VDNG is looking for experts to rethink the Soviet heritage and create a museum on the territory of the complex

The National Complex “Expocenter of Ukraine” (VDNG) has announced a competition for the study of the history and concept of VDNG as a Soviet ideological space. This study will be the basis for the creation of a monumental propaganda museum, which is located on the territory of the complex, the expocenter press service reported on March 20.

Cultural heritage experts and researchers who worked with the topic of Soviet culture and art are invited to participate. They will develop recommendations for rethinking the complex within the processes of decommunization and decolonization in Ukraine.

It is stated that the idea of ​​creating such a museum was originated in 2016.

“The study of the Soviet history of the VDNG and the creation of a Museum of Monumental Propaganda will help combine the protective heritage with its rethinking. After all, the Soviet history of the complex is embedded in its architecture: pavilions, structures and symbolism are already part of the future exposition. These monuments did not change in the Soviet period – they were created from the beginning. That is why VDNG is a logical place for the museum, ”the message reads.

Detailed information about the competition and the terms of participation will be published in the near future.

Decommunization in Ukraine is a process of getting rid of the symbols, ideology and heritage of the Soviet totalitarian regime. It began after independence, but was intensified in 2014 after the Dignity Revolution. Includes the renaming of streets and settlements, the dismantling of monuments to Soviet figures, the ban on communist symbolism, the opening of KGB archives and the revision of historical policy.

Decolonization is a broader process aimed at liberation from the influence of the Russian imperial and Soviet cultural and political heritage.