On the occasion of the second anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Museum of Kyiv History opened the exhibition “PRO ZHYTTYA. Words. Letters. Notes,” which brings to life real stories of Ukrainians in the first person, written during various historical periods: the Ukrainian Revolution of 1917–1921, World War II, the dissident movement of the 1960s, and, of course, Russia’s armed aggression against Ukraine.
A diary of a resident of occupied Kyiv in 1941; “not-for-children” letters from children sent to the ATO zone; stories from the famous “Mariupol Diary” by Yehor Kravtsov in the voice of the author himself; drawings and notes by children from the damp and cold basement in the village of Yahidne, where the occupiers established a concentration camp; messages “frozen” on screens from a soldier currently held captive, written to his beloved…
Each artifact conveys unspeakable pain, sorrow, and fear, yet nowhere do hope, faith, and love disappear. Love for life, belief in Victory, hope that loved ones will soon be near. All of these stories are very different, yet strikingly similar. Every letter, diary, work of art, even a short SMS about real life, genuine emotions, and values, remains relevant to Ukrainians today as it was 100 years ago: the value of human life, peace, a happy future for oneself and one’s children, and the aspiration to live in a free country.
“All diaries, letters, and memoirs are, without a doubt, important documents of their era, unique texts of memory that belong to history. For it is in them that the most heroic and the bloodiest pages of Ukrainian history are carefully, truthfully, and sincerely recorded—history that, in part, is being created by our contemporaries today. These are the drafts of future great works, in which the war will be written about from a distance, when the pain and anger of what was endured have subsided,” noted Diana Popova, General Director of the Museum of Kyiv History.
The exhibition curators aim to gather these small personal stories in one place in order to use them to tell the larger story of Ukrainians’ struggle for independence and freedom, as well as their life-affirming and all-conquering love. In addition, the organizers seek to demonstrate that even in the age of digital communication, Ukrainians have rediscovered archaic methods of communication that seemed lost in the distant past but have, in fact, become even more relevant today.
The exhibition will also feature contemporary artworks that depict the war through the eyes of modern artists: Khrystyna Haidamaka, Anton Logov, Olena Bu Shdid, and Mykola Bilyk.
The project is realized in collaboration with branches of the Museum of Kyiv History, namely the Museum of the Sixtiers and the Historical and Memorial Museum of Mykhailo Hrushevskyi. It also involves the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in the Second World War, the First Charitable Gallery of Contemporary Ukrainian Art ART UKRAINE GALLERY, the National Memorial Complex of the Heroes of the Heavenly Hundred – Museum of the Revolution of Dignity, the Institute of Contemporary Art Problems, and the CUTOUT COLLAGE ART PROJECT.
Artistic design of the exhibition: Kateryna Kostenko
Project partner: ZP Law office of Zoriana Pelekh