REPORTAGE. War in Ukraine: in Kherson, the museum was almost emptied of its works by Russian troops

The doors of the Kherson Regional Folk Art Museum remain hopelessly closed that day, even for the new director. Appointed urgently during the liberation of this city in southern Ukraine on November 11, Olga Goncharova cannot access the building because mine clearance is still in progress. It is thanks to the two guardians that she discovers the extent of the disaster : more than a hundred thousand works and objects from the history of the region were raided by the Russian army.

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“They also stole the registers ? My god, but then we won’t even have these documents to prove what disappeared. ?!”, sI despair Olga Goncharova. To To tell the truth, there is almost nothing left of these paintings, ceramics, coins gathered there since 1978. The museum guard explains that this looting took place a few days before the withdrawal of the Russian forces. A group of 70 people landed from occupied Crimea, he claims, and packed everything into two large trucks. “They did a painstaking job”, he said. Some were packing, others were hurrying to load the truck. They left only the heaviest works.

Personnel collaborated with the Russians

The looters were aided by some staff members. A member of the historical team opened all the doors of the museum to them. The former director also collaborated with the occupier before fleeing. “My god, my god”, cowardly Olga Goncharova, her successor. “It really is a personal tragedy. I have worked in this museum all my life. All these stolen works, I knew them inside out.”

In parallel with the bombings, Vladimir Putin’s army is trying to erase Ukrainian history and identity. How can we act like this in the 21st century, when we fly to Mars with Sputnik, wonders Olga Goncharova. Then the director pulled himself together: “They certainly stole material wealth, but most of our teams did not agree to collaborate and that is our spiritual potential that endures. This is how we are going to revive our museum”.

The new director wants to quickly reopen the museum regional folk art, so that everyone can visit the looted exhibition rooms, and see the damage. Large-scale thefts, including 14 places of culture have been victims in the city of Kherson since the beginning of the war in Ukraine.