Protecting Ukraine’s Cultural Heritage in a Time of War

Deep Dish on Global Affairs

Ukraine is home to millennia-old culture, including some of the holiest sites of the Orthodox faith. Now, facing a brutal artillery campaign and intentional cultural persecution by Russia, Ukraine’s identity is under attack. But Ukraine is not alone in having its heritage threatened by war, despite this being a war crime. Kyiv-based museum director Olesia Ostrovska-Liuta and Jim Cuno, former President of the Getty Trust, join Deep Dish to help us understand why protecting cultural heritage in Ukraine, and in other conflicts is so important, and what the international community can do to help.

Reading List:

• Inheritance, Olesia Ostrovska-Liuta, Ukraine Crisis Media Center, March 16, 2022

• Protecting Cultural Heritage in Ukraine and Beyond, James Cuno and Thomas G. Weiss, Wall Street Journal, April 14, 2022

• Cultural Heritage and Mass Atrocities, Edited by James Cuno and Thomas G. Weiss, Getty Publications, September 20, 2022

• How the War Changed a Kyiv Museum’s View of Its Past, Jason Farago, New York Times, August 10, 2022