130,000 stories about the war of civilian Ukrainians collected by the Museum of Civilian Voices founded by the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation

The Museum of Civilian Voices founded by the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation has already collected 130,000 stories of Ukrainians. This is the world’s largest collection of stories of civilians affected by russia’s war against Ukraine since 2014 and up to now. The work on collecting testimonies is ongoing. The stories are available here: https://civilvoicesmuseum.org

People of different professions and generations have entrusted their stories to the Museum of Civilian Voices founded by the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation: children and adults, artists, sportsmen, doctors and scientists. Their stories are an important source of the truth about the war and evidence for future trials against the aggressor country.

russia’s full-scale invasion has dramatically changed the Museum’s work. While before 2022, stories came mainly from residents of Luhansk and Donetsk regions, now the war has left its mark on the lives of all Ukrainians. The number of stories collected has increased significantly. The Museum also began publishing War Diaries kept by Ukrainians during the siege, occupation and shelling.

“After 2022, unfortunately, a lot of people have gained new terrible experiences. Many became displaced twice. People wanted to speak out. The most horrific stories appeared, which were almost absent in the Museum before – stories of survival in the hell of Mariupol, stories of abduction of children from Ukraine, many stories of torture, captivity, mass deaths of entire families, entire high-rise buildings,” says Olha Huk, editor-in-chief of the Museum of Civilian Voices founded by the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation.

Taking this experience into account, the Museum began to pay even more attention to psychological support. It regularly holds webinars and publishes advice from experienced psychologists to help adults and children process the trauma of war. For the safety of the authors, the possibility of anonymous publication of stories has also been introduced. It is important that the process of storytelling itself often has a therapeutic effect. The interview becomes an opportunity for a person to speak out, to comprehend the experience and to find an inner resource for moving forward.

To tell your story to the Museum of Civilian Voices founded by the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation, choose one of two ways:
– Fill out the form on the Museum’s portal: https://civilvoicesmuseum.org
— Call the hotline during business hours at 0 (800) 509 001.