Losses of the museum fund of Ukraine in the Zaporizhia region during the two years of the Russian-Ukrainian war: a preliminary review

Abstract

The article discusses the losses of the museum fund in the Zaporizhzhia region in Ukraine due to Russian-Ukrainian war from February 2022 to May 2024. It outlines the well-known facts about the theft of museum collections in the territories of the Zaporizhzhia region occupied by Russian armed forces, particularly from the collections of the Melitopol Museum of Local History and Polohy District Museum of Local History, the National Historical and Archaeological Reserve “Kamyana Mohyla” and the Vasylivka Historical and Architectural Museum-Reserve “Popov Manor House”. Instances of the destruction of Ukrainian museums due to shelling by Russian military forces are listed.

The consequences of the technological disaster caused by the explosion of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station (Kakhovka Dam) by Russian forces for Ukraine's cultural heritage and museum collection have been already described. It must be  is emphasized that a significant number of archaeological sites that have ended up in the drainage area  in the occupied territories will never be included in museum collections again – they are either washed away by water, are under the threat of looting, or could have been destroyed due to natural factors. There are  many examples of how Russian occupation administration has used museums as instruments of Russian propaganda in the occupied territories of Ukraine.

It is noted that museum propaganda in the territories of Ukraine occupied by Russia is aimed at destroying the national and civic identity of Ukrainian citizens and “re-educating” children and youth in accordance with the ideas of the so-called “Russian world”.

This propaganda occurs in the context of physical and informational isolation of the population under occupation.

In conclusion, it is stated that the actions of the Russian Federation regarding the destruction of Ukrainian museums, the theft of their collections, and the use of museums in the occupied territories for propaganda purposes are elements of genocide against the Ukrainian people.