Every day Ukraine loses cultural monuments due to the actions of Russian invaders. The statistics are not encouraging, but the Ukrainians resist the Russian aggressor with all their might. Representatives of cultural institutions, volunteers and public organizations have rallied their forces and are doing everything possible to save the cultural heritage of the country.
Museums and galleries coordinate their actions, taking as a basis strategies and world experience in protecting historical values during armed conflicts. Ferenc Yerfana (Director of the Museum I. Bokshay) said that in 2019 a seminar was held for museum employees, where they were taught safety precautions and the rules for evacuating works of art. According to the instructions, transportable painting must be packed in waterproof sealed bags. For additional security of valuable items, it is recommended to use moisture-absorbing agents. For this purpose, even ordinary wrapping paper with a porous structure is suitable. Canvases should be stored in a dark place. For proper ventilation, the paintings should not fit snugly against each other.
So, for example, the employees of the I. Bokshay Museum removed the existing expositions and moved them to the basement. One group of the depository included ancient canvases. In the other - the work of contemporaries. Large-sized sculptures remained in the rooms of the museum, but were placed between the windows to protect them from glass fragments.
International guidelines recommend compiling lists of items of the first category (for mandatory evacuation) and the second category (for evacuation if possible). When looking for a suitable place to store exhibits, it is necessary to check it for humidity levels, temperature conditions and protect it as much as possible from looting and shelling.
Lyudmila Rybchenko (Director of the Museum of the History of Ukraine in World War II) shared that on the eve of the war, the museum team made plans for the emergency evacuation of people and exhibits, checked the operation of fire-fighting equipment, sirens and first-aid kits. The employees also purchased packaging materials: cardboard boxes, paper, bubble wrap, containers. To record the movement of valuable exhibits, photo and video equipment was purchased.
When hostilities had already begun, the main task was to save the exhibits placed in the most vulnerable places. First of all, international exhibitions were dismantled to return exhibits to partner museums. Digital archives of exhibits are included in electronic databases.
International art organizations and foreign museums take an active part in the preservation of historical monuments. They reveal their willingness to provide shelter for the collection fund and provide financial assistance. A separate area of work of European institutions is the cataloging of the creations of contemporary masters who have suffered from hostile actions. Leading organizations are ready to give legal advice and assist in the conduct of cases in international courts for compensation for damage, both material and intellectual.
This applies not only to museum collections, but also to private ones. It is known that some private collectors managed to take out some of the valuable copies from the places of hostilities. But these are isolated cases. Antiques or works of art cannot be folded into a “disturbing suitcase”. Be sure to record the destruction of everything that is of value. The enemy will surely receive punishment for his crimes.
Nina Khechko, Alexander Andreev, Igor Marchuk and Sergey Shpak shared on our YouTube channel how they store their collections in wartime.