One in every of Ukraine’s eight UNESCO World Heritage Websites, St. Sophia Cathedral is likely one of the few surviving buildings of the Kieban RUS period and is likely one of the most vital Christian shrines in all of Europe. It retains not solely the excessive artwork of this era, constructed within the eleventh century, but in addition the remnants of on a regular basis medieval life. That’s, 7,500 inscriptions containing notes, names, prayers and drawings – had been left by strange inhabitants of Kiev.
“The partitions of St. Sophia Cathedral protect not solely the 1,000-year-old mosaics and frescoes that had been acknowledged as masterpieces of medieval artwork, but in addition hundreds of inscriptions and drawings etched by guests over the centuries.”
“These graffiti are huge archives of invaluable historic data, offering a glimpse into many facets of life on the time,” he added.
This mission comes at a very vital time to take care of and advocate for Ukrainian heritage and cultural identification. In 2024, UNESCO printed an inventory of 343 cultural websites confirmed to have been affected because the initiation of the Russian invasion. In July this yr, a Russian drone assault on Odessa broken UNESCO-protected landmarks equivalent to Prymorskyi Boulevard and Pryvoz Market, that are a part of the historic metropolis centre.
Following the rising pattern of attracting younger individuals and preserving cultural heritage digitally, the so-called “graffiti chronicles” intention to take care of the historical past of on a regular basis individuals and emphasize the resilience of Ukraine.
“I first noticed these symbols in 2021 and was fascinated by the power to inform us about our previous. It was unbelievable to assume that strange individuals like us would stand in entrance of those partitions and write their fears, desires and needs.
“Our staff needed to discover a strategy to pull these distinctive and vital items of historical past out of the shadows. We invited Ukrainians to themselves to inform us about our heritage,” she added.
Within the subsequent section of the mission, a QR code will likely be put in subsequent to the graffiti on the partitions of the Cathedral Museum, permitting guests to entry digital archives and extra details about their cell phone works.
“They are going to do all the things they will to strip us from our historic reminiscence.”
For Ukrainians, who are actually of their third yr of the present full-scale battle, their capacity to digitalize their historical past and tradition stays related as ever.
“Digitized paperwork, materials heritage objects, and cultural monuments may help preserve reminiscence within the type of digital copies, even when the unique now not exists,” Dr. Vyacheslav Kornienko mentioned in an interview with Euronows.
“This grew to become particularly vital to us through the battle, as Russian invaders intentionally destroy cultural websites and loot museums, and in different phrases, they do all the things potential to strip us from our historic reminiscence,” he added.
The method of digitally archiving cultural artifacts and paperwork is a essential step, however he acknowledged that extra work is required to finish the preservation course of and keep away from the lack of cultural heritage and historic reminiscence.
“I believe the best choice is to mix each. Digital copies should be made individually (equivalent to deposits for storage), however these copies ought to function the premise for educational analysis equivalent to monographs, catalogs, articles, and extra that characteristic these heritage gadgets.”
The digital model of St. Sophia’s Cathedral’s graffiti is a 3D visualization saved in video format, not simply scans or photographs. It additionally incorporates details about the symbols and their meanings.
Combating in opposition to Russian misinformation
For Ukrainians, preserving cultural heritage, even from the medieval period, helps to fight trendy disinformation. This consists of disinformation by Russia to justify its invasion, such because the story that Russia and Ukraine had been tales throughout Kivan Russ interval.
“This matter of Kyivan Rus is a really contested side, an enormous a part of Russia’s disinformation operations, and I believe that is how we attempt to weaponize tradition,” Agatha Gorski, who grew up throughout the road from St. Sophia, mentioned in an interview with Euronews.
“This is likely one of the first issues Putin is likely one of the vital arguments earlier than the invasion (he mentioned in his speech) Russia and Ukraine are alone,” she added.
“It was additionally actually vital for me to take this era as he makes use of this declare to return to the times of Kievan Russ and makes use of it to justify the invasion and justify the truth that Ukraine just isn’t an impartial nation.
Greater than this, individuals’s lives from centuries in the past may function an emblem for the resilience of Ukrainian individuals and their tradition.
“For me, all kinds of historical past begins with individuals. In individuals’s day by day lives and experiences, that is what we will actually inform probably the most to us. That is additionally parallel to the Shadows mission, which is attempting to actually inform individuals’s tales, carry historical past to life and convey it by the experiences of others.”