"Crimean treasures": Scythian gold shown in Kyiv for the first time after its return to Ukraine. Photo and video

Scythian and Sarmatian gold returned to Ukraine from the Netherlands was displayed in Kyiv. The valuables will be kept in the capital until the de-occupation of Crimea.

Acting Minister of Culture Rostyslav Karandieiev told journalists about this. One of the boxes with gold jewelry from the Scythian period was unpacked in front of the press, an OBOZ.UA correspondent reported.

The valuables include a golden Scythian ceremonial helmet from the fourth century BC and other treasures from the era of colonization of Crimea by the ancient Greeks: posthumous golden masks, bronze swords, golden helmets and precious stones.

According to Karandieiev, the museum in the Netherlands refused to take a fee of UAH 9 million for maintaining the collection for 10 years. They only asked to pay for the delivery.

The collection returned thanks to SSU and BES materials

The SSU reported that the Scythian Gold collection was returned to Ukraine thanks to the materials of the Security Service and the Bureau of Economic Security. The cost of the collection is 1.5 million US dollars. The struggle for the fate of the artifacts lasted almost 10 years with the participation of the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine.

SSU Head Vasyl Maliuk said that the case is symbolic to the special service.

"Just as Ukrainians returned the Scythian Gold, we will return Crimea, Donbas and the rest of the occupied territories. We will fight for our people, our values and our history!" he emphasized.

According to the investigation, according to the signed agreements, the entire ancient collection was supposed to be returned to Ukraine in the summer of 2014, but this did not happen. Since then, criminal proceedings on the facts of illegal stay of cultural property abroad have been initiated, with lawsuits launched.

Taking into account the materials collected by the SSU and the BES, the Supreme Court of the Netherlands made a final decision in favor of Ukraine.

Measures to return other elements of the "Scythian Gold" seized in cooperation with law enforcement agencies of foreign countries to Ukraine are underway, the SSU said.

As a reminder, historian Andrii Ivanets in a comment to OBOZ.UA explained the true value of the Scythian Gold: almost 2,700 kg of cultural property that moved from the Netherlands to the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, where customs officers will identify the treasures. According to the expert, the return of the artifacts worth almost 2 million euros is important for Ukraine not only in the historical context but also in the political context.

"If Russia managed to win the courts in the Netherlands, it would demonstrate that the allegedly temporarily occupied territory of Crimea belongs to the occupying power. It meant a political danger," the historian emphasized.

As reported by OBOZ.UA, the day before, the National Museum of History of Ukraine reported that the collection of artifacts "Scythian Gold", which was stored in the Netherlands for nine years due to the occupation of Crimea, returned to Ukraine. We are talking about 565 items that were brought to the territory of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra.

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