2,000 testaments of war
An internal exposition of Ukraine’s first ATO Museum opens in Dnipro
The exposition is located at the premises of the diorama of the Dnipro Yavornytsky National Historical Museum. It is called “The Civic Heroic Feat of the Residents of the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast.” It covers the space of nearly 600 sq. meters and it counts for 2,000 items, which tell about the recent events in the ATO area.
THE HEROIC FEAT OF 480 OBLAST RESIDENTS WHO WERE KILLED IN THE WAR
It took six months to prepare the museum exposition. The result, according to the visitors, is quite impressive. No one was left indifferent after seeing the exhibit. Many guests didn’t hide their tears after they saw the halls. The exhibit is telling about the heroic feat of the servicemen who were killed in the war – 480 residents of the oblast who gave their lives for Ukraine’s freedom.
The internal exposition consists of three halls. The first one is dedicated to the heroic feat of the Dnipro residents who helped to defend Ukraine’s independence with everything they could. It shows children’s drawings, chaplain’s clothes, medical staff’s tools, chevrons of the volunteer servicemen. The second hall is the Memory Hall. It shows the photos of the servicemen who were killed in the war, their belongings: chess, books, football scarves, and letters they wrote from the front to their parents. The gem of the exposition is located in the third hall. Like in Europe’s most advanced museums, it applies multimedia technologies. The images are shown on the four walls at the same time, creating the “presence effect” and taking the audience to the epicenter of the events. This hall will show the documentary cinema narratives about the war in the east of Ukraine.
“Nearly a year ago the working group on establishing the ATO Museum gathered at the office of the Head of History Museum Nadia Kapustina. It included different people with different ideas. Yurii Fanyhin was chosen to be the leader of the working group. They started with a street exposition, which was opened in May,” volunteer Natalia KHAZAN recollects. “For around two months we were selecting the archive video for 10 projectors. We needed to record a story, build the dramaturgy in a way that would make the audience plunge into the events. As a soundtrack we used the songs written at war. The internal exposition of the museum is placed on metal constructions, which symbolize the Donetsk Airport, destroyed as a result of the battles. The walls of the halls are covered with the camouflage net. The designer is Kyiv-based artist Viktor Hukailo.”
“TO MAKE THE AUDIENCE THINK, FEEL, AND EMPATHIZE”
The founders of the ATO Museum say they intend to broaden the exhibit and supplement it with new items – up to the complete victory in this war. The tour for the first visitors was held by the ATO Museum coordinator Yurii Fanyhin. People burnt by the breath of the war looked at the museum stands with special excitement.
“The museum carries the souls of people who created it and became its heroes,” Ukrainian MP Dmytro YAROSH said at the opening. “The museum is an indicator of the joint civic heroic feat of all the residents of the Dnipropetrovsk oblast, which has been the outpost of the entire country since the first days of the war.”
Serviceman of the Ukrainian Volunteer Army Roman Chub came to the opening with a group of his fellow servicemen right from the front line. “For us these stands are a living memory about what we came through,” the servicemen say, “We are living with it every day. We want as more ordinary city residents as possible to come to the museum. They must understand the terrible price of this victory.”
Advisor of the head of the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast State Administration (OSA) Ivan NACHOVNYI has gone through the Donbas war, too. “By founding this part of the museum we wanted to show the feat of all the residents of the oblast,” he says. “Every item has a unique story. We wanted to put aside the stereotypes of a standard museum and above all make the audience think, feel, and empathize. I think we’ve succeeded.”
“My husband was killed near Ilovaisk,” an ATO serviceman widow Svitlana HUBA says, “For me and my 9-year-old son he will forever remain young, dear, and happy. We granted to the museum a part of his personal belongings, so that every resident of the city could come here, touch this war and the destinies of the heroes who were killed. It is very hard to feel this. God grant, other families won’t feel it, but come, see, and understand what our men fought for.”
Representatives of the city and oblast authorities, veterans, residents, and guests of Dnipro took part in the opening of the exposition. It was noted at the opening of the exposition that, like the entire ATO Museum, it was created with the support of the team of the head of the Dnipropetrovsk OSA Valentyn Reznichenko.
“The residents of the Dnipropetrovsk oblast were the first ones to unite and defend the independence of their homeland. Some of them volunteered to serve in the army, some became volunteers, others went to give medical assistance to the soldiers in the front. The internal exposition of the ATO Museum is dedicated to the heroic feat of every resident of the oblast. The exhibit is preserving the history of victories and losses. It is about every one of us,” the head of the Dnipropetrovsk OSA noted.
