Timothy Snyder and Serhiy Zhadan inaugurate INDEX Institute for Documentation and Exchange in Lviv

American historian Timothy Snyder and Ukrainian writer, musician, and defender Serhiy Zhadan have inaugurated the INDEX Institute for Documentation and Exchange in Lviv, the Lviv City Council reported.

“INDEX: Institute for Documentation and Exchange is a project of the Institute for Human Sciences (IWM) in Vienna. For nearly a decade, IWM has been amplifying Ukrainian voices worldwide and documenting Ukrainian experiences of the war through its Ukraine in European Dialogue and Documenting Ukraine programs,” the statement reads.

Professor Timothy Snyder is the driving force behind the creation of the Institute. “Facts do not arise on their own. What is obvious today may not be so tomorrow. Yet, what seems obvious can be difficult to articulate because it appears so self-evident that it seems not to require description. Therefore, facts need to be preserved and passed on to future generations,” emphasized the historian.

The institution’s leaders emphasized the need to shift focus from quick-response projects to a long-term commitment to documenting reality for future generations. “The creation of INDEX – a Ukrainian intellectual and cultural institution – is not only a response to the full-scale war but also a guarantee of long-term and dedicated collaboration. It will document the Russian war against Ukraine and promote intellectual interaction between Ukraine and the outside world,” the City Council added.

The opening of the Institute featured a lecture by Timothy Snyder on the significance of documenting Ukrainian war experiences. This was followed by a discussion between Snyder and Serhiy Zhadan, with Myroslava Barchuk, Vice President of the Ukrainian PEN, as moderator. The event drew attendance from foreign guests, Ukrainian journalists, cultural figures, professors, publishers, and other distinguished individuals.