Ukrainian Museums Must Remove All Soviet-Era Exhibits That Would Please Stalin, Says History Popularizer

A Ukrainian history popularizer has called for the removal of all Soviet-era exhibits from Ukrainian museums that would have pleased Stalin, as part of efforts to decolonize the country's historical narrative. The historian, who has dedicated extensive effort to studying Ukraine's pre-Soviet past, learned paleography to read texts from the 15th to 18th centuries and studied Latin to access international correspondence from those periods. Her research revealed that crucial information about Ukraine was often encrypted, leading her team to decode royal ciphers and translate historical communications from various countries. The call reflects broader efforts in Ukraine to reexamine and reframe its historical presentation, moving away from Soviet-influenced interpretations that dominated museums for decades. This initiative represents part of Ukraine's ongoing cultural decolonization process, aimed at reclaiming its historical identity independent of Russian and Soviet narratives.