The other day, Minister of Culture Mykola Tochytskyi published a column describing the museum-related crimes committed by the Russian Federation in the occupied territories of Ukraine.
And yesterday, the Main Intelligence Directorate added information about 14 Russian museum directors who personally visited the occupied territories to its War & Sanctions portal.
Previously, these individuals had been flagged by the Ukrainian National Committee of ICOM.
I see a positive development in the actions of both the minister and Main Intelligence Directorate because the right emphasis has been placed.
First, at the political level, the unnatural closeness between Russian museums and Russian intelligence has been highlighted. This will make it harder for international partners to "overlook" this fact.
Second, it has been noted that the Russian authorities have perverted the very essence of museum work, turning the museum system into a service tool for those who inspire and organize aggressive war.
This is not just about the theft of individual artifacts (though these cases are also being documented).
The reality is that all Russian museums have been reoriented by the authorities toward serving war-related goals—mobilizing the population, maintaining a high level of militaristic hysteria, recruiting mercenaries into the army, enforcing the occupation regime, bypassing sanctions, and so on.
Every type of museum—historical, art, technical, natural science, and others—at every level is involved in this effort.
Therefore, Russian museum workers cannot be viewed separately from this system. Yes, there are indeed some decent individuals and highly skilled specialists among them. But when they act as officials and/or "representatives of Russia," they must be sanctioned simply for being part of the system. There can be no "non-occupiers" in an occupying army. Everyone is an occupier. The same applies here.
Third, a crucial principle has been established for holding Russian museum workers—especially leaders—accountable. Most of them are not foolish people. With rare exceptions, they avoid openly barbaric statements and direct justifications of the invasion of Ukraine. However, they are fully aware of their disgraceful role.
Their role is to integrate the seized Ukrainian museums into the Russian museum system, with official registration of Ukrainian museum collections in the Russian state catalog.
When a Russian museum organizes a butterfly exhibition or opens a children's center in an occupied territory, it is not just an innocent cultural event. It is training the Ukrainian museum to function according to Russian standards.
A Russian museum director, even if they do not personally visit occupied Ukrainian territory, signs orders, authorizes assignments for official trips, and so on. In other words, they are directly organizing illegal activities—even if they remain silent about it.
And if they personally visit the occupied territories, there can be no doubt: such individuals deserve all possible international restrictions as accomplices to the occupation.
The Intelligence Agency list (which Tochytskyi has partly highlighted) includes a variety of figures: from Roman Kovrikov, director of "Peterhof" (Russia's most visited museum), to heads of regional museums who got themselves involved in this affair.
This is a crystal-clear signal to all Russian museum workers and their potential international partners: the Ukrainian state has taken action. The process is slow but inevitable.
In early February, sanctions were already imposed on Russian museum workers—mainly for their involvement in archaeology and Crimea, but not only.
Sooner or later, every Russian museum worker who has stained themselves with collaboration in aggression, and anyone who chooses to cooperate with such individuals, will find themselves in a position they would certainly prefer to avoid.
To restore normal relations, Russian museums must undergo "demilitarization." Until that happens, all Russian museum projects abroad should be regarded as a form of military activity. Anything else would be self-deception.
