Memorial alley opened and public event held in Kyiv to commemorate the 24th anniversary of George Gongadze’s disappearance

A temporary alley in memory of Ukrainian journalist and activist George Gongadze, abducted and killed 24 years ago, was presented on Kontraktova Square in Kyiv. The memorial event ended by laying flowers on George Gongadze’s grave near Naberezhno-Mykilska Church in Podil.

The alley consists of information banners concerning the journalist’s life and activity and is aimed at illustrating George’s contributions into the development of democratic Ukraine, its civic society, and spreading Ukrainian narratives worldwide.

The opening of the alley marked the beginning of George Gongadze’s Memorial Week, established by the team of the George Gongadze Prize just recently. The exhibition is available to visit on the square in front of the National Kyiv Mohyla University until 8 pm of September 22.

"Under the conditions of Russia’s aggressive intentions to bind us Ukrainians, it’s even more important to return to not just the origins of history but personalities, the people who became drivers of historical changes. George Gongadze was such a kind of human being. This alley is another reminder that Heroes of Ukraine can’t ever be forgotten, and the evil must always be punished. Ukraine is not a country for threats, oppressions, and murders," said Vladyslav Zinkevych, program director of the George Gongadze Prize.

"For me, the story of Gia Gongadze is that about people of compromise and people of self-sacrifice. I am sure that George was surrounded by many colleagues who chose the way of silence and evasion of helping him. Volodymyr Yermolenko, president of PEN Ukraine, said that the balance of two ethical systems – the one of exchange and the another of struggle – is of crucial importance for any society," said Myroslava Barchuk, vice president of PEN Ukraine and George Gongadze’s personal acquaintance.

"Ukrainians were shocked by George Gongadze’s disappearance, just as they were shocked later by the promulgation of the so-called Melnychenko tapes. We still don’t know the truth about either George Gongadze’s contract killing or the tapes’ origin. Nobody has ever seen the genuine records or the original media. The truth about the customers of the murder was never discovered. The only fact we know is that the militia general Oleksii Pukach killed Gongadze with his own hands. He is now serving a life sentence. This is an extraordinary achievement, since these cases are rarely solved even with respect to the matters of executors," said Valentyna Telychenko, human rights defender and representative of the Gongadze family.

"Those who commit attacks and break journalists’ cameras never realize their own responsibility. They see dozens and hundreds of cases not solved and think of what poses a greater danger to them – journalists’ materials about them or ordering a murder," said Mykhailo Tkach, investagative journalist of the Ukrainska Pravda.

"Somebody may think that journalism is allegedly something not very serious, that they can repress it, conceal the truth, kill journalists on the basis of impunity, but it does not work that way. Protests that began upon the murder of George Gongadze formed the foundation of the Orange Revolution," said Olha Salo, deputy director of the Museum of the Revolution of Dignity.

"George Gongadze was not part of our daily life, but he possessed a personality of such magnetic force that even decades after his death there are people who come to work in the profession feel it important to continue what he had done," said Tetyana Teren, executive director of PEN Ukraine and initiator of the George Gongadze Prize.

"The number of illegally imprisoned journalists continues to increase. I am scared to see how these people’s stories turn into plain figures. Thus, every one of us can try our best to tell these people’s stories, spread them via social media and draw more attention to such events," said Tetyana Pechonchyk, Head of Board of the Human Rights Centre ZMINA.

"To pull justice forward and sentence the perpetrator in the dock, we must speak and document. Thanks to journalists’ work, we still have a chance for that. Our heroic colleagues risk their lives not only in trenches but also while covering the activities of those engaged in corruption," said Oksana Romaniuk, director of the IMI.

The event ended with honoring the memory of George Gongadze and laying flowers onto his grave near Naberezhno-Mykilska Church in Podil.

Organization partners: National Museum of the Revolution of Dignity, PEN Ukraine, ZMINA.

Information partners: Detector Media, Ukrainska Pravda, IMI.

The George Gongadze Prize is an award and an ecosystem of initiatives for independent journalists established by PEN Ukraine in partnership with Kyiv Mohyla Business School and the Ukrainska Pravda media. The Prize is awarded annually, on May 21, which marks George Gongadze’s birthday.

The Laureates of the Prize were Tetyana Troshchynska (2024), Bogdan Logvynenko (2023), Eugene Malolietka and Mstyslav Chernov (2022), Myroslava Barchuk (2021), Pavlo Kazarin (2020), and Vakhtang Kipiani (2019).