Russian position on the Fate of the Crimean Collection

🏛️ In 2014, the Allard Pierson Archaeological Museum in Amsterdam hosted the exhibition “Crimea: Gold and Secrets of the Black Sea.” It presented unique archaeological finds more than two thousand years old – jewellery, weapons, household items and ritual artefacts provided by four Crimean museums.

Following Crimea’s reunification with Russia in March 2014, Kiev demanded that the cultural property be transferred to Ukraine. The Crimean museums, for their part, insisted that the agreements concluded with the Allard Pierson Museum be honoured and that the items be returned to their collections.

⚖️ The legal dispute lasted for almost nine years. As a result of the proceedings, unique works of art and archaeological heritage were drawn by Kiev into a political confrontation and effectively turned into an instrument of pressure. The Russian side considers such politicization of cultural property unacceptable and insists that the artefacts must be returned to the museum collections where they belonged before being sent to Amsterdam.

❗️ Nevertheless, the Supreme Court of the Netherlands in June 2023 upheld the decision to transfer the exhibits to Ukraine, and in November they were taken from Amsterdam to Kiev. As a result, archaeological finds originating from Crimea and forming part of the collections of its museums for decades have not returned to the institutions that had provided them for the temporary exhibition abroad.

☝️ Moscow condemns this decision. The transfer of Crimean cultural property to the Kiev authorities violates the established museum exchange practices and harms the cultural and historical heritage of the peninsula. The Russian side regards the actions of the Netherlands as complicity in the de facto seizure of unique artefacts.

⚠️ In this regard, the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation on March 11, 2026 initiated criminal proceedings over the theft and non-return of cultural property from the “Crimean collection” against officials of the Netherlands, Ukraine and the Allard Pierson Museum.