“I put the exhibits in pans and buried them. I then left for the evacuation with those pans…”

Packing the exhibits in pans, burying them in the ground and evacuation under shelling – this is the fate of exhibits from the unique Museum of Local History “Bahrychiv Estate” in Derhachi town of Kharkiv region. The owner of the estate, founder, and director of the museum, Oleh Yarovyi, is an art restorer, and represents a fifth generation of leather crafters. In fact, the museum itself is a residential building built back in 1895, which Yarovyi’s great-great-grandfather purchased. The museum has a collection of antique items and family heirlooms of the Bahrychiv Estate’s founder, as well as the collections from the Palaeolithic Age, the Chernyakhiv Culture and Scythians of Kyivan Rus.

When the full-scale war began, Oleh Yarovyi sent his family out to the evacuation, put on a bulletproof vest and packed his priceless museum exhibits with his own hands – as best and as many of them as he could. He ate only some dried bread and hardly slept…

As soon as it was possible to get out of the town, he began to look for some support. The Cultural Heritage Rescue Centre and the Polish Warsaw Rising Museum helped him with some packing materials… So, under shellfire, Oleh Yarovyi was able to evacuate at least part of his museum. Now, he is gradually moving the museum over to an Internet platform. He does not know when Bahrychiv Estate will be able to open its doors again, since it is still dangerous in Derhachi town…

The Museum of Civilian Voices thanks our partners – the Committee for Aid to Ukrainian Museums (Komitet Pomocy Muzeom Ukrainy) and the Warsaw Rising Museum (Muzeum Powstania Warszawskiego)for their help in organizing the interview.