Ordered not to know: Ukrainian archaeologists in the grip of totalitarianism

On October 29, 2024, Odesa National University 2nd-year students of the EC 215 group took part in the opening of the exhibition “Ordered not to know: Ukrainian archaeologists in the grip of totalitarianism” in the Odesa National Scientific Library.

The exhibition is dedicated to archaeologists who, despite brutal repression and merciless censorship, tirelessly continued their scientific work. Each poster represents the fate of one of 19 prominent archaeologists who have become the personification of generations of repressed scientists. The tragic consequences of persecution often affected their families. The acquirers were struck by the depth and scale of the crimes of the totalitarian systems against scientists who did not surrender.

The opening speech was made by the General Director of the Ukrainian National Academy of Sciences, Iryna Biriukova, the Dean of the Faculty of History and Philosophy of the I.I. Mechnikov National University, and the Chairman of the Board of the Odesa Regional Organization of the National Union of Local History of Ukraine Vyacheslav Kushnir, the representative of the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance Oleksandr Horodilov, the director of the Odesa Archaeological Museum of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine Ihor Pistruil.

Such spectacular events make it possible to carry out national and patriotic education with immersion in the era. The exposition helps modern youth to understand the complexity of resistance to the totalitarian system, to appreciate the scale of sacrifices for the freedom and independence of Ukraine!