Russia trading looted Ukrainian artefacts on black market – over 1.7 million items stolen

Russia is selling Ukrainian cultural heritage on the black market after looting more than 1.7 million artefacts from occupied territories, Ukraine’s Ministry of Culture and Information Policy has stated.

Source: Minister of Culture and Information Policy Mykola Tochytskyi in an interview with Ukrinform

Quote: "Over 1.7 million pieces of our cultural heritage have been stolen from the occupied territories – from archaeological finds to museum collections that the Russian Federation has appropriated, violating every possible norm of international law. In the past, when Russians stole our name and our history, they took artefacts to the Hermitage or Moscow museums. Now they are successfully selling them on the black market." 

Details: The minister noted that, thanks to cooperation with international partners, some of these stolen artefacts are being recovered. He said that during his foreign visits, he has often been handed items previously looted by the Russians.

Tochytskyi also stressed that Russian officials were directly involved in the looting. In February, Ukraine imposed sanctions on 55 individuals and three legal entities from Russia involved in the theft and destruction of Ukraine’s cultural heritage.

However, the minister did not explain what measures the ministry is currently taking to prevent further risks amid warnings of new Russian offensives on Sumy and Kharkiv oblasts. He was not asked whether evacuations are being organised to safeguard remaining museum collections.

Background: 

• The Ministry of Culture and Information Policy has previously stated it does not consider itself responsible for evacuating museum collections from high-risk areas. Instead, it places that responsibility on the museums themselves and the oblast military administrations. The ministry claims it only coordinates the process.
• This position was communicated in a letter to Olha Sahaidak, head of the Coalition of Cultural Activists. She argued that the ministry is shifting responsibility despite legislation that designates the ministry as the primary body for organising evacuations of cultural property.
• The ministry has also declined to report on the results of evacuations to date.
• Over one million artefacts remain in museums in Zaporizhzhia, Sumy and Kharkiv oblasts. Including collections in six other high-risk oblasts, more than three million artefacts are still in vulnerable locations.

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