Almost 35 thousand exhibits stolen by Russia from six museums in five de-occupied regions of Ukraine
Kyiv • UNN
From 6 museums in 5 de-occupied regions of Ukraine, 34,872 museum objects from the state part of the Museum Fund were stolen. The return of cultural property may take years, the Ministry of Culture said.
From 6 museum institutions in 5 de-occupied regions of Ukraine, 34,872 museum objects from the state part of the Museum Fund of Ukraine were stolen. The actual return of cultural property may take years and decades. The Department of Cultural Heritage of the Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communications informed UNN journalist in response to a request.
Details
Based on information from the media and available information from the structural units for culture of the regional military administrations, the ICRC systematizes information on the looting/destruction of cultural property of the state part of the Museum Fund of Ukraine.
Thus, according to the information available to the ICRC from the regional military administrations, "34,872 museum objects (hereinafter - M.O.) of the state part of the Museum Fund of Ukraine were stolen from 6 museum institutions in 5 de-occupied regions of Ukraine," namely:
- Municipal institution Balakliya Museum of Local Lore of Balakliya City Council of Kharkiv Oblast - 60 m.p.;
- Snihuriv Historical and Local Lore Museum of Mykolaiv Region - 1180 sq. m;
- Municipal institution of the Trostianets City Council “Museum and Exhibition Center ‘Trostianetskyi’ of Sumy region - 80 municipalities;
- Kherson Regional Museum of Local Lore - 23,217 inhabitants;
- Municipal Institution “Kherson Regional Art Museum named after O.O. Shovkunenko” of the Kherson Regional Council - 10,223 m.p.;
- Velyka Oleksandrivka Folk History and Local Lore Museum of Kherson Oblast - 112 sq. km.
It is also reported that the Ivankiv Museum of Local Lore of the Ivankiv House of Culture (Ivankiv, Kyiv region) was destroyed - 58 sq. m., the Museum of Weaving (Obukhovychi, Kyiv region) - 4 sq. m.
The Ministry also reported that in order to identify and return cultural property, they are cooperating with customs, law enforcement agencies, the intelligence agency (the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine and Ukraine's diplomatic missions abroad, the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, and expert institutions of Ukraine to collect and document evidence that will confirm that the cultural property belongs to Ukraine. Law enforcement agencies are opening criminal proceedings on the facts of the removal of Ukrainian cultural property from museums, archives, and libraries by the Russian occupiers.
"Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the ICRC has been monitoring the media to record information about the export of cultural property by the Russian occupiers from cultural institutions that were/are located in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine," the response to the request reads.
Meanwhile, employees of the looted museums fill out appropriate forms for each museum object of the state part of the Museum Fund of Ukraine taken by the occupiers to pass this information to law enforcement agencies.
At the same time, the ministry emphasized that the return of cultural property can take years.
The processes of returning cultural property require a thorough approach and the united efforts of state authorities, scientific institutions, public associations, and expert institutions to prepare a reasoned evidence base on the ownership of cultural property by Ukraine. Therefore, the actual return of cultural property to Ukraine may take years and decades
In addition, it is reported that the Emergency Red List - Ukraine has been prepared in the form of a paper and electronic booklet in Ukrainian, English and Swedish (available on the official ICOM website at link. This publication defines the categories of objects of material and spiritual culture of Ukraine that have artistic, historical, ethnographic and scientific significance and are at the greatest risk. This information was brought to the attention of customs and law enforcement agencies of the EU and the United States.
