Ukraine Targets Russian Museum Heads with Sanctions Over Cultural Heritage Theft

Ukraine has imposed personal sanctions against the directors of leading Russian museums who were actively involved in the illegal appropriation and exploitation of Ukrainian cultural heritage.

The Gaze reports on it, referring to the Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communications of Ukraine (MCSC).

The MCSC, together with the Ukrainian National Committee of the International Council of Museums (ICOM) and the public organization “Council for Economic Security of Ukraine,” initiated sanctions against 15 directors of leading Russian museums for their involvement in the appropriation of Ukrainian cultural heritage. The relevant decision of the National Security and Defense Council was enacted by decree of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Sanctions have been imposed on individuals involved in the illegal registration of Ukrainian cultural property in the Russian state museum catalog, visiting temporarily occupied territories after 2022, and participating in events that legitimize the occupation regime. 

In addition, sanctions were applied to those who participated in Russian indoctrination projects for children and youth and publicly disseminated narratives that justify or deny Russia's armed aggression against Ukraine.

"Russian museums are actively involved in the unprecedented theft of Ukrainian cultural heritage in the occupied territories. This involves not only the actual removal or accounting of museum valuables, but also an attempt to completely erase Ukrainian cultural identity," said Tetyana Berezhna, Acting Minister of Culture and Strategic Communications of Ukraine.

Therefore, sanctions were imposed on the management of a number of museum institutions in the Russian Federation, including the State Borodino Military History Museum-Reserve, the Russian Ethnographic Museum, the State Museum-Reserve “Peterhof,” the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, the museum-reserves “Kulikovo Field,” “Sviyazhsk Island,” and “Tarkhany,” and others.

According to the Ukrainian National Committee of ICOM, as of March 2025, there were 39 museums from territories temporarily occupied after 2022 listed in the Russian state catalog, while in August 2024 there were only six. 

This indicates large-scale cultural appropriation, which grossly violates the 1954 Hague Convention. Instead of protecting heritage, Russia is officially integrating Ukrainian museums into its own space and using them for propaganda purposes.

The sanctions also aim to prevent representatives of the Russian Federation from being elected to the governing bodies of the International Council of Museums, in particular Artem Silkin and Galina Alexeeva, who are running for election at the ICOM General Assembly in Dubai in November. 

The next step will be an initiative for similar restrictions at the EU level to set a precedent and limit the participation of individuals involved in cultural looting in international processes.

As The Gaze informed earlier, as of July 2025, Russian aggression has destroyed or damaged over 1,500 cultural heritage sites and more than 2,300 cultural infrastructure facilities across Ukraine.