Despite international legal sanctions, we are currently witnessing widespread systematic attacks on cultural heritage in armed conflict, including the brute destruction of buildings and cultural sites (from graves to libraries to museums, to archaeological sites, public monuments, artworks and books); the theft of material heritage or its distortion and abuse in propaganda; the use of media/TV campaigns to rewrite history; and the detention or killing of cultural actors/activists.

On December 2, 2022 UCLA Center for European and Russian Studies organized War on Culture/War on Memory: Ukraine, Bosnia and the Global Defense of Heritage symposium to present a clear account of the toll of cultural destruction in the current war in Ukraine, and multilateral efforts at documentation and preservation, and to broaden our understanding of destruction and preservation by reflecting on the catastrophic experience of Bosnia during the war of 1992-1995, and its long term impact.

You can watch the recording of Panel Discussion A: Cultural Destruction in Ukraine Now here on our website. Recording of the entire symposium is available on the CERS YouTube Channel. Certain slides were blurred to respect copyright.

Panel Discussion A: Cultural Destruction in Ukraine Now

• Opening Remarks
  • Laurie Kain Hart, Director, UCLA Center for European and Russian Studies; Professor, UCLA Anthropology
  • Roman Koropeckyj, Professor, UCLA Department of Slavic, East European & Eurasian Languages & Cultures

• War in Ukraine: Battle for Freedom, Identity, Future
  • Ihor Poshyvailo, Director, National Museum of Revolution of Dignity in Kyiv

• Cultural Heritage and Modern Conflict: Ukraine 2014-Present
  •  Damian Koropeckyj, Senior Analyst, Cultural Heritage Monitoring Lab, Virginia
    
    
• Moderator: Vadim Schneyder, Associate Professor, UCLA Department of Slavic, East European & Eurasian Languages & Cultures

This symposium was organized by UCLA Center for European and Russian Studies (CERS) and co-sponsored by President’s International Council, J. Paul Getty Trust, the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Creative Activities, the UCLA Center for Near Eastern Studies (CNES), the UCLA Department of Slavic, East European & Eurasian Languages & Cultures, and the South East European Film Festival.

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Duration: 00:57:07