From the 16th century Tatar Khans’ palace in Bakhchisaray to the former tsarist residence that hosted the World War II Yalta conference, Crimea’s heritage sites have become a source of bitter contention since Russia seized the region from Ukraine.
For Kiev, which does not recognise Moscow’s annexation of Crimea, losing the cultural and historic legacy of the Black Sea peninsula would be another major blow and Ukraine is readying for long legal battles with Russia.
“We will never give up the valuable heritage in Crimea because that is the property of Ukraine,” said the country’s Prosecutor General, Oleh Makhnitsky.
Ukraine’s Culture Minister, Yevgen Nishchuk, said Kiev was amending its laws to seek justice internationally should Russia start removing cultural goods from Crimea or take over formal supervision of the region’s heritage sites.
One exhibition, put together by five museums – including four in Crimea – and currently on display in Amsterdam, has already fallen hostage to the conflict over the region, the worst stand-off between Russia and the West since the Cold War.
Both Crimea’s pro-Russian authorities as well as Kiev claim ownership of the exhibition, titled Crimea – Gold and secrets of the Black Sea, which features golden artefacts and precious gems dating back to the fourth century BC.
The show is operated by the University of Amsterdam and spokesman Yasha Lange said a legal investigation was going on to determine to whom the collection should be returned after it closes at the end of August.
“The exhibition should return to Crimea,” said Valentina Mordvintseva, who helped Amsterdam’s Allard Pierson Museum set up the exhibit.
“So it has become a political issue,” she told Reuters.
“If the things end up held in Kiev, I think it would be bad for Ukraine itself because it would look like vengeance.”
We will never give up the valuable heritage in Crimea because that is the property of Ukraine
She was referring to a March 16 referendum in Crimea which yielded an overwhelming victory for those advocating a split from Ukraine to join Russia.
Kiev and the West dismissed the hastily arranged vote as a sham but Moscow used it to justify formally incorporating Crimea on March 21.
Crimea has since then introduced the Russian rouble as its currency and switched to Moscow time, while Russian troops have taken over Ukrainian military bases, forcing Kiev to pull out its soldiers with their families.
Prosecutor Makhnitsky said the Justice Ministry in Kiev was preparing to register lawsuits with international organisations to assert its rights to the historic and cultural sites in Crimea.
Underscoring how any efforts from Kiev could face further obstacles, some directors of Crimea museums have welcomed unification with Russia in the hope it will lead to increased budget support from Moscow.
Valery Naumenko, director of a museum housed in the historic residence of the Crimean Khans in Bakhchisaray, complained that Kiev had not allocated any funds for the upkeep of the palace, which is dominated by two slender minarets.
“Ukraine has no resources and no moral right after these two decades to put up a big fight over Crimea’s heritage,” he told Reuters.
“Everybody understands that the decision is taken and we must all get used to living under the new conditions.”