Collection 0260 - Writings from the War project

Title and statement of responsibility area

Title proper

Writings from the War project

General material designation

    Parallel title

    Проєкт "Я пишу з війни"

    Other title information

    Title statements of responsibility

    Title notes

    Level of description

    Collection

    Reference code

    CA BMUFA 0260

    Edition area

    Edition statement

    Edition statement of responsibility

    Class of material specific details area

    Statement of scale (cartographic)

    Statement of projection (cartographic)

    Statement of coordinates (cartographic)

    Statement of scale (architectural)

    Issuing jurisdiction and denomination (philatelic)

    Dates of creation area

    Date(s)

    • 2022-2023 (Creation)

    Physical description area

    Physical description

    • textual records
    • photographic records
    • audiovisual records

    Publisher's series area

    Title proper of publisher's series

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    Archival description area

    Custodial history

    Scope and content

    The Writings from the War / Я пишу з війни collection consists of testimonials of Ukrainians about their experience of the Russian invasion of their country. The project’s archiving coordinator Alex Averbuch periodically deposits firsthand testimonials transmitted to the project team from various hiding places; from shelters, train stations, and refugee camps; from besieged cities. The project’s team also includes Valentyna Vzdulska (the initiator of the project), Daria Bairak and Maryna Solohub (SMM managers and co-coordinators), as well as numerous volunteers assisting in translating the testimonials and maintaining project platforms (website, social media).

    The mission of Writings from the War is to collect, preserve, and disseminate these testimonials, both in the language of the original and English translation, so as to provide a documentary source for researchers, academics, students, journalists, artists, and the public in general. There are testimonials by soldiers, volunteers, doctors, drivers, teachers, animal rights activists, cooks, artists, and scientists – people of all professions; by adults and children, displaced persons, rescuers and the rescued – in short, anyone interested in sharing their experience with the world. This is a panoramic picture of the wartime “everyday,” reflecting private experiences during this catastrophe. All the testimonials have been provided to the project team by the witnesses themselves, and every story has a title, and a record of the person behind it.

    The project has been carried out since March 2022 in collaboration with the University of Alberta’s Kule Folklore Centre.

    Notes area

    Physical condition

    Immediate source of acquisition

    Arrangement

    The collection is arranged into files each representing a testimony that comprises a textual testimony and in some cases photographs. The title of each file consists of the first name of the witness who provided the testimony and their location (city, town or village) in Cyrillic. To protect those who shared their experiences with the project, their last names are currently kept private and not made publicly available.

    Language of material

    • English
    • Russian
    • Ukrainian

    Script of material

      Language and script note

      Most of the testimonies are in Ukrainian, some of them are in Russian, and a few - in English. English translation of testominies is provided for the majority of the testimonies, however translation work is ongoing, and new translations will be added as they become available.

      The original text of testimonies can be found in Scope and Content field of each file/testimonial. Translations into English and edited Ukrainian texts are located in the Availability of Other Formats field. If the original text is in English, then a Ukrainian translation is provided.

      Location of originals

      Availability of other formats

      Restrictions on access

      Terms governing use, reproduction, and publication

      Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/

      Із Зазначенням Авторства — Некомерційна 4.0 Міжнародна (CC BY-NC 4.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/deed.uk

      Finding aids

      Associated materials

      Related materials

      Accruals

      Further accruals are expected.

      General note

      Full names of witnesses are kept private (only the first name and the city are shared publicly) for security reasons, as some of them might still be on the occupied territories.

      Alternative identifier(s)

      Standard number

      Standard number

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      Control area

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      Rules or conventions

      Status

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      Dates of creation, revision and deletion

      Updated by M. Chernyavska 2023-03-23

      Language of description

        Script of description

          Sources

          Accession area