The project commemorating Ukrainian culture makers killed by Russia
The Raphael Lemkin Society has joined as a co-initiator of the online memorial project “Ukrainian Culture Makers Killed by Russia,” dedicated to commemorating cultural figures killed as a result of Russia’s full-scale war in Ukraine.
This is a joint initiative of state institutions and civil society organizations with expertise in memory preservation, human rights advocacy, and international advocacy. Project co-initiators: Ukrainian PEN; INDEX: Institute for Documentation and Exchange; Memorial Platform; The Raphael Lemkin Society; Ukrainian Institute of National Memory; ZMINA Human Rights Center; NeMo: Ukrainian Heritage Monitoring Lab; KSE Center for Human Rights and War Memorialization.
The project was launched on February 11, 2025. Its goal is to document the names of Ukrainian cultural figures whose creative lives were cut short by Russia since 2022, and to seek accountability for the crimes committed through international advocacy on behalf of the victims. In addition, the initiators aim to carry forward the work of the fallen cultural figures through commemorative events, media initiatives, and publishing projects.
The project defines cultural figures as all those who contributed to the development of Ukrainian culture: authors whose works were completed and publicly presented; individuals who helped build and sustain cultural institutions in Ukraine; cultural workers for whom the cultural sphere was their primary professional field; and those whose creative work had a tangible impact on local communities.
The project initiators acknowledge that the monitoring is neither official nor exhaustive, and that many crimes committed by Russia may become known only later. They therefore encourage anyone with relevant information to share it via email at killedculturemakers@gmail.com.
At present, the monitoring of losses covers the period of the full-scale invasion, as reports of killed cultural figures continue to increase. Accordingly, the initiative has focused on the careful documentation of information as it emerges in real time. At the same time, the project’s initiators are seeking opportunities to expand the monitoring to cover the entire period of Russia’s war against Ukraine, which began in 2014.
More information about the project is available on the initiative’s website, Ukrainian Culture Makers Killed by Russia.