At least 164 archaeological artifacts removed from temporarily occupied Crimea by the Russian occupiers

Russian occupational authorities have removed at least 164 archaeological artifacts found during excavations of the ancient cities of Nymphaeum and Panticapaeum from Crimea, as reported by the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.

Photo: Crimean Tatar Resource Center

Since 2022, Russian museums have been actively engaged in propaganda activities in the occupied territories, organizing exhibitions, lectures, and educational programs aimed at legitimizing the occupation. The goal of these actions is to integrate Ukrainian museums into the Russian cultural space and destroy Ukrainian identity.

Several individuals are involved in the theft of Ukrainian cultural property from the temporarily occupied territories:

• Irina Zhukova, Director of the “All-Russian Historical and Ethnographic Museum,” organized the exhibition “Unity Through the Ages” in the occupied Luhansk region in 2024 to promote the idea of the “historical connection of Donbas with Russia.”

• Alexander Shkolnik, head of the “Museum of the Great Patriotic War,” organized training for museum workers from temporarily occupied Donetsk in 2023 to disseminate the Russian version of history to visitors.
• Sergey Naryshkin, head of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service. Under his leadership, the “History of the Fatherland” foundation and the Russian Historical Society, which has seven branches in the temporarily occupied Ukrainian territories, are actively working to appropriate Ukrainian heritage.

The War&Sanctions portal contains information about 996 stolen objects and 260 people involved in the looting of Ukrainian cultural heritage, the distortion of history, and the destruction of Ukrainian identity.

In 2014, the number of museum objects in Ukraine’s fund in temporarily occupied Crimea was approximately 1.2 million. There were 26 museums and five historical and cultural reserves of state and communal ownership on the peninsula. However, since the beginning of the temporary occupation of the peninsula, the Russians have systematically appropriated and moved valuable exhibits to their territory.

Ukrainian authorities have stated that the end of the war can be discussed when Russia, among other things, returns the stolen exhibits and pays reparations.