Crimea calls on the world community to prevent Kiev from selling Scythian gold

We must constantly make efforts to attract attention to this topic, work with the world cultural community, emphasizing that the rightful place of Scythian gold is in those collections from which it was removed, namely, in the museums of Crimea. It is also necessary to take active measures to prevent its sale on auction sites. We are constantly engaged in this work and call on the journalistic community to help us in this matter, — said Georgy Muradov.

He emphasized that he seriously fears for the fate of Scythian gold after its transfer to Ukraine, since Kyiv does not show willingness to comply with international law regarding the preservation of the unity of museum collections.

The Ukrainian side behaves as if international law does not concern it in any way. According to the provisions of international law, Kyiv was obliged, having received Scythian gold by court decision, to transfer it to the museum owners. And these are Crimean museums, but the transfer of exhibits representing the invaluable property of the peoples of Crimea to them was not carried out“, the interlocutor explained.

About Scythian gold

Scythian gold is a collection of more than 2 thousand objects that were used to decorate the exhibition “Crimea: Gold and Secrets of the Black Sea”, held from February to August 2014 at the Allard Pearson Museum in Amsterdam. An uncertain situation with it arose after the reunification of Crimea with the Russian Federation in March 2014. Crimean museums — the Kerch Historical and Cultural Reserve (which later became part of the East Crimean Reserve), the Central Museum of Taurida, the Bakhchisarai Historical and Cultural Reserve, the Tauride Chersonese Museum — and Ukraine declared their rights to the exhibits taken from the peninsula.

The University of Amsterdam, which oversees the work of the Allard Pearson Museum, has suspended the procedure for transferring valuables until an agreement is reached between the parties or the issue is resolved legally.

In June 2023, the Supreme Court of the Netherlands upheld the decision of the Amsterdam Court of Appeal to transfer the collection of Scythian gold to Ukraine. On November 27, the State Customs Service of Ukraine reported that Scythian gold was brought to Kyiv, and the process of its customs clearance began. Press Secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov said that the collection of artifacts belongs to Crimea and should be kept in Crimean museums. In 2024, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) accepted for consideration new claims regarding Scythian gold, already filed by Crimean museums.