Presentation of the project "Bykivnia, Babyn Yar, Bucha - Between the massacre and memory about it".
Today, it is important not only to compare the crimes of the three dictatorial regimes, but also to explain their nature, under what circumstances there is a real possibility of mass murder and its justification. This project shows that it is possible and worthwhile to compare the two totalitarian regimes of the twentieth century without diminishing the memory of either of them, and that it is also worth analysing Ruscism in the context of communism and Nazism.
During the event, a website was presented, which reveals the crimes of the three occupation regimes on the territory of Ukraine: communism, Nazism, and Ruscism, in the form of stories about three places of memory in Kyiv and its suburbs - the graves in Bykivnia, Babyn Yar, and Bucha. The website will be available in Ukrainian first, with English and German versions to follow shortly.
The presentation of the project was also attended by:
Anton Drobovych,PhD, Head of the Ukrainian Institute of National Memory.
Ihor Kakolewski, Professor, Director of the Centre for Historical Research at the Polish Academy of Sciences in Berlin.
Roman Podkur, PhD, Senior Researcher at the Department of the History of State Terror of the Soviet Era at the Institute of History of Ukraine of the NAS of Ukraine, Head of the National Rehabilitation Commission.
Anatolii Podolskyi, PhD, Head of the Ukrainian Centre for Holocaust Studies, Leading Researcher at the I.F. Kuras Institute of Political and Ethnic Studies of the NAS of Ukraine.
Larysa Yakubova, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Head of the Department of History of Ukraine in the 20s and 30s of the Twentieth Century at the Institute of History of Ukraine, Corresponding Member of the NAS of Ukraine.
Iryna Ozarynska, artist, performer, author of the Silent Book "Triangle of Evil: Communism, Nazism, Ruscism".
Svitlana Liakhovets, author of the idea and project coordinator, head of the NGO Svitarta.
Tetiana Sheptytska, PhD, Deputy Chief Research Officer of the Bykivnia Graves National Historical and Memorial Reserve.
Ihor Bartkiv, Head of the Archival Department of the Bucha City Council.
The discussion was moderated by Nadiia Honcharenko, Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Cultural Research of the National Academy of Arts of Ukraine
The project is implemented by NGO Svitarta with the support of the EVZ Foundation
Project partners:
Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance
Zentrum für Historische Forschung Berlin
Lietuvos istorijos institutas
The SSU Sectoral State Archive
Bykivnia Graves National Memorial Reserve
National Historical and Memorial Reserve "Babyn Yar"
Archival Department of Bucha City Council
Announcements
MoreLatest News
-
Blasphemy, Indifference, and Russian Propaganda: The Story of the Failed Creation of the Babyn Yar Museum
The Museum of the History of Kyiv has published a study by well-known Ukrainian historian Vitalii Nakhamanovych on the history of attempts to create a museum in Babyn Yar, the struggle for historical memory of this crime and tragedy in the history of Ukraine during World War II, a struggle that continues to this day.
[More] -
Claims Conference European Workshop for Shoah Research, Education and Documentation Organizations
On 17–20 November 2025, an international seminar for teachers and researchers of World War II and Holocaust history was held in Amsterdam at the National Holocaust Museum.
[More]
Scientists and educators from 44 European countries and representatives of organisations from the United States took part. The event was organised by the international organisation Claims Conference (Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany). -
Meeting on the Development of Civic Education in Ukraine
On 2 November 2025, a strategic meeting on challenges and prospects in the field of civic education was held, organised by our partners, the NGO Open University of Maidan.
[More] -
Learning from the Past, Acting for the Future - Teaching about the Holocaust and Human Rights
On 29–31 October 2025, the seminar-school Learning from the Past – Acting for the Future on the History of the Holocaust and Human Rights was held in Kyiv.
[More] -
Unveiling of the Stumbling Stone in honour of Mariia Rozhnovska
On 24 October 2025, as part of the project One Stone - One Life. 80 Stumbling Stones for Kyiv, the final Stumbling Stone of the year was installed in Kyiv’s Ivan Kramsky Square in honour of Mariia Rozhnovska, Righteous Among the Nations.
[More]




