Ukrainian soldier's photos of Jewish cemetery in Carpathia win Wikipedia competition
Photographs of a cemetery in Deliatyn, Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, have been judged the best in the Jewish Heritage category of the photography competition Wiki Loves Monuments 2023.
The pictures were taken by Taras Zolotavin, who serves in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the competition website says.
Wiki Loves Monuments is a photography competition focusing on cultural heritage sites. It’s run by local chapters of the Wikimedia Foundation in about 50 countries worldwide, including Ukraine.
The organisers aim to collect photographs of all the world's cultural heritage sites and post them on Wikipedia.
Three photos depicting the Jewish cemetery – which is not protected by the state – were included in the Best Series category.
Taras Zolotavin photographed the cemetery in Deliatyn a few years ago while on a trip to the Carpathians.
Taras says he was able to visit the Jewish cemetery thanks to local residents, who had fenced it off to protect the cemetery from vandalism and grazing cattle.
"I was very impressed by its scale. Before that, I had never seen so many matzevot [Jewish tombstones – ed.] all in one place, with such a variety of decoration.
There is some rather elegant stone-carving work. There’s a richness of stylistics and ornament, animals, symbols, inscriptions, etc.," Taras says.
Among the competition judges are Marla and Jay Osborn, who are working on restoring Jewish cemeteries in Rohatyn, Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast.
They say the cemetery in Deliatyn is one of the few surviving Jewish cemeteries in the western part of Ukraine.
"The cemetery is ageing naturally without outside interference. The photo illustrates the typical density of burials in these old cemeteries and the unique style of carving inscriptions and symbols," the Osborns commented on one of the photos.
In 2023, more than 800 photos were entered in the special Jewish Heritage category of the competition.
The photos depict 119 sites from 20 oblasts of Ukraine; 46 of them are not protected by the state.
This is the second time Taras Zolotavin has entered the Wikipedia competition. In 2021 he was one of the top 10 most prolific entrants.
Previously: A photograph taken in a Ukrainian nature reserve won the international Wiki Loves the Earth competition 2023.
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