During the occupation of Kherson, Russians brazenly looted the funds of the Kherson Regional Art Museum named after O.O. Shovkunenko. The Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine is actively involved in the investigation of this crime. Advisor to the Prosecutor General Roman Shpyrka told UNN how the investigation is currently underway.
The pre-trial investigation is being conducted under Part 1 of Art. 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine on the fact of looting national property.
During the occupation, in the first days of November 2022, the Russian Armed Forces, together with representatives of the occupation administrations from the Municipal Institution "Kherson Regional Art Museum and O. Shovkunenko", where the achievements of Ukrainian culture were stored, stole 10680 items of exhibits (books, paintings, documents, coins, etc.), including works by Ivan Aivazovsky, Mikhail Shibanov, Zinaida Serebryakova, Oleksiy Shovkunenko, Mykola Pimonenko, Tetiana Yablonska, Mykola Glushchenko, Kostiantyn Kryzhytskyi, Vasyl Polenov, Petro Konchalovsky, Mikhail Vrubel
According to Shpyrko, 130 items stolen from the Museum have been identified. All of them are on the territory of the temporarily occupied Crimea.
In addition, not only is the identification of works and the establishment of their possible location carried out, but also their evaluation.
Херсонський художній музей розпізнав 88 вкрадену картину в окупованому Криму16.02.24, 18:28
"Currently, 12 items belonging to the Sculptures group have been examined, and their value is estimated at UAH 75 million. As for the rest of the objects, given their large number and scale, their value will be determined after a phased expert study," said the counsel.
The Prosecutor General's Office is actively cooperating with international organizations to find the stolen art.
"At present, the Department of International Police Cooperation of the National Police of Ukraine has sent data on some of the stolen items to Interpol for further submission to the search database. In addition, similar information was sent to the customs for further placement on the platform of the World Customs Organization "ARCHEO". Given the significant number of stolen works of art, the work on the preparation of relevant documents and their transfer to Interpol is carried out in stages," said Shpyrka.
Criminal proceedings have also been registered regarding an attempt by representatives of the Russian Federation to sell cultural property stolen in Ukraine on the black market.
He added that if we talk about the theft of works of art by the occupiers in general, it is currently difficult to fully assess the scale, because many such institutions are located in the temporarily occupied territories. But work in this direction is also underway.
It has also been established which museums' collections the occupiers most often "replenish" with loot - the Museum of Taurida of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol, as well as the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg.
Херсонський музей ідентифікував 122-у викрадену окупантами картину07.08.24, 10:56
There are also successes in the return of artifacts, for example, the United States handed over to Ukraine a flint axe dating from the 5th to 8th centuries BC, as well as iron blades, dart points, and iron axes dating from different periods - from the 8th to the 15th centuries.