The Russians destroyed a monument of world importance in Crimea — in its place they built a theater and a cathedral of the Moscow Patriarchate

Archaeological park on the territory of the settlement of Chersonesus Tavriyskyi in the Crimea. Photo: Evelina Kravchenko. Archaeological park on the territory of the settlement of Tauric Chersonesus in the Crimea. Photo: Evelina Kravchenko.

The Russians completely destroyed the only authentic monument of world importance, «Tauric Chersonesus», which is located in the annexed Crimea.

This was stated by Evelina Kravchenko, a senior researcher at the Institute of Archeology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.

The scientist reminded that in 2015-2016, the developers fenced off the archaeological remains on the surface: towers, walls and columns with viewing platforms.

Historical monument before. Photo from open sources. Historical monument before. Photo from open sources.
Historical monument before. Photo from open sources. Historical monument before. Photo from open sources.
Historical monument before. Photo from open sources. Historical monument before. Photo from open sources.
Historical monument before. Photo from open sources. Historical monument before. Photo from open sources.

According to her, most of the found artifacts — frescoes, dishes, household items, icons — were taken to Russian museums. In this way, the Russians replace the original sights with new buildings, destroying their authenticity, Evelina Kravchenko believes.

Stolen artifact. Photo: Evelina Kravchenko. Stolen artifact. Photo: Evelina Kravchenko.

Subsequently, the construction of the archaeological park «New Chersonese» began on the site of the remains of the necropolis.

«The Russians did not know anything about the geological situation at this place, so they began to remove the soil on the territory with ordinary excavators. Somehow they dug up an ancient spring there, so everything flooded,» said Evelina Kravchenko.

Now, according to her, a new city has been built on the site of the archaeological remains: the archaeological park covers the old finds, several excavated objects have been gradually moved to another place. On the site of the hillfort, the Russians built the Cathedral of St. Volodymyr, which is subordinate to the Moscow Patriarchate.

It should be noted that the Tauric Chersonesus is a unique landmark that is more than two and a half thousand years old. This is the only landmark in Crimea, which has world significance.

The amphitheater was built on the site of a defensive citadel. Photo: Evelina Kravchenko. The amphitheater was built on the site of a defensive citadel. Photo: Evelina Kravchenko.

We will remind how eight objects of Mykolaiv were deprived of the status of historical monuments.

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