"Who controls the past controls the future: who controls the present controls the past," George Orwell wrote in "Nineteen Eighty-Four."

As Russia's invasion approaches the two-year mark, is President Vladimir Putin exerting control over Ukraine's cultural identity, past and present? 

The settlement of Vysokopillya, which was founded as a German colony between 1869 and 1870, is located in the middle of farmland in the south of Ukraine. There is a main road, a train station and a church with a golden dome. Around 4,200 inhabitants live in the unassuming village, which was invaded by Russian troops in March 2022, before Ukrainian military forces recaptured it in September and hoisted the Ukrainian flag near Vysokopillia's hospital as part the Ukrainian southern counteroffensive.

During the six-month occupation, Russian soldiers lived in cellars, looting and destroying homes, schools, kindergartens, historical sites and the regional archive, which was housed in a four-story building.

Today, the building is in ruins. The canopy over the main entrance is broken off, the windows are cracked or missing altogether and the roof has collapsed. Rubble blocks the entrance. It would be life-threatening to enter, as mines have been laid. Documents that were not destroyed or could be brought to safety in time are now vulnerable to the weather.

The regional archives in Vysokopillya are just one of many examples that the looting and destruction of archives is part of how Russia is waging its war. A report by the Arolsen Archives, an international center for Nazi persecution, reveals how dramatic the current situation is. Russian soldiers are said to have stolen millions of documents from the archives in Kherson, amounting to around half of the entire collection. They also removed computers and printersbefore placing mines in the building. After the Russian troops withdrew, the mines were cleared, but recovering the remaining documents is a laborious process. There is a lack of scanners, computers, storage boxes, shelves and staff.

You can read more in an article by Kristina Reymann-Schneider published in the dw.com/ web site at: https://tinyurl.com/yekfk3yn.