Stolen 10 thousand exhibits of Kherson museum taken to Crimea

At least 10,000 works of art stolen from the Kherson Art Museum are still illegally stored in the Central Museum of Tavrida in occupied Crimea. The director of the institution officially confirmed this to the Russian media for the first time, but the full amount of the stolen art remains unknown.

This was reported by the press service of the Kherson Art Museum.

The occupation authorities are still holding more than 10,000 works of art taken from the Oleksii Shovkunenko Kherson Art Museum in 2022. They are illegally stored in the Central Museum of Tavrida in the occupied Crimea.

According to the press service, for more than a year, the director of this institution, Andriy Malhin, has not commented on the fate of the collection, which was taken from Kherson under the guise of a fake evacuation. But recently he admitted in a commentary to the TASS propaganda agency that some of the Kherson exhibits are indeed in the museum under his control. According to him, it is about 10 thousand items.

However, back in 2022, the Kherson Art Museum reported more than 10,000 stolen items. This casts doubt on the amount of what was preserved, as some of the cultural property may not have made it to the Simferopol museum at all.

Malgin also noted that the collection is not on display, allegedly due to lack of space and legal restrictions, but assured of the creation of storage conditions and contact with colleagues from Kherson.

The museum workers emphasized that moving and storing museum property without the consent of the rightful owner is a violation of international law, in particular the 1954 Hague Convention, and Ukrainian law.

In February, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a decree imposing sanctions on Crimean museums where the occupiers had taken exhibits from Kherson. The indefinite restrictions apply to the Chersonese of Tavria and the Central Museum of Tavrida, where paintings and artifacts from Kherson museums were moved.

The journalists also identified four people involved in the theft of cultural property in the fall of 2022: Russian officer Dmitry Lipov and three officials from the occupied Crimea. In addition, the Ministry of Justice filed a lawsuit with the HACC to confiscate the assets of Tetiana Bratchenko, the former head of the Kherson Museum of Local Lore, who collaborated with the invaders during the occupation.

Анна Бальчінос