Recent history enters museum

The exhibition “When Arms Speak, Muses Are Silent,” telling the story of Transcarpathians’ 2013-15 participation in the Euro­maidan protests and armed conflict in the ATO area, opened in Uzhhorod recently. The exhibition displays over 300 pieces of the Revolution of Dignity and armed conflict in eastern Ukraine memorabilia. The opening, held at the Transcarpathian Local History Museum, was attended by Euromaidan activists, volunteers, family members of Transcarpathians who fell in the Rus­sian-Ukrainian War, scholars, and government officials.

Head of the museum’s department of contemporary history Ivan Oros told the assembled that the exhibits for the display had been collected through­out the year. The museum’s staff went to Kyiv’s Maidan themselves and brought from it items that have already become historically valuable. Many exhibits have been donated by Transcarpathian Euromaidan activists themselves. In particular, Oleksandr Volosiansky donated for the exhibition his hard hat and helmet, bulletproof vest, elbow protectors, handmade sticks and shields. At the opening itself, Euromaidan activists Vitalii Hrehor and Hanna Zhelizniak presented to the museum a flag that was in Kyiv throughout the revolution events and a few photos. Mykhailo Biben, who led the hospital in October Palace, pro­mised to bring to the museum the bag of Liuda the nurse, which he preserved after her death in the square, while prominent artist Petro Sholtes intends to donate his painting depicting the tragic events in Instytutska Street, which he created past year.

The second part of the exhibition displays personal belongings of the ATO soldiers. Some of them have been brought specially for the museum by members of the Black Tulip mission. These military archeologists found these exhibits near Ilovaisk and Debal­tseve. They include shot-through helmets, shells, a burned binocular set, remains of Transcarpathian car plates, a mutilated army-issue flask, a baptismal cross of unknown provenance, and many other items whose owners cannot be established now.

“For us, who participated in the Revolution of Dignity and Muscovite-Ukrainian war, this exhibition brings out sincere emotions and feelings, memories which make us smile or bring tears to our eyes, while for our descendants, it will be just one more paragraph in the history of Ukraine’s independence fight. Therefore, such exhibitions are necessary for future generations to see and get an opportunity to touch history. Our history. True history,” member of All-Ukrai­nian Union Svoboda Tomash Lelekach said in his speech at the exhibition’s opening.

Exhibits include children’s drawings sent by volunteers to the front, photos and newspaper clippings telling the stories of Transcarpathians who were killed in the war. The widow of Aidar battalion soldier Oleh Sydir (callsign Skif), killed by the separatists on Christmas, came to the museum with their daughter and saw there clippings of articles about her husband which were published by all-Ukrainian newspaper Den and Transcarpathian weekly FEST.

The exhibition is there to stay, and it will be updated as well. As early as April 13-19 week, it was supplemented with new contributions to the nationwide martyrology “They Died for Us,” published by Den. These are stories of fallen Transcarpathian soldiers Roland Popovych, Serhii Martyn, Ihor Rozlutsky, Captain Dmytro Heorhiiev, and Major Vitalii Postolaki.