Discussion on future Museum of War for Ukraine's Independence must begin – Alforov
Oleksandr Alforov, Head of the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance, has said that he believes that the future Museum of the War for Ukraine’s Independence and the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in the Second World War should be separate institutions.
"It must exist. We need to start the discussion because it is an extremely complex process. There is the question of where the emphasis will be—on February 19, 2014, on February 24, 2022, or whether it will cover the general history of Muscovy destroying our independence 100 years ago and pressing bayonets against our backs in the 19th century when we lost the Hetmanate. These are concepts that need work to understand what an inhabitant of Ukraine or a foreigner will take away from this museum, and whether it will be clear to a child. It must be a state-of-the-art, modern, living, and understandable museum. At the same time, it must be about victory, the glory of Ukrainian arms, the glory of the Defenders, and the glory of the Ukrainian people as a whole," Alforov said in an exclusive interview with Interfax-Ukraine.
Alforov said this museum should be part of a network of institutions dedicated to the Heroes of the Heavenly Hundred and the Heroes of the current war.
"This should be a museum that is not just built, but integrated into the network of our memory, because walls are not even half the battle. At the same time, I emphasize—a Museum is primarily about exhibits, not about walls and floor space," he added.
When asked if this museum could be established on the basis of the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in the Second World War, Alforov stated he would separate the two institutions.
"We need to preserve the memory of the Second World War, which even today is not fully understood by our fellow citizens. In my view, these should be two different museum institutions. At the same time, museums dedicated to war should still have a common concept, structure, and coordination—this is about European experience. Museums of war, museums of terror," he added.
Furthermore, he suggested that the glass amphitheater of the Globus shopping center on Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square) could be a potential location for such a museum.
"When a new complex was planned for Maidan, spaces were even provided for a museum. Now, instead of a museum, we have ‘Globus-3,’ popularly known as the ‘Dnipro-HES’—a massive glass wall. Why not use this site in the center of the capital to finally create a museum there, perhaps even the Museum of the War for Ukraine’s Independence?" Alforov said.
In 2024, the previous head of UIPN, Anton Drobovych, had also emphasized the need to create a legal entity for the Museum of the History of the Russian-Ukrainian War to begin assembling a core team of specialists for collection and conceptual planning.
