The occupiers presented Crimean artifacts as their own …

In Washington, the Russian Embassy opened a photo exhibition titled "Crimean Gold: 'Civilized' Europe Plunders Russian Treasures." At the event, the Russians are spreading propaganda narratives and attempting to portray Crimean archaeological artifacts as Russian.

This was reported by the Crimean Tatar Resource Center.

Representatives of the Russian Military-Historical Society, which is organizing the exhibition, once again claimed that Kyiv must return the Scythian gold to Russia. This refers to a collection of artifacts from four Crimean museums, which was presented in 2013 at the exhibition “Crimea: Gold and Secrets of the Black Sea” at the Allard Pearson Museum in Amsterdam.

“Scythian Gold” is a unique collection of over 500 ancient artifacts made of precious metals, created by the Scythians in the 7th–3rd centuries BCE on the territory of modern-day Ukraine. The collection consists primarily of exquisite jewelry, ritual vessels, ceremonial weapons, and decorative clothing appliqués crafted in the famous “animal style.”

After Russia began its occupation of Crimea, the Russian Federation demanded that these valuable items be returned to the peninsula. However, in 2023, the Supreme Court of the Netherlands definitively upheld the decision to transfer the collection to Ukraine. The court ruled that the Crimean artifacts are part of Ukraine’s state museum collection and not the property of museums located in the temporarily occupied territory of Crimea.

Earlier, two participants in illegal archaeological expeditions in occupied Crimea were notified that they were under investigation for conducting illegal excavations at the “Medieval Solkhat Settlement” site in Staryi Krym. They face up to 12 years in prison.

Юлія Калабайда

The occupiers presented Crimean artifacts as their own in Washington

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