Yevheniia Kalugina - participant of the regional contest "Woman of Donetsk Region" in 2025, nomination "Leadership in Action"
Yevheniia Kalugina is a bright personality, a true symbol of leadership that manifests itself in all facets of her life and work. She is an active guardian of Donetsk region's history and a caring volunteer, a talented Thai boxing instructor, and director of the Slavic Museum of Local Lore.
Yevheniia was born and lives in the city of Sloviansk in Donetsk Oblast, where her family's roots go back at least to the 18th century. "I am an endemic in my land," is how Yevheniia defines herself.
Her life path is closely intertwined with her love for her native land. It is not just a place of birth, but a land that shaped her worldview, gave her strength and inspired her to work. In every action, in every step, one can feel the desire to preserve and increase the wealth of the native land, to give it our devotion and care.
Her daily work at the museum to preserve the historical and cultural heritage, her volunteer work to search for the remains of fallen soldiers, her training of dozens of young athletes, and her concern for her native land set an example for others.
Yevheniia has devoted most of her life to museum work and protecting the heritage of the Donetsk steppes. At the museum, she rose from museum curator to director, becoming the head of the Slavic Local History Museum in 2021. Yevheniia has turned the museum into a modern space that not only preserves antiquities but also gives people the opportunity to feel the history of the Donetsk steppe.
But the full-scale Russian invasion made its own adjustments. Yevheniia met it with determination: as soon as the enemy approached the city, she organized an urgent evacuation of museum valuables to save the museum's collection, despite the danger to her own life. Thanks to her actions, hundreds of unique exhibits were evacuated to safety.
This act inspired her colleagues: museum workers from different cities in eastern Ukraine called each other and shared their experience of saving collections under fire. From the time of evacuation to the present day, she has remained a leading figure in cooperation with museums in Donetsk region and throughout Ukraine.
Read the detailed story of the contestant here: https://surl.li/dotdyo