ACCRA, Ghana, September 2026 The Embassy of the Russian Federation in Ghana has opened a street exhibition in Accra focusing on archaeological treasures from Crimea and the long running dispute over their ownership.
Titled “Crimean Gold: ‘Civilized’ Europe is Plundering Russian Treasures,” the exhibition consists of 12 colourful informational posters detailing archaeological discoveries made during excavations in Crimea and objects that were held for many years in the collections of four museums on the peninsula.
The museums named by the Russian Embassy are the Kerch Historical and Cultural Reserve, the Bakhchisaray Historical and Cultural Reserve, the Chersonesos Taurica National Reserve and the Central Museum of Taurida.
The exhibition features archaeological material from different cultures, including weapons and armour, jewellery, ritual objects, household items and tools. A central part of the display is a collection of precious jewellery dating from the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC that was discovered at the Ust Alminsk settlement in Crimea’s Bakhchysarai District.
According to the Russian Embassy, Crimean museums entered into agreements in 2013 with the University of Bonn and the Allard Pierson Museum in the Netherlands, part of the University of Amsterdam, for the exhibition “Crimea: Gold and Secrets of the Black Sea.”
The exhibition was held in Amsterdam in 2014 and included hundreds of archaeological objects from Crimean museums.
The subsequent ownership dispute followed Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014. Both Ukraine and museums in Crimea claimed the objects, which were kept in the Netherlands while the legal case proceeded.
The Allard Pierson says the Amsterdam Court of Appeal ruled in October 2021 that the disputed objects should be handed over to the Ukrainian state. The Supreme Court of the Netherlands upheld that decision on 9 June 2023.
The museum subsequently transferred the remaining objects to Ukraine in November 2023. The Allard Pierson said they arrived at the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in Kyiv on 26 November 2023, bringing an end to the nine year period during which the disputed artefacts had been held in the Netherlands.
The Russian Embassy presents the issue differently, describing the transfer of the objects to Ukraine as an unlawful appropriation of Russian cultural treasures. It says the Accra exhibition has been organised to draw international attention to Russia’s claim that the artefacts should be returned to the Russian Federation.
The Embassy said the exhibition has attracted visitors from the Ghanaian public as well as people visiting the diplomatic mission.
It has invited members of the public to view the exhibition and learn more about the archaeological heritage featured in the display.
Leave a comment