Museum of Soviet occupation (Kiev)

The Museum of Soviet occupation ( _ua. Музей радянської окупації, "Muzei radianskoi okupatsii") 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.

History of the museum

In November 2001, the Vasyl Stus 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. ["Museum of Soviet Occupation opened in Kyiv." [http://5.ua/newsline/182/0/41368/ 5tv] . 2 June 2007. Accessed 19 July 2007. uk icon]

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. [ [http://www.photo.unian.net/eng/rubrics/29?fp=80 UNIAN NEWS Agency] ]

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. [ [http://eng.maidanua.org/node/737 Dispute over the Museum of the Soviet Occupation in Ukraine, Maidan Hub] ]

References

External links

* [http://memorial.kiev.ua/expo/eng/second.html Museum of Soviet Occupation in Ukraine home page]
* [http://5.ua/newsline/231/0/41519/ Vandalism report]
* [http://www.artukraine.com/commcrimes/index.htm Crimes of Communism Against Ukraine And Her People, Art Ukraine web-site]
* [http://www.opinionjournal.com/la/?id=110010556 "A Monument to the Terror"] by Melik Kaylan, "Wall Street Journal" (09/04/07)
* [http://www.risu.org.ua/eng/religion.and.society/interview/article;18111/ "Communism is gone but its sicknesses remain.", Interview by Y.Sverstyuk to RISU]