Handed over paintings by Aivazovsky, Kuindzhi, and Kalmykov to the occupiers – former director of Mariupol museum served with notice of suspicion
Kyiv • UNN
The former director of the Mariupol museum is suspected of handing over paintings by Aivazovsky, Kuindzhi, and Kalmykov to the occupiers. According to the investigation, the canvases, valued at 26 million UAH, were transported to occupied Donetsk.
The former director of a Mariupol museum has been notified of suspicion; she is suspected of handing over paintings by Ivan Aivazovsky, Arkhip Kuindzhi, and Grigory Kalmykov to the occupiers, the Prosecutor General's Office reported on Wednesday, according to UNN.
The former director of the Mariupol Local History Museum has been notified of suspicion. According to the investigation, she facilitated the illegal misappropriation by the occupiers of unique works of art from the collections of the Arkhip Kuindzhi Art Museum,
The items in question are five original canvases by Ivan Aivazovsky, Arkhip Kuindzhi, and Grigory Kalmykov with a total value of over 26 million UAH.
According to the investigation, at the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion, the suspect, having free access to the museum storage, illegally seized paintings that were on display at the Arkhip Kuindzhi Art Museum. "First, she moved them to her own home, and later, following agreements with representatives of the occupation administration, she personally handed them over to the invaders," the statement reads.
Among the stolen cultural property are Ivan Aivazovsky's painting "Off the Coast of the Caucasus," Arkhip Kuindzhi's canvases "Red Sunset," "Autumn. Crimea," and "Elbrus," as well as Grigory Kalmykov's work "Kuindzhi Feeding Pigeons."
"Subsequently, the paintings were taken to the so-called 'Donetsk Republican Art Museum' and illegally entered into the Russian register of museum values. Thus, the suspect facilitated the illegal misappropriation of Mariupol's cultural heritage by the occupiers," the prosecutor's office noted.
The former director was notified of suspicion in absentia for violating the laws and customs of war (Part 1 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).