The Department of the occupation administration of Crimea, responsible for historical artifacts and cultural objects on the peninsula, ordered its subordinate institutions to prepare museum values for “evacuation”. This is evidenced by a letter from the “Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Crimea” to the heads of museum institutions on the peninsula.
The document does not specify the reasons and places for the alleged export of valuables, but there is a high risk that the most valuable items will be transported from Crimea to the internationally recognized territory of the Russian Federation.
The document, which was handed over to the National Resistance Center, directly refers to the need to clarify the list of “places of evacuation of valuables” in the event of disasters or military operations. It is important to note that the list of such places, according to Russian law, should have been approved long ago, but the information is being requested to be clarified through a new “letter from the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation.”
Museum administrations have been given until July 1 of this year to respond.
Another point of the letter states that at least some of the cultural and historical monuments will be taken outside the peninsula.
The aforementioned letter from the Russian Ministry of Culture, which forced the occupation administration to address museum workers, is also at the disposal of the National Resistance Center, but it cannot be published at this time due to the presence of sensitive information.
However, it suggests that the Russians are trying to speed up the process of typologizing and evaluating museum artifacts in Crimea. Museum workers in Crimea are creating electronic registers of works of art and historical monuments and transferring information to the electronic museum fund of the Russian Federation.
According to an old Russian tradition, Moscow is preparing to loot Crimean museums and take away the most valuable exhibits when it is time for Russians to leave Crimea.
It is interesting that the signatory of the letter, “Deputy Minister of Culture Andriy Rostenko,” is the best person to handle the looting of Crimea. He is the former head of the occupation administration of Yalta.
And he managed to serve time in a Russian detention center on charges of land deals by the sea. However, the case did not go to trial. Rostenko was quietly released and found himself in a new line of work – in the Ministry of Culture.
It is worth noting that the looting or destruction of historical and cultural sites and monuments in the territories occupied by Russia has been brought to a systemic level. At the moment, thousands of artifacts of Ukrainian origin are being stored in Russian museums.
Russian scientists are involved in illegal activities and must also be held accountable for their actions. Volunteers of the Argo project are engaged in a systematic study of Russian crimes in the cultural sector.
For example, here you can learn in detail about the destruction of a unique architectural monument, the Khan’s Palace in Bakhchysarai, during its so-called reconstruction. Argo also catalogs historical property stolen to Russia and creates a register of people who help with this.
Anyone can stop the policy of the Russian invaders and their collaborators by publicizing their crimes and demanding their international prosecution. You can also participate in rallies in support of Ukraine or donate to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.