Testament of Bucha – Eine weitere WordPress-Website

About the exhibition

At the center of the installation is a shot-up, burnt-out passenger car in which four civilians attempting to flee Bucha were killed by the Russian army. The scene of this damaged car contrasts with the clean surroundings of the Kurfürstendamm, confronting visitors with the reality of war and the daily struggle of Ukrainians.

Among the victims were 53-year-old Tamila Mishchenko and her 14-year-old daughter Hanna Mishchenko. During the occupation, they set out with two other women, Zhanna Kameneva and Maria Ilchuk, to escape from Bucha. Tragically, they did not succeed. It wasn’t until after the town’s liberation that their remains were found in the car they were traveling in. Satellite images helped СХЕМИ (Radio Svoboda) to find the car which was shot-up, burnt-out during occupation.

Video materials from StopFake.org and СХЕМИ (Skhemy from Radio Svoboda) detailing the history of this incident, the consequences of the war and the lies spread by Russian propaganda regarding the actions in Bucha, are displayed on screens around the car.

It is a place of commemoration and education, where you can see the true impact of war today. Under the Hashtag #TestamentofBucha you can send your thoughts and support messages to the families in Ukraine.

Tamila leaves behind an older son, Yevgeniy Mishchenko, who is now telling the story of his mother and sister and is talking about his experience of the cruelty of war. The documentary below is supported by investigative journalists from the “СХЕМИ” project from Radio Svoboda.

StopFake, the Ukrainian fact-checking media organization, founded in March 2014, is providing visual support for the exhibition in the form short features which refute Russian propaganda and fake news and lies.

Documentary video of the Bucha after the Russian occupation.

Video shot by: „Sinergicon“
Music by: Federico Coderoni

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Abnout the project

The “Testament of Bucha” exhibition documents the war crimes committed against the civilian population of Bucha and against civilians in occupied areas of the Chernihiv, Kharkiv, and Kyiv regions of Ukraine. The destroyed car is a painful reminder of the ongoing war on the European continent, that is putting our democracies at risk, again! The cultural and educational charity event “Testament of Bucha” is a Ukrainian-German collaboration, the purpose of which is to draw the attention of German and European society to the events in Ukraine. To tell the truth about the war, to show the atrocities of the Russian army and to convey a better understanding of this without Russian interference and disinformation. In its immobility, this car, as a fragment of war, is intended to express the injustice, brutality, and crimes of Russia in Ukraine.

Creating a better understanding of the history of violence

The project is initiated and presented by Andriy Radnyuk and Roman Semenyshyn-Braescu. Both are Ukrainian and joined the ranks of territorial defence at the beginning of the war to protect their homeland.

For them, one thing is crystal clear: The Russian-Ukrainian conflict did not begin on February 24, 2022. It is the culmination of several hundred years of Russian terror against Ukraine. For all these centuries, Russia’s goal has been to impose its historical narrative on Ukraine and to create the image of a “failed state”. The idea of restoring the historical territories of the former Soviet Union bears the risk of Russia taking over other countries in Europe as well. But now, there is an opportunity to avoid this by helping Ukraine.

Crowdfunding

“Testament of Bucha” is currently entirely self-financed and relies on your support to keep it alive and to help the families of Bucha. We greatly appreciate all contributions and messages. Read about the use of the funds on the following link.

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“We are grateful to all the parties and partners involved, without whom this project would not be possible. That is very important to us, and we’ll do our best, so this project will live on.” Andriy Radnyuk and Roman Braescu-Semenyshyn, co-initiators of the project.

Organisers

Andriy Radnyuk, head of the Ukrainian side of the project and executive director of the non-governmental organization Sinergicon, and Roman Braescu-Semenyshyn, head of the Charitable Foundation Center for Assistance to Kamyanez ATO Participants initiated the project. Andriy describes their mission as such: “We carry the consequences of the war to Berlin, so that those who come to the event will understand what our country has been going through and still is experiencing. We want to pass on the experience of Ukraine so that the tragedy of Bucha does not happen anywhere else. Because anyone could have been in that car.”

Oleksandr Shpak, ballet dancer and executive producer of “Ballet for Life”, Berlin, is the official head of the organizing committee from Germany.

On the German side, the main co-organizer is the Regnum Legis Gesellschaft für rechtsstaatliches Bewusstsein gGmbH, a non-profit organization that works to preserve the liberal constitutional state in the Federal Republic of Germany. It supports lecture and discussion events with the aim of promoting awareness of the rule of law.

Partner

Press section

Press contact:

Isabelle Andres

Laika Communications

testamentofbucha@laika.berlin

Tel: +49 1737277953 / +49 30 24045815

Oranienburger Straße 27

10117 Berlin

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