Sanction policy of Ukraine and cultural heritage of Crimea
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Sanction policy of Ukraine and cultural heritage of Crimea

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Five years have passed since the introduction in Ukraine by the Law of August 14, 2014 № 1644-VII of a special institution of sanctions used by the state for political purposes in order to counter Russian aggression. Many bodies submitted numerous proposals to the National Security and Defense Council to implement the law, and the National Security and Defense Council’s decisions approved by presidential decrees were repeatedly approved. Among other things, the violation by the Russian Federation and its occupying authorities of the norms of international law protecting Ukraine’s cultural heritage in Crimea could not but lead to its reflection in Ukraine’s sanctions policy.

However, only four years after the introduction of the sanctions legislation, in the conditions of systematic destruction and looting of objects of archeology and architecture of the Crimea, the executive authorities considered it expedient to start work on the introduction of appropriate sanctions. In Part 3 of Art. 13 of the Action Plan aimed at implementing some principles of state domestic policy on the temporarily occupied territory of the ARC and the city of Sevastopol, approved by the government decree of March 28, 2018 № 218-r, provided for the need to develop and submit to the Cabinet proposals for special economic and other restrictive measures (sanctions) against persons conducting any unauthorized archaeological excavations in the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine. These proposals, in accordance with the conditions established by the Plan,were to be submitted by October 2018 by the National Academy of Sciences, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Economic Development and the Ministry of Occupation to the government.

Further analysis of the sanctions imposed by the decisions of the National Security and Defense Council proves that the relevant restrictions in the field of protection of cultural heritage of Crimea were introduced by Presidential Decree № 82/2019 of March 19, 2019, which approved the same day him). For the structures determined by the decision of the National Security and Defense Council, it was forbidden to hold cultural exchanges, scientific cooperation, joint entertainment programs, namely: conducting joint scientific research; mutual exchange of museum information, exhibitions, museum objects, museum collections; holding joint conferences, congresses, symposiums, exhibitions and participation in them; organization of joint training of museum workers, publishing activities; participation in events organized and held by the museum.In addition, a “ban on establishing business contacts” and a “ban on providing financial support and guarantees” were introduced for these structures.

At the same time, the list of relevant sanctioned structures is noteworthy, none of which is located in the aggressor state. In fact, this list consists of three Sevastopol and thirty-four Crimean museum institutions that were illegally registered by the aggressor state under Russian law as public legal entities (two of them “federal”, thirteen “municipal”, the rest regional).

Thus, sanctions were imposed against such structures controlled by the occupiers as the State Museum of Heroic Defense of Sevastopol, the Sevastopol Art Museum named after Mikhail Pavlovich Kroshitsky, the State Historical and Archaeological Museum-Reserve “Chersonesos Tavriya”, “Bakhchisaray Archaeological and Cultural Museum-Reserve ”,“ Yalta Historical and Literary Museum ”,“ Livadia Palace-Museum ”and“ Crimean Literary and Artistic Memorial Museum-Reserve ”(Yalta),“ Alupka Palace and Park Museum-Reserve ”,“ Alushta Literary and Literary Museum-Reserve ” SM Sergeev-Tsensky Memorial Museum “,” Museum-Reserve “Sudak Fortress”, “Theodosius Picture Gallery named after IK Aivazovsky”, “Theodosius Museum of Antiquities”, “Theodosius Literary Memorial Museum of OS Green” , “Historical and cultural,Memorial Museum-Reserve “Cimmeria MA Voloshin” (respectively Feodosia), “East Crimean Historical and Cultural Museum-Reserve” (Kerch), “Museum of the History of Simferopol”, “Crimean Tatar Museum of Cultural and Historical Heritage”, “Simferopol Art Museum”, “Central Museum of Tavrida” and “Crimean Ethnographic Museum” (respectively Simferopol), “Evpatoria Museum of Local Lore”, “Historical and Archaeological Museum-Reserve” Kalos Limen “(Black Sea),” Historical and Regional Museum of the City of Armyansk ”,“ Krasnoperekopsky Museum of Local Lore ”,“ District Museum of Local Lore of Krasnogvardeisky District ”,“ Pervomaisky District Historical Folk Museum ”,“ Belogorsky District Historical and Local History Museum ”,“ Nizhny Novgorod Historical and Local History Museum ”and even Ethnographic Museum. Yu. A. Klymenko ”(Leninsky district, Novomykolayivka village).

At the same time, it is obvious from open sources that completely different structures are the main subjects of the organization of illegal archaeological research in the Crimea. As a post-representative of the President of Ukraine in the ARC, I made a report on this issue to the Parliamentary Committee on Culture and Spirituality on November 21, 2018 on the protection of cultural heritage, including archeological, in the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine in Crimea.

The Committee was informed, among other things, that the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation had issued illegal permits to eighteen institutions (organizations) to identify and study archaeological heritage sites in the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine in the Crimea. Following the report, the committee approved a decision (Minutes № 81 of December 19, 2018) – to recommend the National Security and Defense Council in the manner prescribed by law to apply sanctions against state-controlled institutions and organizations engaged in illegal archaeological exploration, excavation, export of Ukrainian cultural property from Crimea to the Russian Federation, in particular, to such legal entities as “Institute of Archeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences”, “Institute of Archeology of the Crimea of ​​the Russian Academy of Sciences”, “Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences”,”Institute of the History of Material Culture of the Russian Academy of Sciences”, “State Hermitage”, “Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Tatarstan”; “Black Sea Center for Underwater Research”, “Crimean Regional Center for Archaeological Research”, “Tavria Archaeological Society”, “Terra”, “Underwater Cultural Heritage”, “Kiramet”, “Southern Regional Center for Archaeological Research”, “Artifact”, “ARHE” , “Crimean Federal University named after VI Vernadsky” and “Historical and Archaeological Museum-Reserve” Naples of Scythia “, etc.”ARHE”, “Crimean Federal University named after VI Vernadsky” and “Historical and Archaeological Museum-Reserve” Naples Scythian “, etc.”ARHE”, “Crimean Federal University named after VI Vernadsky” and “Historical and Archaeological Museum-Reserve” Naples Scythian “, etc.

In addition, the committee recommended to the Prosecutor General’s Office to intensify coordination of law enforcement agencies on the proper criminal-legal assessment of the actions of state-controlled institutions and organizations engaged in illegal archaeological exploration, excavations, export of Ukrainian cultural property from Crimea to Russia. coordination from the regional to the national level. Unfortunately, the relevant proposed measures were ignored by both law enforcement and executive authorities, and the relevant proposals were not received by the National Security and Defense Council.

The above proves the selectivity and fragmentation of Ukraine’s sanctions policy on the protection of its own cultural heritage in the temporarily occupied territories. Ways to improve it should be the basis for some research.

Borys BABIN, Doctor of Law, Professor, Institute of Legislation of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine
Journal of Sights of Ukraine, 2019

The project was implemented with the support of the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation

Boris Babin

Doctor of Law, Professor, Institute of Legislation of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine

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