Holodomor Museum in Kyiv flooded

Torrential rain has led to flooding of the exhibit hall of the National Museum in Memory of the Victims of Holodomor in Ukraine. According to the Museum’s Director, Viktor Didenko, the Museum is closed and it is not known when it will be able to reopen since they need to clean up and understand how it happened.

Mr Didenko said that in his opinion the flood was due to a miscalculation in the construction design. “They didn’t think through what to do with the water which reaches the Candle of Remembrance (the part of the Memorial Complex above ground) through which the water  gets to the Hall of Remembrance, i.e. the exhibit hall which is directly under the Candle”.

He says that they are still mopping up and it is too early to estimate the cost of the damage.  At present the Museum is financed by the Kyiv City State Administration.

The Memorial Complex was opened in August 2009 and last year had around 260 thousand visitors.