The Ukrainian Library in Gdańsk hosted an event titled “Code of Identity: The Voice of the Community” as part of a project by the VEZHA Identity Center aimed at preserving the memory, culture, and voices of the Mariupol community.
The centerpiece of the event in Gdańsk was the exhibition “Code of Identity: Voice of the Community.” Through personal recollections, it depicts Mariupol before the full-scale invasion and consists of thematic sections: “City,” “Sea,” “Roots,” “Metal,” “Culture,” and “Freedom.”
Vitaliy Kulagin—a defender of Mariupol who spent 35 months in Russian captivity—joined the discussion. At the exhibition, he presented his own artwork, including “Eschaton,” dedicated to the defense of Mariupol.
“And here’s the most important thing: to fulfill the promises I made to myself while in captivity. And now I can confidently say that I’ve done just that: I’ve put on paper everything my comrades have been going through for the fifth year in a row in the dungeons of the Muscovite prisons,” Vitaliy emphasized.
Valeria Maltseva, a representative of the Youth Council under the Mariupol Military Administration, spoke about young people and how to stay connected to a city that is no longer physically nearby. Together with young men and women from Mariupol, the “City of Mary” team and VEZHA are creating a game about their hometown. In this way, memory takes on new forms and is passed on.
It is symbolic that this conversation took place in Gdańsk. Since 2014, Gdańsk and Mariupol have been sister cities. They are united by the sea, their industrial history, and the experience of large-scale destruction, as Gdańsk was virtually destroyed during World War II. Svitlana Krysa, Ukraine’s Consul General in Gdańsk, who joined the discussion, reminded those present of this fact.
During the meeting, Mariupol’s voice was heard in both Ukrainian and Polish thanks to the translation provided by Daria Balabai, founder of the Ukrainian Library in Gdańsk. The literary space received sculptures of stone babas, the book *Slavik: A Museum in the Basement* from the Mariupol Local History Museum, and the publication *A Shattered Dream* from the Mariupol Justice initiative.
The project is being implemented by the charitable organization “YaMariupol Foundation” as part of the “U-LEAD with Europe” Program, which is supported by the European Union and its member states: Germany, Denmark, France, Austria, Poland, and Slovenia.
Based on materials from the VEZHA Identity Center