Masterpieces were loaded like garbage. What the Russians have already stolen from the museums of Ukraine

The occupiers not only encroach on Ukrainian culture, but also try to appropriate it. The Russian war in Ukraine is not only taking the lives of Ukrainians – it is destroying its cultural heritage. Bombs destroy museums, libraries, churches and mosques, universities and theaters.

In addition to destroying the treasures of the Ukrainian nation, the Russians are also stealing them. The invaders are en masse taking away treasures that belong to Ukraine from the occupied territories. Appropriation of Ukrainian cultural heritage is an old Russian strategy. And although the aggressor country cannot admit it, its “great culture” has always relied on looting.

Kherson, Mariupol, Melitopol, Kakhovka Museums of art, history and antiquities. As Russia ravaged Ukraine with deadly missile strikes and brutal atrocities against civilians, it also ransacked the nation’s cultural institutions, home to some of the most important works of the state and its ancestors.

Among the war crimes committed by the Russian occupiers in Ukraine, crimes against cultural heritage occupy a special place. The occupiers have stolen tens of thousands of art treasures from Ukraine – this is the largest theft of art since the Second World War and is aimed at depriving Ukraine of its cultural heritage.

Cultural monuments were targeted by the enemy because of his desire to destroy Ukrainian identity. Therefore, the actions of the aggressor can be considered as a component of the crime of genocide against the Ukrainian people.

Kherson

The only regional center of Ukraine that the Russians managed to capture immediately after the start of the full-scale invasion was Kherson. His release clearly demonstrated what kind of future the invaders were preparing for the occupied territories. Along with mass burials and torture chambers, particularly for children, looted and looted museums were found.

One morning in late October, Russian troops blocked off a street in the center of Kherson and dozens of soldiers surrounded an elegant old building. Five large trucks drove up. It was a carefully planned, highly organized, military-style assault on an art museum. According to eyewitnesses, over the next four days, the Kherson Regional Art Museum was cleaned, Russian troops “busted around like insects”, porters took away thousands of paintings, which the soldiers hastily wrapped in sheets.

Masterpieces that no longer exist in the world were loaded like garbage.

According to preliminary estimates, the occupiers looted 15,000 units of the art museum’s collection alone. And the collections of coins, weapons, Sarmatian jewelry, antique furniture, a collection of icons, paintings and the entire archaeological part of the exposition, which made up the core of the museum collection, were taken out of the local history museum. A sad fate also befell the regional archive and scientific library named after Olesya Honchara: the occupiers stole archival documents and funds of pre-revolutionary publications.

But not only cultural values ​​were taken away by the occupiers. The Russians, according to tradition, stole sanitary ware, including toilets, and household appliances.

Donbas

In Donetsk and Luhansk regions, even at the beginning of the war in 2014, the buildings of the Donetsk and Luhansk Regional Museums of Local History, the Museum of History and Culture of Luhansk were damaged – it is difficult to estimate how much was lost or taken from their funds.

This year, during the occupation of Mariupol, Russian troops ravaged and destroyed two museums of the city – a local history museum and an art museum. In total, more than 2,000 exhibits were stolen.

Among the most valuable items were ancient religious icons, a unique handwritten Torah scroll, a 200-year-old Bible and more than 200 medals. Also stolen were the works of artists Arkhip Kuindzhi, who was born in Mariupol, and Ivan Aivazovsky, a native of Crimea, both known for their seascapes.

Zaporizhzhia region

In order to preserve the exhibits, the museum workers, as in the Second World War, even bricked the exhibits into the walls and buried them in the ground. Thus, according to employees, they hid Scythian gold in Melitopol until it was found by the occupiers.

And in Popov’s house in Zaporozhzhіe, not only small items were robbed, but also a marble toilet. It was exported during the Second World War. Then they returned it, but this time it was still stolen.

Crimea

In 2014, the collection of artifacts from the Tavrida Museum in Simferopol and the historical and cultural museum-reserve in Kerch were brought to the Hermitage. And in 2016, at the Tretyakov Gallery exhibition to mark the 200th anniversary of Aivazovsky’s birth, 38 works taken out of Feodosia, which the artist himself bequeathed to his native city, were shown.

Currently, Crimea has become a transshipment base for objects of cultural heritage, museum values, which the Russian invaders began to transport from the occupied territories to the peninsula. Now there are museum exhibits from the Kherson region.

Return of cultural values

The further process of returning exhibits is a very complex legal boundary not only of our national legislation, but also of international law.

When Ukraine regained its independence, there was a commission for the restitution of cultural values. They developed certain materials, but in the second half of the 90s, their activities were curtailed due to political considerations. Therefore, now it is worth returning to the creation of such a body, which should also take care of current losses, in particular from the Kherson Museum and Crimea. In addition, this is a reason to return to the values ​​that left the territory of Ukraine during the imperial and Soviet periods.

Like any war crimes, the theft of monuments must be recorded. Russia will not return ours. It will be a long process. There will be international court cases in each specific case, and it is necessary to prepare for this, in particular at the legislative level, and develop instructional algorithms so that people know what to do in various situations.

It would be good if our army had a special unit, similar to those in European armies, which would take care of cultural values ​​in war zones.

Law enforcement agencies are already investigating the fate of the stolen museum treasures. Destruction of monuments of cultural heritage is a war crime. Each case is documented, the degree of damage is assessed, in order to later develop a restoration project.

A group of Ukrainian lawyers and art historians is currently working to gather evidence of the Russians’ cultural crimes: they are compiling meticulous lists of missing objects, combing through museum records and trying to identify potential witnesses and collaborators who might have helped the occupiers steal.

Russian aggression proved that the Kremlin is trying to destroy not only Ukrainian statehood, but also Ukrainian identity. And the war against cultural heritage is part of this program.

During February 12, in the Zaporizhzhia region, the enemy carried out 82 attacks on the positions of Ukrainian defenders, using tank weapons, rocket and barrel artillery along the entire line of contact.

This is reported by the Zaporizhzhia Regional Military Administration.

In the Zaporizhzhia direction, the situation has not undergone significant changes over the past day. The enemy concentrates its main efforts on holding the occupied borders.

The defenders of the Zaporizhzhia region hold the frontiers and give a worthy rebuff to the Russian occupation troops.

According to the report of the Main Directorate of the National Police in the Zaporizhzhia Region, during the past day, the occupiers fired at civilian infrastructure in the area of ​​the settlements of Gulyaipole, Novodanilivka, Mala Tokmachka, Olgivske, Charivne, Malynyvka, Novoandriivka, Staroukrajna, Chervone, Temyrivka, Biloghirya, Stepove, Kamianske , Stepnohorsk.

5 reports were received about the destruction of houses (apartments) of citizens and infrastructure objects as a result of shelling by Russian military personnel.

Every day, Russian invaders attack peaceful settlements in the Zaporizhzhia region.

So, during the past day, the occupiers carried out 82 shellings, 14 towns and villages were damaged. The Zaporizhzhia Regional Military Administration reports that during the past day, February 12, the enemy fired 82 shots at the positions of Ukrainian defenders.

At the same time, the invaders used tank weapons, rocket and barrel artillery along the entire line of contact. According to the National Police in the Zaporizhzhia region, the occupiers shelled the civilian infrastructure of 14 settlements over the past day.

Gulyaipole, Novodanilivka, Mala Tokmachka, Olgivske, Charivne, Malynyvka, Novoandriivka, Staroukrainska, Chervone, Temyrivka, Biloghirya, Stepove, Kamianske, Stepnohirsk came under enemy fire. In total, 5 reports were received about the destruction of houses (apartments) of citizens and infrastructure objects as a result of enemy shelling. The regional military administration notes that the occupiers continue to block the exit of civilians to the territory controlled by Ukraine.

The occupiers fired with MLRS, mortars, tanks, and also launched a rocket attack.

This was reported by the press service of the regional military administration.

“Russian invaders shelled the territory of Kherson Oblast 42 times. They were fired with MLRS, mortars, tanks, and also launched a rocket attack,” the report says.

As a result of the shelling, three people were killed, one resident of the region was wounded.

The Russian army shelled the city of Kherson nine times. Enemy shells hit warehouses, a movie concert hall, the area near the building of the regional military administration, and residential buildings.

We will remind you that as a result of shelling in the Kherson region, the railway line was damaged, therefore Mykolaiv will be the final stop for train 102/101 Kyiv – Kherson this time.

The Russian occupiers are turning the houses from which the local residents left into their “barracks”. At the same time, they are helped by local collaborators to search for empty houses.

Residents of occupied Novooleksiivka told how the military “stormed” other people’s households.

Lust for luxury

When Russian soldiers appeared in the village, at first they were housed mainly in public facilities – schools, kindergartens, technical schools. But later the situation suddenly changed. The soldiers became surprisingly aware of those houses whose inhabitants had left the village and were very picky in their choice of “living space”.

“In winter, schools and other premises are cold. The sewage system does not work. You have to sleep on the floor or something. Of course they targeted the houses. And at the same time, they don’t get into just any, but choose richer ones, so that they can definitely steal something and live for a while with maximum comfort,” a local resident, whose name is not revealed for security reasons, told the correspondent.

He adds that there are even conflicts between different subdivisions over the right to “squeeze” one or another vacant cottage. 

At the same time, after redeployment to another place, these areas are vacated, but new units prefer to look for other shelters – in those where “colleagues” visited them, there is a high level of unsanitary conditions and, as a rule, communications no longer work.

“We’re ambushed here”

The technology of “renting” someone else’s property, according to local residents, usually follows the same scheme. One of the local collaborators, who knows everyone and everyone, finds out that another room has “vacated”. In a few days, policemen and soldiers appear near the house, walk around, ask the neighbors where the owners are. He said that the military wants to agree to “remove housing”. And even for sure “decency is guaranteed”.

If the real estate owners are really not in the occupied territory and do not try to somehow protect their property, then after a day or two, “show masks” from the “Rosgvardiya” unfold in front of the house, which demonstratively enter the house, “because a signal has been received about the presence of suspicious persons” . And they really appear there – after the security forces finish the survey of the area and formalize this case with the signatures of witnesses, Russian soldiers remain in the house.

“I asked them what you are doing here, the owners did not give you permission to live here. And their commander tells me that the house is suspicious, so they decided to ambush the extremists here. And he also said that if I tell anyone, I will immediately go to the basement”, – describes the situation of a local resident who looked after the neighbor’s cottage before the Russian soldiers broke in.

He also clarified that he does not have exact information, but he repeatedly heard from other residents of Novooleksiiivka that not only empty houses, but also houses where there are men were subjected to such raids.

Especially the Crimean Tatars. They are accused of cooperating with Ukrainian intelligence, Islamic terrorists, and supporting the blockade of Crimea. And then they are taken “to the basement”, where they are brutally beaten. At this time, collaborators offer desperate relatives to help with the release, but ask them to go to a meeting with the Russian military and give them housing.

Collaborators help

Without the help of individual local residents, the occupiers would not have been able to find empty, wealthy houses, – believes a local resident, whose house the occupiers have already ransacked and left, breaking everything inside.

According to her, the former chairman of the Kherson Regional Mejlis Asan Aliyev takes the most visible part in the quartering of the occupiers, who has already come to light in close cooperation with Crimean collaborators – advisers to the so-called “Criminal leader” – Ervin Musayev and Eskender Biyalov.

Aliyev actively persuaded local residents to support the Russian military, arguing that even worse could come in return. “They came to our house, turned everything upside down… What could be worse? We used to respect this person, he was the head of the Mejlis. I did not expect this from him”, – the woman is indignant.

The first interlocutor of the publication does not reject his participation in these processes. He assumes that people of this level are well aware of the financial situation of the majority of compatriots, and of where certain residents may be after the beginning of the occupation. “We communicate with each other: they left, and then my son called from Turkey. Probably, someone is telling him some news. Perhaps he is not even doing it out of spite, but to avoid ending up in the basement himself. But this is not an excuse to save yourself from someone else’s trouble.”

The head of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people, Refat Chubarov, said that the house of former political prisoner Edem Bekirov was similarly captured by the Russian military. We will remind, he was exchanged in 2019 as part of the exchange of political prisoners, and a year later, the Crimean court declared him wanted and sentenced him in absentia to 7 years of imprisonment.