Russia is exporting monuments from Crimea

Russians continue to take archaeological monuments from museums in occupied Crimea. Mostly, they do this under the guise of organizing exhibitions or restorations to be held in the Russian Federation.

Evelina Kravchenko, a senior researcher at the Institute of Archeology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, said this in an interview.

Russia is stealing monuments from Crimea

"Russians continue to conduct unauthorized excavations in Crimea and are now taking things out of there. This is done under the pretext of exhibitions and restoration. I do not see any actions that can be aimed at protecting the monuments there. In Chersonesos, there is even an opera and ballet festival. In Crimea, the situation with monuments is far from cheerful," the scholar said.

She also added that some of the items from the museum's collections at the Stone Tomb, which is now under occupation near Melitopol, were taken to Crimea, allegedly for an exhibition. The site itself was turned into a branch of Tauric Chersonese.

"The stone grave is located in the area that Ukraine will de-occupy, so it is under threat. However, since it is a natural accumulation of stones, it can protect itself. But of course, it needs to be preserved, I have not heard that the Russians have somehow protected the monument from artillery attacks. And it would be desirable to do so," Kravchenko added.

Author - Serhii Kolomiets, 07/08/2023