The World’s Largest Collection of Civilian War Stories: Facts About the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation’s Museum of Civilian Voices

June 23 is an important date for the Museum of Civilian Voices. It was on this day four years ago that the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation launched the online museum – a unique project with no analogues in Ukraine. The initiative began back in 2014, and later the Museum received official status and began collecting testimonies of civilians affected by the war. At that time, the Foundation set the goal of making the Museum of Civilian Voices the largest online museum in the world. Below we have gathered interesting facts about the Museum’s activities.

The world’s largest collection of stories
The Museum of Civilian Voices by the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation is the world’s largest collection of stories of civilians affected by russia’s war against Ukraine. Its goal is to preserve national memory, the truth about the war, and to honour the people who have suffered. The creation of such a museum is an important step in promoting humanism and humanity.

A Museum established through real help
The idea for the project arose during the large-scale humanitarian mission of the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation in 2014. At that time, over 3.5 million people were saved with the help of the Humanitarian Centre “Help”. Thus, the Foundation became the custodian of thousands of stories from the residents of Donbas, which were later decided to be collected in a unique online museum.

The Museum today is an active offline initiative
In 2024, the Museum of Civilian Voices launched offline activities: in partnership with the Kyiv City History Museum, the multimedia exhibition “VOICES” was opened, and the documentary project “Diaries of War” was presented – stories from Mariupol, based on real diaries handed over to the Museum.

Global cooperation
The Museum of Civilian Voices is the voice of Ukraine in the world. It organises events in Ukraine and Europe, involves international experts, supports documentarians, and conducts interviews with global thinkers. Among its partners are reputable institutions, including the USC Shoah Foundation and the Oral History Association (USA).

Caring for those who share their stories
The Museum of Civilian Voices is also a psychotherapeutic project. People who share their stories have the opportunity to ease their emotional burden, feel supported, and contribute to the preservation of national memory. Psychologists trained under the “Trauma of War” course are involved in the collection of stories.

Engaging young people in preserving national memory and comprehending the experience of war
The Museum of Civilian Voices launched a nationwide essay competition that allows everyone to express their own voice and join in the preservation of national memory.

Documentation of war crimes
Following russia’s full-scale aggression, the Museum documents crimes against civilians. The collection includes testimonies from across Ukraine, which serve as oral history and as evidence for courts. Some of the heroes have already testified at the people’s tribunal in The Hague in 2023.

International recognition
The Museum of Civilian Voices actively cooperates with Ukrainian and international educational and scientific institutions. In particular, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University (Lublin, Poland) conducted a study as part of a study on national memory and concluded that the Museum of Civilian Voices by the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation is the largest collection of stories of civilians about russia’s war against Ukraine in the world.
The collection of the Museum of Civilian Voices by the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation contains over 130,000 stories about the war. It is the largest collection of testimonies of civilians affected by russia’s war against Ukraine in the world.

Share your story on the Museum’s portal: https://civilvoicesmuseum.org/  or via the free hotline: 0800509001.