PRESENTATION OF THE PROJECT “BYKIVNYA, BABYN YAR, BUCHA – BETWEEN THE MASSACRE AND ITS MEMORY”
On August 5, 2024, an online presentation of the scientific project “Bykivnia, Babyn Yar, Bucha — between the massacre and its memory” took place. The project will focus on research on the crimes of communism, Nazism and rashism in Ukraine.
During the presentation of the new research project, Anatoliy Podolskiy, a leading researcher of the Department of Ethnopolitics of our Institute, Candidate of Historical Sciences, spoke. In his speech, the scientist emphasized that today it is important not only to compare the crimes of the three dictatorial regimes, but also to explain their nature, under which circumstances there is a real opportunity for mass murders and their justification. This project shows that it is possible and worthwhile to compare two totalitarian regimes of the 20th century without diminishing the memory of either of them, and it is also worth analyzing rashism in the context of communism and Nazism. A. Podolskiy also focused on the historical context of Nazi crimes in Babyn Yar during World War II and the German occupation of Ukraine.
During the event, a website was presented on which, in the format of stories about three places of memory in Kyiv and its surroundings – about burials in Bykivna, Babyn Yar and Bucha – the crimes of the three occupation regimes on the territory of Ukraine were revealed: communism, Nazism, rashism. At first, the site will be available in Ukrainian, with English and German versions coming soon.
During the presentation of the project, the following also spoke:
Anton Drobovych, Candidate of Philosophical Sciences, Head of the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance, Ihor Konkolevskyi, Professor, Director of the Center for Historical Studies of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Berlin, Roman Podkur, Candidate of Historical Sciences, Senior Researcher of the Department of History of State Terror of the Soviet Era, Institute of the History of Ukraine of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Head of the National Rehabilitation Commission, Larisa Yakubova, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Head of the Department of History of Ukraine 20-30 years of the 20th century of the Institute of the History of Ukraine of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, corresponding member of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Iryna Ozarynska, artist, performer, author of the silent book “The Triangle of Evil: Communism, Nazism, Rashism”, Svitlana Lyakhovets, author of the idea and project coordinator, head of the NGO Svitarta, Tetyana Sheptytska, Candidate of Philological Sciences, deputy general director for scientific work of the National Historical and Memorial Reserve “Bykivnian Graves”, Ihor Bartkiv, head of the Archive Department of the Buchansk City Council.
The discussion was moderated by Nadiya Goncharenko, a senior researcher at the Institute of Cultural Studies of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.
During the discussion
The following issues were discussed during the discussion:
- reinterpretation of totalitarian regimes in the European culture of memory, in particular, including the crimes of communism and rashism;
- perception of communism, Nazism and rashism through the prism of humanistic values;
- coverage and condemnation of the crimes committed by the Nazi and communist totalitarian regimes in Ukraine, as well as the crimes of their successors – the Rashists;
- impunity of evil as a guarantee of its reproduction on a larger scale;
- the names and faces of killers who thought they would remain hidden;
- empathy for victims, regardless of the length of time of the crimes committed against them.
The project is implemented by the NGO Svitarta with the support of the EVZ Foundation
Project partners:
- Ukrainian Institute of National Memory
- Zentrum für Historische Forschung Berlin
- Lietuvos istorijos institutas
- Branch archive of the Security Service of Ukraine
- Memorial reserve “Bykivnia graves”
- National Historical and Memorial Reserve “Babyn Yar”
- Archive Department of the Buchan City Council