The international museum exhibition "Crossroads: Sweden - Ukraine (1000 Years)" has recently opened its doors. This joint project of the two countries is hosted by the Army Museum (Armémuseum) in Stockholm.
The exhibition was inaugurated by His Majesty King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden in the presence of Her Majesty Queen Silvia of Sweden, and the Acting Minister of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine Rostyslav Karandieiev. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy joined the event via video address. In his speech, he highlighted examples of long-standing cooperation between the two European countries and emphasized the importance of building strong alliances today for a peaceful future.
The Minister of Culture of Sweden, Parisa Liljestrand, stressed in her speech that creating strong cultural ties is one of the steps towards forming a shared vision not only of the past but also of the future.
From Ukraine, People’s Deputy Oleksandr Kovalchuk was invited to the ceremony. He read out a message from the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Ruslan Stefanchuk. At the end of his speech, he presented the Army Museum with a symbolic gift – an armor plate that once saved the life of a Ukrainian soldier and is now an art object.
The curator of the project, Yurii Savchuk, Director General of the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in the Second World War, reminded the audience about previous Ukrainian-Swedish exhibitions that reflected different periods of shared history. He emphasized that "Crossroads..." is a project that consolidated the long-term work of Ukrainian and Swedish historians, researchers, and museum professionals. However, it is not a final point, but a starting point for future international initiatives.
The head of the National Swedish Museum of Military History, Helene Rånlund, and the Director General of the National Archives of Sweden, Karin Aström Iko, also joined in the congratulations on the opening of the unique international exhibition. Ms. Rånlund recalled her visit to Ukraine and stressed the need to support our country on all possible platforms. Ms. Iko talked about the process of working on the exhibition and the incredible discoveries made along the way.
The event was moderated by Fabian Arnheim, Director of the Army Museum. The opening of the exhibition was also attended by parliamentarians from European countries, representatives of the General Staff of the Swedish Army, and directors of Western European and Ukrainian museums.
A pleasant surprise awaited the guests of the event. Ukrainian actress Kateryna Kisten read poems in Swedish and Ukrainian. And pianist Natalia Pasichnyk performed "Shevchenko Suite" by Borys Lyatoshynsky.
The organizers of the large-scale project are the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in the Second World War, the Swedish National Museums of Military History and the National Archives of Sweden. The authors of the idea are the head of the War Museum Yurii Savchuk and the Director General of the Army Museum Helene Rånlund.
The exhibition has four sections that highlight Ukrainian-Swedish relations over a thousand years: "The Viking Age", "The Cossack Era", "Ukrainian-Swedish Cultural Meridians" and "The Period of Full-Scale Russian Invasion".
The exhibition is one of the largest international historical projects of Ukraine since independence. It features unique artifacts from nearly 30 museums, archives, and libraries in Ukraine and Sweden, including original exhibits from the collections of 15 museums and reserves from different regions of Ukraine.
The implementation of this initiative is a significant achievement for our country. Being its first museum exhibition in the European Union, organized after the start of negotiations with the European Commission on our country’s membership in the EU, the exhibition demonstrates the multifaceted history and culture of Ukraine as part of the European civilizational field. A separate cluster of the exhibition highlights Sweden’s comprehensive support for Ukraine in its fight against the Russian aggressor for European democratic and humanistic values and global security.
The War Museum thanks all partners who contributed to the preparation of the exhibition. An important role was played by the transport company "KUNSTTRANS-KYIV" and personally by the Director General Svitlana Melnyk, who was responsible for the transportation of priceless exhibits from Ukraine to Sweden. We would also like to emphasize the role of the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine and personally the Acting Minister Rostyslav Karandieiev, with whose support the large-scale international project was implemented. Glory to Ukraine! Länge leve Sverige!
