Museum of Soviet occupation (Kiev)
Encyclopedia
The Museum of Soviet occupation in Kiev
, Ukraine, is devoted to portraying the crimes of the Soviet regime in Ukraine from 1917 to 1991
. It was established in November 2001 by the Vasyl Stus
branch of Memorial Society
as an exhibition "Not to be forgotten: The Chronicle of Communist inquisition." Between 2001 and 2007, the exposition grew into a full fledged museum. On May 30, 2007, it received its current name.
branch of Memorial Society
established on its premises an exhibition titled "Not to be forgotten: The Chronicle of Communist inquisition." Documents, photographs and posters made up the initial items of the exposition. These were gathered by the Memorial branch in Ukraine and by sister-organizations in Russia. Among the most interesting exposee items is a large map of concentration camps compiled during the time of Beria
.
The exhibition contains such sections as "Kyivskiy martirolog", "Ukrainski Solovki", language issue, special library. It has a plenty of archive documents, books, videotapes etc.
In May, 2007, the above mentioned exhibition was named a Museum of Soviet occupation.
The Museum was visited by Honorary President of the Paneuropean Union, European politician and a direct descendant of the Habsburg
family Otto von Habsburg
.
The activities and the fact itself of the opening of such institution raised disputes in the Ukrainian society. The Head of the State Archive Committee of Ukraine Olha Ginsburg, who belongs to the Communist Party of Ukraine
, refused to give archive materials for the new Museum. Such refusal was estimated by the Director of Vasyl Stus Memorial Society Roman Krutsyk as an ordinary communist's practice to conceal their crimes.
Museums with the same name are active in Georgia
(Museum of Soviet Occupation (Tbilisi)
), Latvia
and Estonia
.
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
, Ukraine, is devoted to portraying the crimes of the Soviet regime in Ukraine from 1917 to 1991
History of Ukraine
The territory of Ukraine was a key center of East Slavic culture in the Middle Ages, before being divided between a variety of powers. However, the history of Ukraine dates back many thousands of years. The territory has been settled continuously since at least 5000 BC, and is also a candidate site...
. It was established in November 2001 by the Vasyl Stus
Vasyl Stus
Vasyl Semenovych Stus was a Ukrainian poet and publicist, one of the most active members of Ukrainian dissident movement. For his political convictions, his works were banned by the Soviet regime and he spent 23 years in detention...
branch of Memorial Society
Memorial (society)
Memorial is an international historical and civil rights society that operates in a number of post-Soviet states. It focuses on recording and publicising the Soviet Union's totalitarian past, but also monitors human rights in post-Soviet states....
as an exhibition "Not to be forgotten: The Chronicle of Communist inquisition." Between 2001 and 2007, the exposition grew into a full fledged museum. On May 30, 2007, it received its current name.
History of the museum
In November 2001, the Vasyl StusVasyl Stus
Vasyl Semenovych Stus was a Ukrainian poet and publicist, one of the most active members of Ukrainian dissident movement. For his political convictions, his works were banned by the Soviet regime and he spent 23 years in detention...
branch of Memorial Society
Memorial (society)
Memorial is an international historical and civil rights society that operates in a number of post-Soviet states. It focuses on recording and publicising the Soviet Union's totalitarian past, but also monitors human rights in post-Soviet states....
established on its premises an exhibition titled "Not to be forgotten: The Chronicle of Communist inquisition." Documents, photographs and posters made up the initial items of the exposition. These were gathered by the Memorial branch in Ukraine and by sister-organizations in Russia. Among the most interesting exposee items is a large map of concentration camps compiled during the time of Beria
Lavrentiy Beria
Lavrentiy Pavlovich Beria was a Georgian Soviet politician and state security administrator, chief of the Soviet security and secret police apparatus under Joseph Stalin during World War II, and Deputy Premier in the postwar years ....
.
The exhibition contains such sections as "Kyivskiy martirolog", "Ukrainski Solovki", language issue, special library. It has a plenty of archive documents, books, videotapes etc.
In May, 2007, the above mentioned exhibition was named a Museum of Soviet occupation.
The Museum was visited by Honorary President of the Paneuropean Union, European politician and a direct descendant of the Habsburg
Habsburg
The House of Habsburg , also found as Hapsburg, and also known as House of Austria is one of the most important royal houses of Europe and is best known for being an origin of all of the formally elected Holy Roman Emperors between 1438 and 1740, as well as rulers of the Austrian Empire and...
family Otto von Habsburg
Otto von Habsburg
Otto von Habsburg , also known by his royal name as Archduke Otto of Austria, was the last Crown Prince of Austria-Hungary from 1916 until the dissolution of the empire in 1918, a realm which comprised modern-day Austria, Hungary, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia,...
.
The activities and the fact itself of the opening of such institution raised disputes in the Ukrainian society. The Head of the State Archive Committee of Ukraine Olha Ginsburg, who belongs to the Communist Party of Ukraine
Communist Party of Ukraine
The Communist Party of Ukraine is a political party in Ukraine, currently led by Petro Symonenko.The party fights the Ukrainian national self-determination by identifying any Ukrainian national parties as the National-Fascist ones The Communist Party of Ukraine is a political party in Ukraine,...
, refused to give archive materials for the new Museum. Such refusal was estimated by the Director of Vasyl Stus Memorial Society Roman Krutsyk as an ordinary communist's practice to conceal their crimes.
Museums with the same name are active in Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
(Museum of Soviet Occupation (Tbilisi)
Museum of Soviet Occupation (Tbilisi)
The Museum of the Soviet Occupation is a history museum in Tbilisi, Georgia, documenting the seven decades of the Soviet rule in Georgia and dedicated to the history of the anti-occupational, national-liberation movement of Georgia, to the victims of the Soviet political repressions throughout...
), Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
and Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
.