Retro computing museum in Ukraine destroyed by Russian bomb

The privately owned collection, which contained 120 old computers and consoles and over 500 tech exhibits in all, now only exists in recollections online.

In the city of Mariupol, a Russian bomb destroyed a privately owned collection of over 500 items of retro computer and technology history. The war in Ukraine is a tragedy on many levels, but while the devastation of the Mariupol Computer Museum pales in comparison to the terrible deaths caused by the invading Russian forces, it is nevertheless heartbreaking.

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Mark Howlett pointed out the destruction on Twitter, and the Ukrainian Software and Computer Museum account, which oversees museums in Kharkiv and Kyiv, confirmed it. Dmitry Cherepanov, the owner of the Mariupul collection, is said to be safe, though his collection of computers, consoles, and other technology dating back fifty years has been destroyed.

Cherepanov adds on his Facebook profile, it8bit.club, that "there is neither my museum nor my residence."
Even though the museum is no longer open, Cherepanov has been documenting his collection of exhibits online for some time, and even if this is all that's left, it's still a valuable resource. There are a variety of fascinating antique devices on display, including the Commodore C64, which is still dear to my heart as the first computer I purchased outright. That little kid was one of my favorites. I did, however, sell it in for an Amiga 500 in exchange for my brother's Spectrum 128.