Marianske Lazne Opens Exhibition “War. Made in Russia”
Photos of Ukrainian soldiers, the blood-stained sweater of Raisa Sylenok from Chernihiv region, wounded during the Russian occupation, the coat of surgeon Oleh Holubchenko from the Okhmatdyt children’s hospital, in which he saved children on the day of a Russian missile strike, children’s toys, and a plush toy inscribed “Hang in there” — these items became exhibits of the “War. Made in Russia” exhibition. They tell the story of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine through personal stories of people.
The exhibition, which not only documents the crimes of Russian aggression but also helps to understand the human dimension of the war, opened in the Czech town of Marianske Lazne.
It features artifacts provided by the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in World War II, and photographs by Ukrainian documentary photographers Kostiantyn and Vlada Liberov. As we previously reported, a similar exhibition was already held in Hradec Kralove.
According to Ihor Kharchenko, Senior Consultant of the Pylyp Orlyk Foundation and diplomat, the power of the exhibition lies in the fact that it affects quietly but with extraordinary precision.
“This is a small exhibition, but a very important one. Visitors stop at these exhibits and understand: while they live their ordinary lives in Czechia, people are dying. Such exhibitions often speak far more convincingly than loud newspaper headlines. They stay with a person for a long time.”
The exhibition helps to critically reflect on the causes of Russian aggression and its devastating consequences, and to preserve the memory of what happens to people’s ordinary lives when war arrives at their doorstep. It has become visual evidence of the crimes the Russian Federation is committing against the Ukrainian people.
Rostyslav Prokopjuk, Director of the Ukrainian Institute in Prague, is convinced that such exhibits can explain to Europeans what numbers and news cannot always convey.
“This exhibition has a smell — the smell of war. It is alive because behind every object stands the story of a specific person. War is made up not of statistics but of human names. For instance, a plush toy inscribed “Hang in there” cannot leave anyone indifferent. It is exactly such artifacts that help Europe feel what Ukraine is experiencing and understand why it needs support.”
The exhibition was opened at the Marianske Lazne municipal library with the participation of the library’s director Tetiana Batkova, Volodymyr Yelchenko, Head of International Policy Research at the Pylyp Orlyk Foundation, Oksana Zaiets, Head of the Association of Ukrainians in Marianske Lazne, and other representatives of the Ukrainian community. Ukrainian songs performed by Oksana Lata created a special atmosphere for the event.
The exhibition was organized by the Pylyp Orlyk Foundation and the Ukrainian Institute in Prague. In Marianske Lazne, it will run until July 14 at the public library located at:
Městská knihovna Mariánské Lázně, p. o.
Hlavní třída 370/3, 353 01 Mariánské Lázně
