The Senate of the Czech Republic hosted the grand opening of an anniversary exhibition dedicated to the 100th anniversary of one of the first Ukrainian museum projects in Europe — the Museum of the Liberation Struggle of Ukraine in Prague, writes LB.ua.
‘Preserving memory is our duty. Memory is the foundation of our identity, which Moscow is once again trying to destroy today,’ said Vasyl Zvarych, Ukraine's ambassador to the Czech Republic.
The exhibition features unique archival materials and works of art illustrating the continuity of Ukrainian cultural life, as well as artefacts from the ongoing war for independence, in which Russia is mercilessly attacking Ukraine's cultural heritage and identity. (Curators: Oksana Pelenska and Rostislav Prokopyuk. Musical accent: Anastasyia Shchyra, soloist of the Symphony Orchestra, Mariánské Lázně).
"One hundred years is not only a significant anniversary, but also a testament to the long-term efforts to preserve the memory of our struggle for independence. Founded by emigrants who did not accept the loss of statehood, the museum became a spiritual refuge for those who cherished the idea of a free Ukraine. This exhibition is a bridge between generations, a testament to the resilience of our traditions," said Rostyslav Prokopyuk, director of the Ukrainian Institute in Prague, opening the ceremony.
Senator Zdeněk Nitra, Chairman of the ODS and TOP 09 Senatorial Club, emphasised the importance of cultural diplomacy projects for strengthening the alliance between Ukraine and the Czech Republic today and in the past.
‘The exhibition, organised by the Ukrainian Institute in Prague and the Republican Fund of Ukraine, will not only honour Ukrainian cultural heritage, but also symbolically mark the start of our initiative in the Czech Republic,’ said Artem Mykolaychuk, Chairman of the Board of the Republican Fund of Ukraine.
The Republican Fund of Ukraine today signed a memorandum of cooperation with the Ukrainian Institute in Prague, launching a joint initiative to promote Ukrainian culture and strengthen ‘bridges’ between nations.
The roadmap for the initiative for 2025 includes exhibitions dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Museum of the Liberation Struggle, the experience of cooperation between Ukrainians and Czechs, the history of the Holodomor genocide, the creation of a map of ‘Ukrainian places in Prague’ and programmes to support the study of the Ukrainian language, history and culture, as well as the Ukrainian language for Czechs, the organisers announced during the signing ceremony of the memorandum of cooperation.
Volodymyr Yelchenko, a prominent Ukrainian diplomat, Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the United Nations in 2015–2019, and Head of the RFU, arrived in Prague.
"During more than 40 years of diplomatic service, I have repeatedly seen that the Czech Republic and the Czech people are true friends of Ukraine. This was true in peacetime: the Czech Republic was one of the first countries to recognise Ukraine's independence. This partnership was particularly evident against the backdrop of Russian aggression, when the Czech Republic was among the first to provide real assistance with weapons and shelter for hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian refugee women and children."
The exhibition marking the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Museum of the Liberation Struggle of Ukraine in Prague will be open throughout June at the Vrtbovská zahrada gallery. Admission to the exhibition is free. The grand opening of the exhibition for the general public will take place on Sunday, 1 June, at 13:00.
"Works of Ukrainian visual art that survived the bombing of Prague in 1945, when the Ukrainian museum was destroyed, are still little known to the wider public, both Ukrainian and Czech art lovers. Therefore, with this exhibition, we are beginning to introduce the Czech and Ukrainian public to Ukraine's cultural heritage in Prague," said Yaryna Yasynevych, cultural manager, curator, and programme director of the RFU.
Among the participants and guests of the event were: Rostyslav Prokopyuk, director of the Ukrainian Institute in Prague, Artem Mykolaychuk, chairman of the board of the Republican Fund of Ukraine, Zdeněk Nitra, chairman of the ODS a TOP 09 Senatorial Club, Vasyl Zvarych, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the Czech Republic, Oksana Pelenska, researcher and Radio Liberty employee, Volodymyr Yelchenko, diplomat, Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the UN in 2015–2019, head of the RFU, Dr. Petr Hlaváček, historian, philosopher and publicist, Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes, Volodymyr Volkovskyy, Czech-Ukrainian Scientific Society, Tetyana Okopna, translator, cultural manager, Bohdan Raychynets, Chairman of the European Congress of Ukrainians, Maksym Baryshnikov, co-founder of the #unrussiaUN initiative, head of the RFU, Yana Prokopyukova, specialist in international strategic communications, Yaryna Yasynevych, cultural manager, head of RFU programmes.
The organizers expressed their gratitude to the Senate and Parliament of the Czech Republic, Senator Zdenek Nitra, MP Pavel Žachek, Lukáš Babka — the National Library of the Czech Republic — the Slavic Library of Prague, and the Embassy of Ukraine in the Czech Republic.
Reference: The most prominent Ukrainian institution in the Czech Republic — the Museum of the Ukrainian Liberation Struggle in Prague — did not survive the bombing on 14 February 1945. The museum operated in Prague from 1925 to 1948. Founded on the initiative of Ukrainian emigrants who lived in Czechoslovakia after the defeat of the Ukrainian Revolution of 1917–1921, it received support from the government of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk. The first exhibition opened on 1 July 1925. Funds collected among Ukrainians in 1938 were used to purchase a building, which housed the museum from May 1939 at 6 Gorimirova Street in the Prague district of Nusle.
The initiators and leaders of the project were prominent Ukrainian statesmen, scientists, and diplomats Dmytro Antonovych, Stepan Syropolko, Yevhen Vyrovyy, Ivan Horbachevskyy, General Mykhaylo Omelyanovych-Pavlenko, and Symon Narizhnyy. Founders of the Ukrainian Academy of Arts: Abram Manevich, Oleksandr Murashko, Fedir Krychevskyy, Mykhaylo Hrushevskyy, Ivan Steshenko, Mykola Burachek, Heorhiy Narbut, Vasyl Krychevskyy, and Mykhaylo Boychuk.
Over two decades, the museum has become an important centre of Ukrainian cultural, scientific, and public life not only in Czechoslovakia but also in Europe.