Former Director of Mariupol Museum in Ukraine suspected of helping Russia loot Art
Former director of the Mariupol Museum has been served with a notice of suspicion under the procedural guidance of the Donetsk Regional Prosecutor’s Office.
"According to the investigation, she facilitated the illegal appropriation by Russia of unique works of art from the funds of the Arkhip Kuindzhi Art Museum. This concerns five original canvases by Ivan Aivazovsky, Arkhip Kuindzhi, and Grigory Kalmykov with a total value of over UAH 26 million," the Prosecutor General’s Office reported on Facebook on Wednesday.
According to the investigation, at the beginning of the full-scale invasion by Russia, the suspect, having free access to the museum storage, illegally took possession of the paintings that were exhibited at the Arkhip Kuindzhi Art Museum. Initially, she moved them to her own home, and later, following agreements with representatives of the occupation administration, personally handed them over to the invaders.
Among the stolen cultural property are Ivan Aivazovsky’s painting Along the Coasts of the Caucasus, Arkhip Kuindzhi’s canvases Red Sunset, Autumn. Crimea, and Elbrus, as well as Grigory Kalmykov’s work Kuindzhi Feeding Pigeons.
"Subsequently, the paintings were taken to the so-called Donetsk Republican Art Museum and illegally entered into the Russian registry of museum values. Thus, the suspect facilitated the illegal appropriation by Russia of the cultural heritage of Mariupol," the statement reads.