Memory Outline Maps

«Memory Outline Maps» by The Ukrainians is not just a collection of essays, but a deep immersion into a space where grand history and private memory intersect. Eight essays, written by talented Ukrainian writers, transport us to places that Russia seeks to destroy but that continue to live on in memories and testimonies.
These are stories about a museum to which the city did not keep its word, and a grandfather's museum that a granddaughter never set foot in; a cemetery whose gravestones silently testify to the past; a stained-glass window in a store that, instead of a fairytale castle, turned out to be a macabre "red lair of the beast"; surviving and stolen paintings whose recognition came to see their author off for the last time; a two-hundred-year-old school that educated great figures.
This collection is not only a description of architectural landmarks but also an archive of personal memories, a guide to a time between times, that exposes the connection between the past and the present.

The initial idea for this book belongs to Victoria Amelina, a Ukrainian writer and human rights activist. Since the summer of 2022, she tirelessly documented Russia's war crimes. Unfortunately, Victoria Amelina's life was tragically cut short in late June 2023 when a Russian missile hit a cafe in Kramatorsk, taking her life and those of twelve other people. This book is a tribute to her memory and a testament to the resilience of Ukrainian culture.