A large, privately owned and operated museum Dedicated to retro computers and video games was destroyed in Ukraine earlier this week as a result of the country’s prolonged and horrific invasion by Russia. While a destroyed museum is nothing like the thousands dead and injured, it is still a sad loss as over 500 pieces of computer history spanning decades have been destroyed.
The museum in Mariupol, Ukraine was run by Dmitry Cherepanov. The news of its destruction was confirmed by the Ukrainian Software and Computer Museum Twitter account. According to reports, owner Cherepanov is safe.
But, Cherepanov explained on Facebook that he not only lost his museum but also his home.
“That’s it, the Mariupol Computer Museum doesn’t exist anymore,” Cherapanov posted on the it8bit Club Facebook page. “All that is left of my collection, which I have been collecting for 15 years, are only fragments of memories of the [Facebook] Museum page, website and radio station.”
Cherepanov will try to keep supporting his it8bit website, but understandably he has more important things to focus on at the moment.
Back in 2019, gizmodo visited the museum and talked to Cherepanov. As explained in this profile, he had started collecting computers when the Soviet bloc was making their own personal computers.
“It’s like looking into an alternate universe. The machines, popular with kids growing up in the Soviet bloc, look just different enough than what we’re familiar with in the western world, but still carry the same sense of nostalgia that you or I would for a Commodore 64 or Macintosh could get II.
Cherepanov has been collecting and restoring these computers for over a decade, and his PC Museum offers a fascinating insight into the broad spectrum of the 1980s personal computer revolution.”
Since the destruction of his house and collection Cherepanov opened a PayPal account and is accepting donations to help him and others in Ukraine.
Russia’s prolonged and deadly invasion of Ukraine has already done so Thousands dead and injured. It’s also forced over 3 million people are fleeing the countrycreating a large and growing refugee crisis.
Since the invasion began in Februarymany companies around the world – like Sony / PlayStation, Pull outNetflix, EA Games and Witcher developer CDPR– have drawn support from the country. Meanwhile, a growing list of nations have enacted and continue to impose severe economic sanctions on Russia.
