Russia’s War In Ukraine Success In Bombing of Retro Pc Museum

The escalating war in Ukraine has likely destroyed a museum devoted to retro personal computers. 

Earlier this week, the proprietor of the Club 8-Bit museum in Mariupol, Ukraine, noted the information on a Facebook site. “That’s it, the Mariupol laptop museum is no for a longer time there,” wrote Dmitry Cherepanov. 

On Fb, Cherepanov advised PCMag: “I only have information and facts that the museum place was bombed.” He evacuated from the town on March 15th.

“We fled from Mariupol taking only paperwork and some income,” he included. “It was not possible to acquire just about anything else out. The town is surrounded by Russian troops.”

Founded in 2003, the Club 8-Bit museum contained a collection of in excess of 120 retro pcs, several of them ZX Spectrum devices, which were being well known in Ukraine and Russia throughout the 1980s. Gizmodo documented the museum two decades back in a video.

Cherepanov had expended above 15 several years accumulating the components, which also provided an Apple IIc pc, Compaq Portable III, an Atari 400, and a lot of Soviet-era pcs from the 1980s and 1990s. “In complete, additional than 500 reveals of the IT sphere from the 1950s to the early 2000s” have been positioned at the museum, in accordance to Club 8-Bit’s website. 

The bombing of the museum region transpired as Mariupol is facing an intensive siege from Russian army forces, which have been shelling household buildings across the town. In his Facebook write-up, Cherepanov added: “There is neither my museum nor my house. And it hurts, but I will undoubtedly endure it and discover a new household.”

When questioned about the likelihood the museum could have survived the bombing, Cherepanov explained to PCMag: “There is hope, but really small. Marauders atrocities there. Mariupol burns to the ground in the fire of war.” The museum was also located about 200 meters away from his original house.

In a reply on Facebook, Cherepanov thanked users for their sympathy and explained he is focused on running his existing website internet hosting company system in the meantime. “I aid the internet sites of all my shoppers for free for now, given that the overall business enterprise in Ukraine collapsed,” he advised PCMag. Cherepanov also reported he is accepting donations by using PayPal at the electronic mail [email protected]

Editor’s be aware: This story has been current with responses from Cherepanov.