The town of Baturyn in Chernihiv region is located only 100 km from the border with Russia. Already in the afternoon of 24 February, Russian troops were in the vicinity of the town. Baturyn is the place where the National Historical and Cultural Reserve The Hetman's Capital is located. In the first hours after the full-scale invasion started, all employees of the reserve stood up to protect the cultural and historical heritage.

The most valuable exhibits were hidden even before the outbreak of the war. The entire pool of exhibits in all the six museums was collected before the end of February, that is, in just a few days... All this was to the sound of explosions...

After the liberation of Kyiv and Chernihiv regions, the Reserve continues its active museum work, as well as scientific research and outreach life. There are online tours, which are often sold-out and are visited by people from the occupied territories and those who have gone abroad. During the wartime, the Hetman’s Capital reserve became a member of the International Council of Museums (ICOM). In addition, preparations for the shooting of a film about Andriy Kyrylovych Rozumovskyi, the hetman’s son, diplomat, and patron of Beethoven, have started here.

Natalia Rebrova, general director of the Hetman’s Capital reserve, talks about the experience of preserving cultural heritage items and historical monuments in the conditions of the war.

The Museum of Civilian Voices thanks our partners – the Committee for Aid to Ukrainian Museums (Komitet Pomocy Muzeom Ukrainy) and the Warsaw Rising Museum (Muzeum Powstania Warszawskiego) for their help in organizing the interview.