Russian-language inscriptions from the Soviet era have been removed from the sculpture gallery at the War Museum.
Russian-language inscriptions dating back to the Soviet period have been removed from the sculpture gallery of the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in World War II. The work was carried out as part of the ongoing decolonisation of the museum space, according to the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine.
Deputy Minister of Culture Ivan Verbytsky emphasised that the removal of such elements is an important step in liberating public space from the propaganda markers of the totalitarian past. According to him, this is a systematic rejection of imperial ideological layers and Russian-language texts that shaped a distorted historical view.
Yuriy Savchuk, Director General of the War Museum, stressed that in the context of full-scale war, the presence of Russian-language inscriptions in the memorial complex, which reproduce hostile narratives and were used to justify the Russian Federation's aggression, is unacceptable.
The museum notes that the institution is conducting in-depth work to rethink contexts, meanings and historical emphases. The exhibitions are gradually being freed from Soviet interpretations, offering visitors a Ukrainian, critical and contemporary view of the events of the Second World War.
The decolonisation process will continue and will include a review of textual materials, visual solutions, scientific commentary and conceptual approaches to presenting history, taking into account Ukraine's current war experience.
The museum recalled that in 2023, the Soviet coat of arms on the shield of the sculpture "Motherland" was replaced with the Trident, and in 2024, inscriptions with the names of cities and images of the Soviet medal "Golden Star" were dismantled from the Alley of Hero Cities.
War museum, decolonisation, Soviet symbols, Russian-language inscriptions, Ministry of Culture, Motherland, Second World War, cultural policy.
