Dirty political games around Poltava Battle Museum

October 29, 2017 It is impossible to deny an assertion about close connection between political life in Ukraine and ongoing war in the Eastern Ukraine. An aggressive policy of our eastern neighbor provokes an adequate counteraction in the field of culture and social life. What is at issue is reducing of impact of Russian Federation and its state institutions on Ukraine. It is easy to understand a natural wish of Ukrainian authorities to force some mass media to use Ukrainian language instead of Russian one. But unfortunately sometimes such a struggle for the dominance of all Ukrainian over all Russian can take, to put it mildly, a very strange form. I am talking about constant political pressure on Poltava Battle Museum brought by those who would like to turn the museum dedicated to the decisive battle of the Great Northern war into Museum of Ukrainian Cossacks. One of those who assail Poltava Battle Museum is Taras Chukhlib, famous Ukrainian historian, doctor of historical sciences, senior researcher at the Institute of History of Ukraine National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. He demands in mass media of removing all exhibits dedicated to Peter I including the monument near the entrance from the museum. Unfortunately even such a highly educated scientist can’t understand that the museum dedicated to the battle between Swedish and Russian armies must represent (by means of exhibits) both enemies.

On my understanding, if Ukraine had been a rich state, it would be possible to order the monument to Charles XII in the same size and stile to be placed near the monument to Peter I. It would be great also to order another copy of Charles XII’s bust, because as you know this masterpiece created by Bernhard Englund has turned out to be in another museum in Poltava.

Finally I would like to thank Svenskt Militärhistoriskt Bibliotek for their important contribution to increasing a number of "Swedish exhibits" in the museum’s collection. This year Poltava Battle museum got a unique copy of the old Swedish gun, a few documents dated after early 18th century and two sets of tin soldiers created by Christer Pettersson, who visited Poltava in April 2017.

On the pictures below you may look at some “Swedish exhibits” in the museum. Thanks to SMB once again for such an important contribution!

Swedish replica of the Swedish cannon in the hall dedicated to the fortress of Poltava

Tin soldiers created by Christer Pettersson in the hall dedicated to the outbreak of the Great Northern war