President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a decree, which enforced the decision of the National Security and Defense Council on the application of personal sanctions to 15 leaders of leading Russian museums. The reason was their actions, aimed at legitimizing the occupation of Ukrainian territories and implementation of anti -Ukrainian policy in the museum sphere.
Museum occupation: From Crimea to Mariupol
The Russian Federation systematically violates international law, Increasing the Ukrainian cultural heritage since the illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014 year. Already in 2016 it became known, that at Ivan Aivazovsky's exhibition at Tretyakov Gallery was presented 38 paintings, illegally exported from Crimean collections.
U 2024 the year these actions have acquired even more aggressive in nature. In July, UNESCO -Chersonese World Heritage Object was dismantled and looted. In his place the Russians created the so -called “Crimea and Novorossiysk Museum”, which is frankly used as a propaganda tool, that justifies armed aggression against Ukraine.
In the temporarily occupied Kherson from the Museum Alexei Shovkunenko and the Museum of Local History was abducted above 13 Thousands of exhibits. In Mariupol, the Russian military took possession of valuable works by Arkhip Quinji and Ivan Aivazovsky. And in Melitopol a unique collection disappeared “Scythian gold”, which was kept in the Museum of Local History.
The scale of theft is growing
According to the Ukrainian National Committee ICOM, As of March 2025 the year in the Russian State Catalog of the Museum Fund has already appeared information about 39 Ukrainian museums, arranged on temporarily occupied after 2022 the year of the territories. For comparison: In August 2024 the year of such museums was only 6. This testifies to the large -scale and systematic appropriation of Ukrainian cultural institutions.
The Ministry of Culture of Ukraine emphasized, that these actions directly violate the Hague Convention 1954 the year on the protection of cultural values in the event of armed conflict. Instead of compliance with international standards, Russia officially integrates Ukrainian museum collections into its system, using them in propaganda purposes.
Sanction list: Who went there
The sanction list included leading leaders of Russian museums, in particular:
- Artem Silkin and Galina Alekseeva - Candidates for the governing bodies of the International Council of Museums (ICOM);
- Roman Korikov-CEO;
- Dmitry Kozhanov - CEO of the Polytechnic Museum in Moscow;
- Igor Korneev-Director of Borodinsky Military-Historical Museum;
- Yulia Kupina-Director of the Ethnographic Museum in St. Petersburg;
- Mikhail Mindlin - Director of Museum of Ancient Russian Culture in Moscow;
- Yuri Compleviov - Director of the Orenburg Museum of Fine Arts;
- Irina Menshikova - Director of Chuvash National Museum;
- Alexander Ushakov - Director of the Orenburg Governor Museum;
- Oleg Chepurnoy - Deputy Director of the Museum of Fine Arts IM. Pushkin.
Sanctions relate to Russian citizens, which:
- maintain illegal accounting of Ukrainian museum values in Russian bases;
- personally visited the occupied territories after 2022 year;
- participated in the activities, that contribute to the legitimization of occupying power;
- promote anti -Ukrainian narratives and justify Russian aggression.
The next step is internationally sanctions
Ukraine is already working on that, so that such sanctions were imposed on the European Union level. This will not only restrict the international activity of persons, involved in the abduction of cultural heritage, but also to increase the pressure on Russia in the field of international law.
“Instead of ensuring the protection of cultural heritage in the occupied territories, The Russian Federation officially assigns museum collections and institutes, Using them for propaganda purposes ”, - according to the official statement of the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine.
