Ukraine Accuses Russian Soldiers Of Looting Nearly 40 Museums
A golden tiara, inlaid with precious stones by master craftsmen some 1,500 years ago, was one of the world’s most valuable artifacts from the blood-letting rule of Attila the Hun, who rampaged with horseback warriors deep into Europe in the fifth century.
Workers hid the Hun diadem and hundreds of other treasures in February when Russian troops stormed the southern city of Melitopol. But after weeks of repeated searches, soldiers discovered the building's secret basement, where staff had squirrelled away the museum's most precious objects, and carted the priceless artifacts away.
Ukraine's museums must now resort to showcasing replicas, such as this copy of a fourth-century B.C. golden ceremonial headgear, an ancient treasure from a Scythian king's burial mound that is displayed at the Museum of Historical Treasures in Kyiv.
Or in other cases, they exhibit nothing at all.
When Russian forces sought, unsuccessfully, to encircle the capital, Natalia Panchenko, the director of Kyiv's Museum of Historical Treasures of Ukraine, lived in the museum in the hope of securing its artifacts.
“We were afraid of the Russian occupiers, because they destroy everything that can be identified as Ukrainian,” she said.
A replica of a fourth-century B.C. golden diadem from an ancient Scythian burial mound is exhibited in the Museum of Historical Treasures in Kyiv.
According to Panchenko, many of the museum artifacts have been relocated and reproductions now occupy their former places.
"These things were fragile. They survived hundreds of years," she said. "We couldn’t stand the thought they could be lost."
Another replica of a fourth-century B.C. golden ritual quiver, an ancient treasure from a Scythian king's burial mound, is displayed in Kyiv.
Ukraine's Culture Minister Oleksandr Tkachenko alleged that Russian soldiers had looted thousands of artifacts from almost 40 Ukrainian museums in an interview with AP.
Visitors look at a replica of the fourth-century B.C. golden pectoral, an ancient treasure from a Scythian king's burial mound, exhibited in the Museum of Historical Treasures in Kyiv.
Tkachenko said the looting and destruction of cultural sites has caused losses estimated in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
"The attitude of Russians toward Ukrainian culture heritage is a war crime," Tkachenko told AP.
"These are ancient finds. These are works of art. They are priceless,” said Oleksandr Symonenko, chief researcher at Ukraine's Institute of Archaeology. “If culture disappears, it is an irreparable disaster.”
For the moment, Ukraine's government and its Western backers supplying weapons are mostly focused on defeating Russia on the battlefield. But if and when peace returns, the preservation of Ukrainian collections of art, history, and culture also will be vital so that survivors of the war can begin the next fight: rebuilding their lives.