Documenting the Experience of War: Materials Transferred to the Central State Scientific and Technical Archives of Ukraine

On July 6, 2026, Olha Vovk, a lecturer at the Department of Historiography, Heritage Studies, and Archaeology, visited the Central State Scientific and Technical Archives of Ukraine. She submitted 10 interviews for review by the archival expert-verification commission, which were collected within the framework of the research project she heads, titled “Ukrainian Heritage Preservationists among Russian Military Aggression: Professional Experiences, Personal Stories, and Visions for the Future”.

The project was supported by Documenting Ukraine, a program of the Institute for Human Sciences, IWM Vienna.

The oral history sources, supplemented by photographs, reveal the institutional and personal dimensions of cultural heritage rescue processes. Main focus is placed on the activities of heritage protectors from those regions of Ukraine that were or are in close proximity to the combat zone: Kharkiv, Sumy, Chernihiv, Dnipro, and Kherson regions. The recorded memories and expert opinions of specialists create a significant source base for further research on the Russo-Ukrainian war.

The event took place within the framework of implementing the provisions of the recently signed Cooperation Agreement between V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University and the Central State Scientific and Technical Archives of Ukraine.