The Holodomor Museum joined the expert discussion on the audio accompaniment for the minute of silence
On 16 September 2025, the Human Rights and War Memorialisation Centre at the Kyiv School of Economics hosted an expert discussion on the audio accompaniment for the minute of silence, with Andrii Ivanets, a senior researcher at the National Museum of the Holodomor Genocide, among the participants. The event was organised by the Centre for Human Rights and War Memorialisation of the Kyiv School of Economics and the public organisation ‘Vshanui.’ Anton Drobovych, the head of the Centre, veteran and chairman of the Ukrainian Institute of National Memory from 2019 to 2024, moderated the discussion.
Experts in musicology, memorialisation, public history, and museum representatives participated in the discussion. They shared their experience and knowledge about the use of sound in commemorative practices in Ukraine and abroad.
Iryna Tsybukh, co-founder of the NGO ‘Vshanyu’ (Honour), journalist, and paramedic of the medical battalion ‘Hospitaliers,’ came up with the idea to change the soundtrack for the nationwide minute of silence. The initiators of the expert discussion pointed out that the widespread sound of the metronome accompanying the minute of silence has Soviet origins. It appeared in the mid-20th century, when the USSR honoured the victims of World War II.
In the memorial practices of the Holodomor Museum, both the sound of bells and a metronome are used for the moment of silence. This is a special moment when people honour the victims in various ways, so both the beginning and the end must be signalled with sounds while leaving room for internal monologue.
Following the discussion, the experts agreed that the new tradition should be developed gradually, without abandoning existing practices immediately and leaving room for decisions at the community and institutional levels. They proposed continuing work on rethinking the musical accompaniment for the minute of silence.
Photo – Human Rights and War Memorialisation Centre of the Kyiv School of Economics.
