Ukraine’s Kherson regional history museum has been pillaged by Russian civilian and military forces under orders that intentionally rob Ukrainians of their cultural heritage. Known to have one of the most impressive and sizable collections of its kind, the Kherson museum contained precious objects spanning Ukraine’s history which Russian forces have systematically looted. Russian troops also looted a cathedral and national archive prior to their withdrawal from an 8-month-long occupation of the city. Ukraine’s minister of culture Oleksandr Tkachenko estimates nearly 80% of all objects were taken. 

Although international humanitarian law characterizes the looting of cultural heritage as a war crime, finding a resolution and repatriating objects is not as straightforward as it should be. Documenting all of the losses takes time, and with the region still under attack, Kherson and her people continue to exist in a war zone. The Human Rights Watch visited the institutions affected in November of 2022, bearing witness to the empty frames, walls, and smashed cases where art and cultural objects had once lived. Since it is unclear where these objects will end up, it is alarming to know that after Russian forces installed a new museum director in July, over 10,000 items from Ukrainian, Russian, and other European artists have been targeted.

Documenting these violating acts is the first step towards accountability. Across the country, experts and officials have begun to define and record the level of destruction with the hopes of charging the perpetrators with war crimes. As evidenced by the mass amounts of Nazi spoliation of cultural artifacts in World War II, looting and destruction of cultural heritage is an effective and heinous tactic used to threaten the identity of those cultures an oppressor wishes to destroy. Looting is a colonizing discipline that comes from a place of privilege, guarding objects and disenfranchising their cultures of origin. Used as a tool to suppress, looting removes cultural objects from their contexts, destroys property and identities, and deprives people of their heritage. Looting fuels conflict, and ultimately, these acts are indicative of a power struggle, with cultural heritage being caught in the crossfires of political strife. 

With Russia’s attempt to systematically dismantle Ukrainian culture, international safeguards and conventions are not always effective in providing justice to the harmed parties. The existence of the 1970 UNESCO Convention and 1954 Hague Convention provide outlines for protection and prevention, but the issue remains enforcing such regulations. Simply agreements between states, conventions are less formal than the treaties that contractually bind states to certain obligations. Discrepancies emerge among definitions of cultural property, and those that are provided often become outdated. The 1954 Hague Convention bans spoils of war but excludes intangible cultural heritage. The 1970 UNESCO Convention is the first to mention “illicit” behaviors, but illicit merely signifies an action is unethical. With no mention of “illegal” behavior, conventions like these lack the power to condemn such actions as being against the law or the power to prosecute. 

Because of these weaknesses, stricter laws of war will be referenced to form any future case against Russian forces. Treaties like the Geneva Convention of 1949 prohibit pillaging, looting, plunder, or spoliation, as well as the “extensive destruction and appropriation of property, not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly.” Additionally, the International Criminal Court also finds the destruction and seizure of enemy property a war crime, and guilty parties can be prosecuted for such. Although these humanitarian laws provide some support, it may be time to revisit the conventions that are specifically made to protect cultural heritage.

from the desk of Madison Kelley

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Kurmanova, Tetiana. “Ukraine: War Crimes against Cultural Heritage.” Institute for War and Peace Reporting, January 3, 2023. https://iwpr.net/global-voices/ukraine-war-crimes-against-cultural-heritage.

“Ukraine: Russians Pillage Kherson Cultural Institutions.” Human Rights Watch, December 20, 2022. https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/12/20/ukraine-russians-pillage-kherson-cultural-institutions.