Scythian gold can be returned to Crimea after the change of the current regime in Ukraine

The director of the Central Museum of Taurida, Andrei Malgin, recently told the press that several Crimean museums are preparing a lawsuit in a Russian court for the illegal retention in Ukraine of Scythian gold from museum collections in Crimea. According to him, this is a response to the decision of the Supreme Court of the Netherlands, which in 2023 upheld the earlier decision of the Amsterdam Court of Appeal to transfer the collection of Scythian gold to Ukraine.

According to Maiko, the lawsuit of the republic’s museums in the Russian court will play a role.

The point is that the public needs to know what’s really going on. That the issue was illegally resolved in 2023 and was not forgotten. And I really hope that this lawsuit, of course, will be useful and will still create a precedent that the museums of Crimea expect a fair resolution of this issuesaid the expert.

He believes that more people should know what is obvious to museum professionals and lawyers: artifacts found in a given area must be kept in local museums or transferred under special agreements with other institutions, otherwise it is theft.

Of course, this issue is absolutely political. Since legally and in relation to the legislation of any country it can be solved quite simply,” Maiko noted.

Despite all the difficulties, he is of the opinion that attempts to return Scythian gold to Crimea are not hopeless.

Those things that were found in Crimea should be returned to museums located in this territory. I hope that there is such a possibility, of course. But we all understand perfectly well that until the current regime in Kyiv changes, little will happen, — said the specialist.

Maiko recalled that all the items from the collection of Scythian gold are unique artifacts that reflect the entire diversity of the material culture of Crimea, from ancient to late antique times.

Absolutely all items have enormous historical, artistic and scientific value. These are unique museum exhibits that help us better understand the history of our peninsula, starting from the 5th century BC and ending with the first centuries AD. Some of them were found in pre-revolutionary times. And of course, these finds are irreplaceablesaid the archaeologist.

According to him, Crimean specialists hope that Ukrainian scientists understand all this well and will take care of the collection, so that it can return home to Crimea safe and sound.

At the same time, according to Maiko, after the Scythian gold was exhibited in the museum of historical treasures on the territory of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra in 2024, nothing is known about what happened to it and in what condition it is in.

As far as I know, while this exhibition is in operation, it has not been dismantled, and absolutely all things are there. This was the case at the beginning of 2024, whether this is true or not, what is happening now is unknown“, the interlocutor summed up.

Previously, the head of the Crimean parliament Vladimir Konstantinov suggestedthat there is little chance of returning Scythian gold to Russia, since it will most likely end up in private collections after being transported from Europe to Ukraine.

Commenting on the topic, Special Representative of the Russian President for International Cultural Cooperation Mikhail Shvydkoy statedthat transferring Scythian gold into private hands would become a crime.

In the collection Scythian gold there are almost 2,000 thousand unique items belonging to the East Crimean Museum-Reserve, the Central Museum of Taurida, the Bakhchisarai Historical and Cultural Museum-Reserve and the Tauride Chersonese Museum-Reserve.

Legal proceedings regarding the fate of these museum collections, exported in 2013 to an exhibition in Amsterdam for display at the Allard Pearson Museum, lasted 10 years.

In October 2021, the Amsterdam Court of Appeal ruled that Scythian gold should be transferred to Ukraine. In June 2023, the Supreme Court of the Netherlands upheld this is the solution. In November 2023, Scythian gold was brought to Kyiv from the EU.

In February 2024 the European Court Human Rights Council (ECtHR) accepted the complaint from the museums of Crimea in the case of the transfer of Scythian gold to Ukraine, which noted that the interference in their property rights was unfounded.

source: RIA Novosti Crimea