heroism and the baseness of war crimes, humanism and cruelty…

“Today, on our land, two worlds have once again collided — the ‘Russian world’ of aggressors and destroyers, and Ukrainian spirituality, self-sacrifice, and popular will, which for millennia have continuously helped us fight to preserve our statehood. This exhibition is a reminder to all of us of how profoundly we differ from the enemy and how important it is to know history for an objective understanding of the situation,” emphasizes Diana Popova, General Director of the Museum of Kyiv History.

The exhibition consists of three thematic spaces — “Ukrainian Civilization,” “Russian Civilization,” and “Defense of Kyiv.” The first space will demonstrate the continuity and progress of Ukrainian civilization from the princely era to the present day — the development of crafts and industry, science and education, church and art, the formation of the state, and processes of decolonization. The second block will tell the story of Russian-Soviet civilization, tracing its origins back to the times of the Golden Horde — authoritarian rule and totalitarianism, coercion and repression, aggressive wars, and the cult of personality. This block will symbolically begin with a reconstructed entrance to a concentration camp; it will feature uniforms and other attributes of the camp system, a large collection of weapons, military awards, a composite image of a Soviet military commander, and more. The third space will immerse visitors in the recent history of Kyiv’s defense against Russian occupiers in February–March 2022, show the fate of various towns in the Kyiv region that suffered from war criminals, and testify to the devastating consequences of the Russian presence on Ukrainian soil.

“From June 2022, I began working on the chronicles of Kyiv’s defense, and by December, I started this project. The most important thing for me as a historian and researcher is the analysis and understanding of events, so each exhibit carries a specific meaning and is an integral part of the overall concept. First and foremost, I set myself the task of showing all the cause-and-effect relationships of this war, because many people still do not understand them and ask the rhetorical question: ‘Why? For what reason?’” — notes the project curator, leading research fellow at the Museum of Kyiv History, Vitalii Nakhmanovych.

The exhibition project “On Guard of Saint Sophia” aims to demonstrate to every visitor the importance of personal engagement in the struggle. The museum team, using a unique collection of exhibits and multimedia technologies, clearly explains why the war began, why it could not have not started, and what civilizational threats it poses. After viewing the exposition, each visitor will understand what Ukraine is fighting for, and what Russia is fighting for.

The exhibition features items from the collections of the Museum of Kyiv History and the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in the Second World War.

General project partners — Visa and Oschadbank.

Visitors will be able to explore the exhibition starting 18 September according to the Museum’s opening hours