Photos from the 1930s rescued from the war zone were transferred to the Museum’s collections

The photos you see here are silent witnesses to the destruction of not only someone’s house but also an entire village. A soldier of the 21st brigade of the National Guard (Kryvyi Rih city) and his comrades found them in the ruins of a house in the village of Velyka Novosilka, Volnovakha district, Donetsk region, by Mykola Tarasov. Realising that old photographs could be lost forever in such conditions, the military saved them. The photos were handed over to Andrii Tarasov, a volunteer and teacher at the Kryvyi Rih State Pedagogical University. Mr Andrii organised the transfer of the images to our museum.

All photos were taken in the summer of 1936, depicting students of the Maryinsky Pedagogical College. Each picture includes inscriptions with the names of the individuals captured in the film, which you can view on our website.

We are sincerely grateful to the soldiers of the 21st brigade of the NGU and the Tarasov brothers for their concern and preservation of historical heritage. And we also thank them for protecting Ukraine and each of us!

It is important to note that the once large and prosperous village of Velyka Novosilka, where 5,000 to 6,000 people had lived before the war, has been in a war zone for a considerable time. Due to enemy shelling, not a single building has survived in the village, and most residents left long ago. Only a few remained, unwilling to leave their homes. Today, the village is under the control of enemy troops.