Witnesses of Mariupol Siege: A Case Study of City Media Channels

• In Event: Donbas: Memory of the Region and Regions of Memory

Abstract

The Ukrainian city of Mariupol was occupied by Russian troops at the end of May 2022, following a three-month siege. The focus on the witnesses (according to A. Assmann’s typology) of war crimes in the sieged Mariupol is proposed. We can delineate memory into two distinct aspects: memory as a trace (spur) and memory as a track (bahn) (according to R. Koselleck and A. Assmann). Survivors of the media channels bear profound emotional traces stemming from their suffering during the siege and occupation, encompassing physical and emotional anguish, which are poignantly reflected in their messages and posts. A track in this context signifies a memory firmly anchored by language, a result of repeated recollections, primarily among second-order witnesses.

Author

• Mariya Rohozha, Taras Shevchenko National U of Kyiv (Ukraine)