Libricide
The 20th century witnessed the deliberate destruction of cultural heritage by various totalitarian regimes, driven by one goal: complete elimination of another state or the deprivation of that state's independence, stripping a nation or ethnic group of their identity, and imposing their own worldview on the conquered population.
The mechanism of destroying libraries and their collections during each war looks the same and is an element leading to the destruction of a nation. The aggressor not only kills and abducts civilians, attacks military and industrial facilities, but also deliberately destroys cultural heritage sites, which constitutes a war crime under the 1954 Hague Convention.
I visited several locations: Staryi Saltiv, Shevchenkove, Shostakovo, Tsypivka, Slatyne, Dergachi, Prudyanka, Velykyi Burluk, Kharkiv, Kherson, Chernihiv, Borodianka. I saw libraries turned into large piles of rubble, like the one in Prudyanka, but also libraries that were restored to life as quickly as possible.
Initially, I thought my narrative was about destroyed libraries, but in fact, it's a tale of how individuals are saving Ukrainian culture and identity, thereby preserving European culture and identity. Among the heroines of these stories are: Natalia Petrenko, who took over the management of the V. G. Korolenko State Scientific Library in Kharkiv just before Russia's full-scale assault on Ukraine; Tamara Kozel, who transports books from the library to her home, where she dries and stores them; Zoja Katreczko, who, along with other residents of the town of Shevchenkove, saved library collections from the occupiers; Halina Andriunina, who cares for the library in Shestakove devastated by the occupiers; and Maria Danylova, who has nurtured the Ukrainian language among her students and neighbours throughout her life and saved hundreds of priceless embroidered cloths and rushnyks.
Those who seek to destroy others, other countries, and other cultures realise that they must also, and perhaps primarily, destroy the books and libraries of those countries and cultures. Protecting libraries during wartime – and when that is not possible, documenting the destruction they suffer – becomes as important as protecting the people and other beings.
The library in Dergachi was considered the best in the Kharkiv region. Its readers participated in various national competitions and won the highest awards. Dergachi, Kharkiv region, July 2023
Natalia Petrenko took over as director of the V. G. Korolenko State Scientific Library in Kharkiv in January 2022, a month before the outbreak of war. Kharkiv, August 2023
Some books cannot be retrieved from beneath the rubble of a library bombed by Russians. Zolochiv, Kharkiv region, August 2023
The library probably came under fire due to the assumption that Ukrainian forces were based in a school nearby. Ploske, Kharkiv region, June 2023
Tamara Kozel, a librarian from Slatyne, is saving books by transporting them from the destroyed library to her home. She dries the soaked books in the sun and stores them carefully, so they can serve readers again in the future. Slatyne, Kharkiv region, July 2023
At the onset of the occupation, Russian troops took over the library in Shestakove. The extent of the destruction left by the occupiers is unimaginable. Soldiers deliberately broke shelves, scattered and burned books, and shot at the building. Shestakove, Kharkov region, May 2023
Makrove is a small village over 100 kilometres away from Kharkiv. Olga Ivanovna Shpankina cautiously opens the door to the building housing the library, post office, and clinic. “We lived here under Russian occupation from April 30 to September 11, 2022. The Russians put bags over our soldiers’ heads and took them somewhere. They threw books from the library outside and burned them,” recounts Olga, allowing herself to be photographed behind the desk where she worked as a librarian. Makrove, Kharkiv region, August 2023
The Korolenko Library in Kharkiv was under constant artillery and rocket fire. The shockwave blew out all the windows in the reading room, where festive balls were held in the 19th century. The antique piano, once played by Sergei Rachmaninoff, also sustained damage. Kharkiv, August 2023
A monument to a Soviet soldier from World War II stands untouched in front of a library completely ruined by Russian artillery shelling. Hanna Krall, a Polish reporter and writer, in one of her recent interviews, asks herself, “Does that Russian bandit from Bucha, the one with an angel’s face who killed with such pleasure, negate that Russian soldier who liberated me?”. Svitlychne, Kharkiv region, August 2023
Halina Andriunina is the director of the local library. When the Russians entered, they set up their military headquarters there. Shestakove, Kharkiv region, May 2023
“Surrounding the completely destroyed library in Tsypivka, there are still mines left in the ground by the Russians,” warns Viktoria Onoprienko. Tsypivka, Kharkiv region, July 2023
The photo was taken the day after the Russians blew up the dam in Nova Kakhovka. “During the occupation, only 18 people worked in the library, mainly technicians. Everything was under the supervision of an FSB officer. From May 7 to May 10, 2022, all the employees were expelled, the doors were broken down, and the library was looted,” said Mykola Makariuk, a library employee. Kherson, June 2023
In the building of the village council, which also housed a library, the occupiers tortured Ukrainian prisoners. Blood-stained mattresses and bullet casings are still lying on the floor. The books have been moved to a nearby kindergarten. “How can you defeat a nation that, despite so much suffering inflicted by the aggressor, still nurtures a desire for literature?” rhetorically asks Lyudmila Rahimova, the director of the library. Semenivka, July 2023
Following the bombing of the M. M. Kotsiubynskyi Chernihiv Central Library, restoration work began as soon as it was feasible. Chernihiv, June 2023
Shrapnels from missiles and rockets damaged the roof of the library building in Kharkiv. The shockwave blew out nearly all the windows, doors were shattered, the ceiling collapsed, and the heating system was destroyed. Many books were soaked with water. Kharkiv, V.G. Korolenko State Scientific Library, May 2023
Zoja Katreczko, director of the Public Library in Shevchenkove. Kharkiv region, May 2023
Tamara Kozel in the yard of her home. Slatyne, Kharkov region, July 2023
In Shevchenkove, the school also served as the site for the local library. Maria Danylova, a Ukrainian language and literature teacher, set up a museum room in the school building, where she collected valuable embroidered shirts, rushnyks, a weaving loom, and many other artifacts of the material cultural heritage of the Ukrainian village. During the last Russian occupation, she saved over a hundred valuable embroidered shirts and rushnyks by hiding them in her home. Shevchenkove, Kharkiv region, July 2023
The library in Staryi Saltiv had 25,000 books available for readers. During the war, the library’s roof was damaged, and many books were destroyed. After the liberation of these areas by the Ukrainian army, the local population helped move some of the collections to the premises of the Community Centre, where the library resumed its activities. Starosaltivska Territorial Community Public Library, kharkiv region, May 2023
The Russians targeted the community centre with prohibited cluster munitions, launching them from tanks, mortars, and helicopters. Amidst the hostilities, volunteers arranged for humanitarian assistance for the local people within the centre. Dergachi, Kharkiv region, May 2023
Adam Kasperkiewicz (born in 1973) - a lawyer with a passion for documentary photography. A graduate of the Wrocław School of Photography, he participated in the “My Neighborhood 2022” documentary photography workshops of the PIX.HOUSE Foundation. In March 2022, he documented life in Lviv amidst the war. The photos taken then formed the photo essay titled “I Wanted to See and Tell”. He has earned numerous accolades in photography competitions, including: first place in the National Photography Contest “Where are the Origins. Poland, Ukraine, Europe” (2022), a distinction in the 11th edition of the International Photography Contest “True Portrait” (2023), and a special award in the National Photography Contest O!Signs of Work (O!Znaki Pracy) (2023).
Photos from the Libricide project were exhibited at exhibitions in the V. G. Korolenko State Scientific Library in Kharkiv, the Lviv Regional Scientific Library, the Ivan Franko University in Lviv, and the Provincial Public Library in Krakow.