Our colleagues at the National Museum of Lithuania have shown deep understanding and solidarity with the challenges faced by Ukrainian museums amid the current war unleashed by Russia. They decided to donate 1 euro from every ticket sold for the exhibition «Kyivan Rus. Origins» to support the Ukrainian museums involved in the project. The funds received by the National Museum of the History of Ukraine (MIST) will be used to purchase materials and equipment for the restoration of masterpieces in its collection.

As a reminder, the exhibition «Kyivan Rus. Origins» was held at the National Museum of Lithuania (Vilnius) from 18 September 2024 to 30 March 2025. The project explored nearly 300 years of the emergence and flourishing of Rus. Its organisers sought to dismantle misconceptions that had long been intentionally spread, including by Russian propaganda.

The project brought together more than 20 partners from Poland, the Baltic States, and Scandinavia. The exhibition was held under the patronage of Gitanas Nausėda, President of the Republic of Lithuania. Ukrainian participants included the National Museum of the History of Ukraine, the Archaeological Museum of the Institute of Archaeology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, the Zaporizhzhia Regional Museum of Local History, and the Lviv Historical Museum.

Visitors had the opportunity to see several hundred notable MIST exhibits, including a 10th-century plynth bearing an image of the trident, the zlatnyk (gold coin) of Volodymyr Sviatoslavych, and the famous diadem from the Divych-Hora hillfort in the village of Sakhnivka, Cherkasy region.

«We stand in solidarity with you and are glad to support the preservation of Ukraine’s cultural heritage in these difficult times. Thank you for your trust and cooperation», emphasised Rūta Kačkutė, co-curator of the exhibition «Kyivan Rus. Origins» and Director General of the National Museum of Lithuania.

We sincerely thank our colleagues for their permanent support! Back in 2023, the National Museum of Lithuania launched the initiative «Ukrainian Culture Has Nothing to Shield Itself With», which raised funds to purchase materials and equipment for Ukrainian museums and reserves. Many of these items already help our conservators care for artefacts in the museum’s collection. In autumn 2024, four MIST specialists completed a free internship at the restoration center of the National Museum of Lithuania. Our collaboration continues to generate new ideas, and we look forward to future joint projects.

More about the exhibition «Kyivan Rus. Origins» can be found on the museum’s blog: https://nmiu.org/posts/339