The Mariupol City Council announced a complete change in the profile of the city's museum institutions. Instead of unique historical artifacts, the invaders are using the premises for ideological indoctrination of the population and glorification of the participants in the invasion. This was reported by UNN.
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Before the full-scale war, the institution's collections numbered about 60,000 items. After fires caused by shelling, the surviving exhibits were taken to Donetsk and Russia. Among the stolen items are paintings by Ivan Aivazovsky ("Near the Shores of the Caucasus") and Arkhip Kuindzhi ("Red Sunset," "Autumn in Crimea"), as well as rare icons.
In July 2024, the building was reopened after renovations, but instead of historical relics, portraits of "DPR" militants and Russian military personnel were placed there.
Transformation of the Museum of Folk Life into the Zhdanov Museum
The Museum of Folk Life, whose building survived the fighting, also lost its collections. The ethnographic collection of 5,000 items of cultural heritage of the peoples of Azov Sea region was taken away by the occupiers.
In February 2024, the institution was repurposed as a museum of the Soviet ideologue Andrei Zhdanov. Now, instead of the history of the region's ethnic groups, exhibitions are held there that justify Russian aggression against Ukraine.
The city council emphasizes that Mariupol's museums, schools, and universities have been turned into ideological centers. The occupation administration systematically implements anti-Ukrainian views through exhibitions and events aimed at justifying the actions of the Russian army and destroying the Ukrainian identity of the city.