In Ukrainian, there is a word — spokutaty — which means much more than to apologize or ask for forgiveness. It means to atone, to admit guilt, to take responsibility and work through it. This idea comes from a spiritual and moral tradition: reconciliation through action and awareness.
When past crimes remain unatoned, they do not disappear — they return. The GULAG, the mass executions, the Holodomor — these were never fully acknowledged or condemned in the way they should have been. That unreckoned past still echoes today. This project connects that unexamined legacy with the current war in Ukraine. War grows where crimes go unanswered, where millions were repressed, executed, or forgotten — with no reckoning and no repair.
This testimony is one of many.
Liudmyla Slipchenko, 78 years old, lives alone in Kyiv. She hides behind her wardrobe during air raid alarms — because it feels safer. She has spent years sleeping dressed, with the door unlocked, ready to run if needed. Her words remind us how ordinary life holds memories of unspoken history and how today’s war continues that legacy.
Watch the excerpt on YouTube https://youtu.be/
Find more stories at gulagshadows.com
GULAG.Witnesses — a project connecting past repression to today’s reality. Because a past that was never atoned for returns — with new violence.
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