Hermitage Museum Halts Crimea Archaeology as War Deepens Cultural Heritage Dispute
The State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg has suspended all archaeological expeditions in annexed Crimea, a decision that underscores how Russia’s war in Ukraine continues to reshape the movement of scholars, artifacts, and historical claims across the peninsula. The pause comes as the Kremlin declares a state of emergency amid a severe fuel shortage and ongoing Ukrainian attacks, according to local reporting.
Alexander Butyagin, who heads the Hermitage’s archaeology department, said the expeditions were being delayed until conditions improve. “It’s too difficult to organize normal operations right now,” he told the Russian state-run news agency TASS on Monday. Local media reported that Butyagin had been expected to lead an expedition in Crimea last month, but that project was moved to Russia’s Krasnodar region instead.
The suspension arrives against the backdrop of a long-running legal and political fight over archaeology in Crimea, which Ukraine does not recognize as Russian territory. Ukrainian prosecutors have accused Butyagin of excavating the ancient site of Myrmekion without authorization after Russia’s 2014 annexation of the peninsula. He was detained in Poland in December 2025 on a Ukrainian extradition request. In March, a Warsaw district court ruled that the request was legally admissible, but the extradition was halted after his lawyer appealed. Before the case concluded, Poland released Butyagin as part of a US-brokered prisoner exchange involving Belarus and Russia, and he returned to Russia.
Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence agency added Butyagin to its “War and Sanctions” registry in February 2025. The registry tracks people accused of violating Ukrainian law in Russian-occupied territories. In its account, the agency said an expedition he led at Myrmekion removed 30 gold coins, including 26 bearing the name of Alexander the Great, and damaged the protected site.
Russia has rejected those allegations. In January, the Russian Foreign Ministry dismissed the case as unfounded and described Butyagin’s work as a contribution to the region’s cultural heritage. Mikhail Piotrovsky, director of the Hermitage Museum, also criticized Butyagin’s arrest, calling it political pressure tied to Western sanctions on Russia.
The dispute reflects a broader struggle over Crimea’s past. Ukrainian researchers argue that archaeological sites are increasingly being used to support Russia’s state-backed historical narratives, pointing in particular to the UNESCO-listed site of Tauric Chersonese, which has remained largely inaccessible to international oversight since 2014.
The stakes extend beyond excavation. Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began, cultural property has become another front in the conflict, with Ukrainian authorities accusing Russian forces of looting museum collections and some missing works later appearing in Crimean museums. Earlier this year, staff at the Kherson Regional Art Museum said they had identified 100 looted artworks, including a 1986 painting by Nina Marchenko that they say was taken in 2022 and is now housed at Crimea’s Central Museum of Tavrida.
As the war grinds on, Crimea remains a flashpoint where archaeology, museum stewardship, and sovereignty are increasingly inseparable.
