Russia-Ukraine in Legal Dispute Over Ancient Golden Artifacts for 8 Years

[Photo by AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Byung-hee] The Donbas region in eastern Ukraine, which served as the pretext for Russia's invasion of Ukraine, has been a battleground for a proxy war between Russia and Ukraine for the past eight years. There is another subject over which Russia and Ukraine have waged a proxy war during these eight years: the ancient Scythian golden artifacts. The Scythians were a nomadic people active in the southern regions of Russia and Ukraine from the 6th to the 3rd century BCE.

From 2013 to 2014, an exhibition titled "Crimea: Gold and Secrets of the Black Sea" was held in Europe. The first venue was Bonn, Germany, followed by the Allard Pierson Museum in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The exhibition aimed to showcase how the culture of the ancient Crimean Peninsula harmonized and flourished with the cultures of the Greeks and nomadic peoples around the Black Sea.

In February 2014, during the exhibition, Russia occupied the Crimean Peninsula. At that time, 432 artifacts were loaned from five Ukrainian museums for the exhibition. The Allard Pierson Museum returned 19 artifacts borrowed from the National Museum of History of Kyiv without any issues. However, the remaining 413 artifacts were loaned from four museums in the Crimean Peninsula, which became a source of controversy.

The four museums in the Crimean Peninsula demanded the return of the artifacts and took legal action. Subsequently, a legal proxy war between Ukraine and Russia unfolded in Dutch courts. The court rulings were inconsistent, and during the litigation process, controversy arose over the neutrality of a Dutch judge who had previously worked as a legal professional for a major Russian corporation.

[Photo by AP Yonhap News]

In an October ruling last year, the Dutch Court of Appeal ruled in favor of Ukraine. At that time, President Volodymyr Zelensky tweeted, "We always get back what is ours," adding, "First, we will get back the Scythian gold, and next, we will get back Crimea." On the other hand, Russian President Vladimir Putin told Sergey Aksyonov, head of the Crimean Autonomous Republic government, in a firm tone that it was "blatant theft."

Russia appealed at the end of January this year. It is likely to take several more years before the Dutch Supreme Court delivers a final verdict.

Valentina Morvintseva, who lectures in archaeology at the Moscow Higher School of Economics, was responsible for the "Crimea: Gold and Secrets of the Black Sea" exhibition. She said, "Returning the artifacts to Russia would be perceived by the Ukrainian people as contrary to Ukraine's national interests," adding, "There is no proper solution."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.