Ukraine

Babyn Yar, outside Kyiv, where 33,771 Jews were killed over two days in September 1941. The small portraits show unidentified Ukrainians, likely Jews, before the war.

Ukraine Planned an Ambitious Memorial at the Site of a Holocaust Massacre. Then War Came to Kyiv

The Nazis and Soviets sought to erase the mass killing of 33,000 Jews at Babyn Yar, but a new effort seeks to remember the dead even as Russia attacks

A visitor examines artifacts from the exhibition "Crimea: Gold and Secrets of the Black Sea" at the Allard Pierson Museum in Amsterdam in 2014.

Hundreds of Crimean Treasures Return to Ukraine After Long Legal Battle

When Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, the artifacts were on loan to a museum in the Netherlands

St. Sophia's Cathedral in Kyiv, Ukraine

UNESCO Adds Sites in Kyiv and Lviv to List of World Heritage in Danger

The agency has been trying to protect Ukraine's historic sites since the beginning of the war with Russia

As part of its ongoing support of Ukraine after the Russian invasion, the Metropolitan Opera has commissioned a work based on true stories of Ukrainian mothers rescuing their abducted children.

An Upcoming Opera Will Tell the Story of Ukraine's Kidnapped Children

Commissioned by the Metropolitan Opera, the work will be based on the accounts of mothers who traveled 3,000 miles to get their loved ones back

This triptych by Francis Bacon is listed as being owned by Roman Abramovich in the new database.

Ukraine Launches Database to Track Art Owned by Sanctioned Russians

The searchable list contains some 300 works by the likes of Pablo Picasso, Leonardo da Vinci and more

Farmers in North Dakota planted 625,000 acres of sunflowers this year.

Stunning Fields of Sunflowers Are Blanketing North Dakota

Sunflower seekers can consult an online map to determine where the best views can be found

The interior of Transfiguration Cathedral, the largest church building of Odesa, was damaged by a Russian missile that hit the altar on July 23.

Russian Strike Severely Damages Odesa's Transfiguration Cathedral

Congregants sifted through the wreckage, clearing rubble and searching for artifacts

Losang Samten, a Tibetan American scholar and former Buddhist monk, will create, with the help of festivalgoers, a sand mandala.

The 2023 Smithsonian Folklife Festival Explores the Many Ways Americans Express Their Spirituality

Tibetan Buddhist monks, Yiddish musicians and many more creatives will share their cultural practices with visitors to the National Mall

This icon featuring images of Saints Sergius and Bacchus is one of four encaustic paintings on display at the Louvre after being evacuated from Ukraine.

Secretly Evacuated From Ukraine, Rare Icons Now on View at the Louvre

Amid Russian attacks, Kyiv's Khanenko Museum sent 16 precious artworks to Paris for safekeeping

Designer Nudie Cohn sits in his Pontiac convertible.

How a Rhinestone Cowboy From Ukraine Left His Mark on the Music World

Making his famous “Nudie suits,” tailor to the stars Nudie Cohn lived and breathed the bedazzled American dream

Audrey Azoulay, UNESCO's director-general, meeting with Ukrainian officials during her visit to the country last week

Rebuilding Ukraine's Cultural Sector Will Require Nearly $7 Billion, UNESCO Says

The agency's director-general traveled to the war-torn country to pledge additional support

Dancers in Ukrainian Dress by Edgar Degas

The Met Is the Latest Museum to Reclassify Russian Art as Ukrainian

Amid the Russian invasion, museums are grappling with how to identify artists connected to Ukraine

Two dogs walk around the abandoned city of Pripyat, Ukraine, in 2022, near the site of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster.

Why Scientists Are Studying the Stray Dogs Living at Chernobyl

A new study is a first step toward understanding how radiation exposure might affect DNA

Ukraine has released stamps featuring a Banksy mural, which depicts a child defeating a Putin-like figure in a judo match.

Ukraine Releases Banksy Postage Stamp on War's One-Year Anniversary

The street artist painted the image on a demolished wall during his secret trip to the country last fall

Ihor Poshyvailo, director of the Maidan Museum in Kyiv and co-founder of Ukraine’s Heritage Emergency Response Initiative, along with his crew, salvages the remains of the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary built in 1862 and shelled by the Russians in March 2022.

How Ukrainians Are Defending Their Cultural Heritage From Russian Destruction

The Smithsonian Cultural Rescue Initiative and its partners are aiding in the fight to protect the country's history and to document attempts to erase it

A soldier standing guard over the Odesa Opera and Ballet Theater in March 2022

UNESCO Adds Odesa to List of World Heritage in Danger

The new designation is intended to offer additional protection and resources to the historic port city

As of January 24, the Doomsday Clock sits at 90 seconds to midnight.

The Doomsday Clock Is Now Closer Than Ever to Midnight

The reset comes amid the war in Ukraine, nuclear threats and climate change

Our ten-most read stories of the year featured the all-woman army of the African kingdom of Dahomey, mischievous felines, J.R.R. Tolkien and more.

Our Top Ten Stories of 2022

From a teen inventor to invasive fish to lost cities of the Amazon, these were our most-read articles of the year

South African ballet dancers in the Russian Ballet Ensemble perform The Nutcracker in Johannesburg, South Africa, on December 10.

Ukraine Calls for Boycott of 'The Nutcracker' and Other Russian Works

Critics argue that connecting Russia's culture with its current leadership is counterproductive

Banksy painted the mural on a wall in the Ukranian town of Hostomel.

Thieves Tried to Cut Banksy Mural From a Wall in War-Torn Ukrainian Town

The mural, located outside Kyiv, depicts a woman in a bathrobe and a gas mask

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