Russia appropriates Ukraine's cultural heritage in occupied Crimea to impose its ideology on the history of the peninsula - expert
Kateryna Busol, an expert at the Center for Defense Strategies, noted that the appropriation of Ukraine's cultural heritage in occupied Crimea is not an end in itself for Russia. It is a tool for imposing on the world its ideology on the history of the peninsula. Also, the manipulation of cultural heritage by the Russian Federation is an attack on the rights of ethnic Ukrainians and Crimean Tatars.
She reported about it at the event "Crimea: uncultured occupation".
"These more than 4,000 monuments of national and local significance, which according to the representation of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, Russia appropriated, it did in order to prove its permanent presence in Crimea by manipulating this heritage, to build its narrative on history. This means that by destroying, for example, monuments of Crimean Tatar culture and Muslim culture, Russia is washing away certain layers of history”, - Busol said.
The Center for Defense Strategies advises Ukraine to include cultural heritage issues in its national security strategy.
"Appropriation of cultural heritage in Crimea can be a war crime. What can Ukraine do? To provide more information to prove this crime is embezzlement. But it is very important that Ukraine also begins to provide information about crimes against humanity - persecution. "Cultural heritage in Crimea is an attack on the rights of ethnic Ukrainians and Crimean Tatars in Crimea. And, accordingly, serves to root the Russian narrative on the occupied peninsula not only for Russian citizens but, above all, for the international community", - the expert said.
According to the expert of the Regional Center for Human Rights Sergei Mokrenyuk, the most striking examples of violations of Russia's cultural heritage - the city of Chersonesos, included in the UNESCO list. There are illegal excavations under the umbrella of government agencies in Russia, including the Hermitage and the Russian Academy of Sciences.
"Right there are construction works on the territory of Chersonesos using trucks and construction equipment, using dump trucks and excavators ... According to the minimum estimates that can be seen now, the cultural layer is destroyed a few meters deep and an area of 30 thousand square meters", - he informed.
What is known
- The issue of ecology in occupied Crimea is an important part of the agenda as a whole within the activities of the Crimean platform.
- The leader of the Crimean Tatar People's Majlis, Refat Chubarov, said that the occupiers, along with all their other crimes, would be punished for violating May 14, 1954, Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict.
- The Center for Economic Strategy estimates Ukraine's losses due to the temporary occupation of Crimea at $ 135 billion.
