The Rinat Akhmetov Foundation’s Museum of Civilian Voices Holds the World’s Largest Collection of Civilian War Stories: Experts’ Conclusion

A study titled The Museum of Civilian Voices founded by the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation in the Context of National Memory: The Experience of Ukraine and European Countries was presented in Lublin during a scientific meeting at Maria Curie-Skłodowska University. The authors of the study are Professor Valentyn Balyuk, Director of the Eastern Europe Center at Maria Curie-Skłodowska University and Professor at the Institute of International Relations of the same university, as well as Professor Mykola Doroshko from the Educational and Scientific Institute of International Relations at Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv.

The study can be accessed on the website of the Eastern Europe Center at Maria Curie-Skłodowska University: https://bit.ly/3HDPP2x .

The key conclusion of the study was the recognition of the Museum of Civilian Voices by the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation as an important instrument in shaping the culture of national memory amid a full-scale war. The researchers emphasized that the Museum of Civilian Voices holds the largest collection in the world of stories from civilians about russia’s war against Ukraine. These unique testimonies of the civilians not only preserve the truth about the tragedy of civilian Ukrainians but also create a foundation for public dialogue, reflection, and international recognition of Ukraine’s experience in the context of European memory of armed conflicts.

“The activities of the Museum of Civilian Voices by the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation already play a significant role in collecting testimonies about russia’s crimes and restoring historical justice – as the largest collection in the world of civilians’ stories about the barbaric war of the russian federation against Ukraine. The Museum’s activities fit well within the context of forming the national memory of Ukrainians about the Russo-Ukrainian war, which should become an integral part of Central European and wider European historical memory. The Museum of Civilian Voices spreads the Ukrainian experience of civilians’ rejection of war in the European context of historical memory,” noted Valentyn Balyuk, Director of the Eastern Europe Center at Maria Curie-Skłodowska University and Professor at the Institute of International Relations of the same university.

The study examined, among other relevant topics:
— methods for developing an oral history museum;
— the promotion of oral history;
— the mission of the Museum of Civilian Voices in shaping Ukraine’s historical culture and in the context of historical culture in Europe and Central-Eastern European countries;
— the importance of the psychotherapeutic function for society.

Also, within the framework of the conference at Maria Curie-Skłodowska University, an exhibition of the Museum of Civilian Voices by the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation was opened. The photographs visualize the scale of the tragedy experienced by civilian Ukrainians amid the Russo-Ukrainian war and provide the European audience with a better understanding of the depth of personal experiences, losses, and hopes for a peaceful future.

In 2022, the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation and Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin signed a memorandum of cooperation. Its purpose is to ensure effective collaboration in the fields of education and science, scientific and scientific-technical, informational, and educational activities.

The main foundation and source for further scientific research are the testimonies of people included in the Museum of Civilian Voices by the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation. This is the largest archive in the world of stories from civilians of Ukraine affected by the war. To date, it contains over 130,000 stories about the war.

Share your story on the Museum’s portal: https://civilvoicesmuseum.org/ or call the free hotline: 0800 509 001.