Welcome to the exhibition opening
On 8 August (28 July) 1778, the government of the Russian Empire began the forced deportation of the Christian population from Crimea to North Azov. The initiative of the public organisation “North Azovian Greeks: Urums and Roumeans” aims to bring this page of Ukrainian history back to public attention and to commemorate the forced expulsion of the Urums and Roumeans from Crimea in 1778–1780 with a multimedia exhibition.
Today, it is more important than ever to publicly reflect on the consequences of such violent evictions in the context of historical memory, culture, and the contemporary experience of the North Azovian Greeks, who are also experiencing catastrophic losses due to Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine.
The multimedia exhibition “North Azovian Greeks: Paths of Identity” at the National Museum of the Holodomor Genocide will feature historical maps on a 360° screen, archival photographs of the North Azov Greeks, and quotes from archival documents.
On the opening day of the exhibition, 8 August 2025, there will be an open dialogue with historians and community representatives about colonial myths surrounding the expulsion of the Urums and Roumeans, the cultural and linguistic heritage of the pre-Ottoman Greeks, and parallels between the tragedies of the 18th and 21st centuries. The following speakers will participate in the discussion:
Yuliia Konstantinova, PhD, Dean of the History Department, Mariupol State University
Oleksandr Maiboroda, PhD, Professor, Deputy Director of the I.F. Kuras Institute of Political and Ethnic Studies of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine
Valerii Tomazov, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Head of the History Institute of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine
Andrii Ivanets, PhD, Senior Researcher at the National Museum of the Holodomor Genocide
Olha Tsuprykova, co-founder and chair of the board of the NGO ‘North Azovian Greeks’
The open dialogue will be moderated by Larysa Yakubova, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor, Head of the Department of Ukrainian History of the 1920s and 1930s at the Institute of History of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.
Date: 8 August, Friday, starting at 5 p.m.
Venue: Holodomor Museum, 3 Lavrska Street, Kyiv
Please note: Pre-registration is required to attend the exhibition opening.
Join us to preserve memory and build dialogue about identity in wartime.
The exhibition will be on display at the National Holodomor Genocide Museum until 28 September 2025.
The initiative “North Azovian Greeks: Paths of Identity” is implemented by the public organisation “North Azovian Greeks: Urumi and Roumeans” in partnership with the National Museum of the Holodomor Genocide.