In Kyiv, First Lady Olena Zelenska opened the exhibition "Treasures of Crimea. Return". For its exhibits – Scythian gold, Ukraine has been fighting with Russia for almost 10 years.
"Our struggle for the return of Crimea and the return of its treasures began simultaneously – 10 years ago. It took 10 long years of courts and brilliant work of Ukrainian and foreign lawyers, museum workers and diplomats for culture, historical justice and cooperation of free people to triumph," the First Lady said in her speech.
The unique artifacts in this exhibition come from the cultures of different peoples who lived on the peninsula, including Greeks, Scythians, Sarmatians, Goths, and Huns. They were created between the fifth century BC and the fifth century AD.
"The word 'multiculturalism' did not yet exist, but Crimea and its heritage were already like that! Today I am glad that the whole collection will become available to Ukrainians and friends of our country, because national treasures are not something that is hidden or appropriated somewhere. They are something that people can access," Olena Zelenska said.
The exhibition "Treasures of Crimea. Return" will be presented in the National Museum of the History of Ukraine until the final de-occupation of Crimea. After that, the collection will be transferred to the peninsula.
"I believe that just like these treasures have returned home, Crimea will also return home to be a part of not only Ukraine, but also the free world and world culture," Olena Zelenska emphasized.
In 2014, when the Russian Federation occupied Crimea, more than 550 exhibits from four Crimean museums were on display in Amsterdam. For almost 10 years, our country has been trying to get them back. Finally, a year ago, the Supreme Court of the Netherlands ruled on the transfer of the collection to Ukraine. The return of the exhibits was made possible thanks to the joint work of representatives of a foreign law firm working with the Ministry of Justice and Ukrainian lawyers, as well as teams from the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy, the National Museum of the History of Ukraine, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, and the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Ukraine.