Dmytro Yavornytskyi National Historical Museum of Dnipro, one of the oldest in Ukraine, has been “decorated” with sandbags for more than a year now. Founded in 1836, the museum has survived many relocations, several wars, and even occupation.

With the start of the full-scale invasion on 24 February 2022, the museum’s staff had to re-produce the guidelines on securing (safekeeping) the national historical heritage. And it was made not on paper, but in practice. The museum has about 350,000 exhibits (including a mummy), most of which were on display.

Valeriya Lavrenko, the deputy director of the museum for scientific work, associate professor, and candidate of historical sciences, describes how they managed to dismantle and secure all the exhibits in two days, how the museum lives now, and what it will be like after the victory, as well as how many tons of sand were needed to protect the monument and the grave of Academician Dmytro Yavornytskyi.