On July 7, 2022, the exhibition "Lendart and archeology: Ukraine-Lithuania" opened in the Vinnytsia Museum of Local Lore. We managed to bring unique artifacts to the exhibition – finds since 2016 made in Tyagin, Kherson region, by the Southern Medieval Expedition of the Institute of Archeology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. On the eve of the war, the finds of the Expedition managed to be taken out of Kherson – in fact, that saved the collection. Some of them were damaged due to careless storage in Kherson Museum of Local Lore, but have already been restored.

 

The importance of these finds is that they finally refuted the historical myth about the so-called "Novorossiya”. Probably, that is why the Kherson Museum of Local Lore did not hold a single exhibition of these finds for 6 years: the museum was managed by T.Bratchenko, who became collaborator after the occupation of Kherson by the russian military. May 9, 2022, she opened in the Kherson museum an exposition with Soviet narratives about the World War II.

 

That is why we were sure that it is necessary to continue talking about the true history of the South of Ukraine. Vinnytsia was not chosen by chance. At the time of the opening of the exhibition, the Kherson administration was working in Vinnytsia, and there were also many refugees from Kherson and the Kherson region. Among the artists, who in 2021 worked in Tyagin next to archaeologists, was the famous artist and curator from Vinnytsia Oleksandr Nikityuk.

 

Th exhibition showed not archaeological finds only. Visitors saw artworks created in Lithuania by Ukrainian and Lithuanian artists. The guests were able to talk with experts - Mrs. Larisa Kulakovskaya, the director of the Archaeological Museum of the National Academy of Sciences of the National Academy of Sciences, and Ms. Svitlana Bilyaeva, doctor of historical sciences, the head of the Southern Medieval Expedition.

 

We are extremely grateful to the staff of the Vinnytsia Regional Museum of Local Lore for their help and support in organizing the exhibition.