On Independence Day, August 24, 2023, the National Museum of the History of Ukraine opened an exhibition dedicated to prominent dissidents and the Sixtiers who brought independence closer.

The exhibition «Struggle for Independence. Creators. Episodes» presents 11 stories of Ukrainians who fought to preserve our culture and identity, defended the right to their own opinion, sacrificing their freedom, health, and sometimes their lives. At the same time, the exhibition is dedicated to 11 events and phenomena from the history of the struggle for independence in the last decades of the Soviet occupation. Each of the Heroes corresponds to one such historical episode.

1. Vasyl Stus

2. Viacheslav Chornovil

3. Levko Lukianenko

4. Vasyl Romaniuk (Patriarch Volodymyr)

5.  Valerii Marchenko

6.   Halyna Sevruk

7.  Oles Shevchenko

8.   Opanas Zalyvakha

9.  Anatolii Lupynis

10. Iryna Senyk

11. Mykhailo Horyn

The exhibition features unique items that belonged to the Heroes. One of them is Vasyl Stus’s jacket, which has never been exhibited before. The exhibition also features the shirt that Viacheslav Chornovil was wearing at the time of his death; Levko Lukianenko's backpack, which he had for 27 years in prison and exile; a skufia (a daily headdress) and awards of the Holy Patriarch of Kyiv and All Rus-Ukraine Volodymyr (Romaniuk); works by artists Halyna Sevruk and Opanas Zalyvakha; and a number of other relics of Ukrainian history.

The proclamation of the Act of Independence of Ukraine in August 1991 was the result of the efforts of many generations. Against the backdrop of millennial traditions of state-building, the struggle for national identity and an independent state continued throughout the 20^th century. In different historical periods, this struggle had its leaders and devotees, but the ultimate goal was always the same. In the second half of the 20^th century, the struggle for independence was driven by the Sixtiers and dissidents, a generation of young intellectuals who defended the Ukrainian idea and are considered the creators of an independent Ukraine in the early 1990s. The exhibition is dedicated to the heroes and events that illustrate their life path and political struggle.

The National Museum of the History of Ukraine expresses its sincere gratitude to Anton Stylyk, founder of the «Peace for the Future» charitable foundation, for funding this project.