Crimean Prosecutor's Office notifies archaeologist of Russian Hermitage of suspicion

Prosecutor's Office of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea has served a notice of suspicion to a Russian citizen who is conducting illegal archaeological excavations at a cultural heritage site in Crimea, the sanction of the article provides for up to 5 years in prison.

This was reported by the Prosecutor's Office of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol.

It has been established that the suspect has been working in the field of archaeology for a long time and holds the position of head of the ancient archaeology sector at the Russian State Hermitage Museum.

After the occupation of the peninsula and until now, as the head of the Hermitage's "Myrmecian Archaeological Expedition", without any permits from the competent authorities of Ukraine, the archaeologist has been illegally conducting excavations at the cultural heritage site - the "Ancient City of Myrmecia" in Kerch.

These actions of the suspect actually destroy the legally protected object of national importance.

On October 25, the first suspicion was served on a Russian archaeologist for a crime against Ukrainian cultural heritage in Crimea. MP Yevheniia Kravchuk said that all facts of such illegal excavations are properly documented by Ukrainian services within the framework of separate criminal proceedings. So far, it has been established that only one archaeological heritage site, in the period of 2014-2019, has suffered damage worth more than UAH 200 million. The MP did not name the first archaeologist who was suspected of a crime against Ukrainian cultural heritage in Crimea.

On September 3, it became known that theScythian Naples archaeological site in Crimea was under threat. This summer, two fires broke out on the territory of the Scythian Naples reserve in Simferopol in June and August, causing significant damage to the archaeological site. It is not known what caused the fires, but given that the territory of the museum-reserve is a large plot of land in the open air, the fire spread very quickly. At the time, the Golos Kryma news agency wrote that after the construction of the New Chersonese was completed, it was quite logical to expect the emergence of a "New Scythian Naples." And perhaps these two fires are not accidental, but are one of the steps in clearing the territory for future construction.