Russian occupation authorities demolish Lesia Ukrainka Museum in Yalta, Crimea

The museum dedicated to the famous Ukrainian poetess Lesia Ukrainka no longer exists in Yalta, which is temporarily occupied by Russia.

Voice of Crimea reports this.

Its reporters discovered this while inspecting the cultural institutions on the occupied peninsula.

There's a security plaque from Soviet times on the museum building, commemorating the Ukrainian writer who stayed here in the late 19th century. Sadly, the occupying leaders removed all other traces of Lesia Ukrainka.

The sign at the entrance of the building, which showed that the second floor houses the Lesia Ukrainka Museum and the exhibit "Lomykamin" featuring her time in Yalta, is no longer there.

^{The occupiers installed a new sign without mentioning Lesia Ukrainka. Photo: "Voice of Crimea"}A new sign now stands at this location, informing visitors about the "Yalta. XIXth century (history, music, and literature)" exposition and an exhibition showcasing architect Nikolai Krasnov, both held under the Yalta Historical and Literary Museum's auspices.

Right now, visitors can tour four locations here that cover:

• The building's history and its connection to Yalta;
• An exhibit on the music scene in Yalta during the late 1800s and early 1900s;
• The literary scene in Yalta;
• The work of architect Krasnov, who is honored with a dedicated hall.

The exhibition honoring Lesia Ukrainka only had a few small photos, along with pictures of Pushkin, Tolstoy, Tsvetaeva, and her writing desk, that were preserved.

According to Olha Kuryshko, the deputy representative of the president in the Republic of Crimea, the occupiers have renovated the Museum of Lesia Ukrainka and altered the exhibition's format, as she told Suspilne Crimea.

"In 2015, the Yalta Historical Museum was renamed without mentioning its previous association with Lesia Ukrainka. Subsequently, it was closed extensively for what seemed like renovations. Recently, it reopened under a different name, fully reconstructed and without the previous exhibitions," said Kuryshko.

According to her, the current location of the exhibits related to the Ukrainian poetess is unknown.

"Regarding the exposition, there is no information about its location. Or it may be in some archives, or at least, we would like to hope so. So far, there is unconfirmed information about partial destruction. But this is generally traced to the activity of the occupying state. The exposition is taken away or destroyed," Kuryshko said.

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It should be noted that the disappearance of the Lesia Ukrainka Museum in Yalta is not the only example of the destruction of cultural institutions by representatives of the occupation authorities.

In June, in occupied Crimea, Russian archaeologists and developers completely demolished a significant global monument – the Tauric Chersonese. They then constructed a new open-air theater and moved the archaeological findings to museums in Russia.

A month later, in July, the official opening ceremony for the new theater, built on a historic landmark, took place.

Last year, the occupiers announced their intentions to establish a men's monastery on the Chersonesus grounds and also construct a set of man-made water features there.

As stated by Rubryka, Russia has been openly waging war against Ukraine since 2014. This includes a humanitarian aggression where the enemy is actively destroying, looting, and claiming possession of Ukrainian historical and cultural artifacts. Among their thousands of crimes, they are also attempting to erase Ukraine's national memory by destroying archaeological, architectural, and cultural monuments. For more information on this topic, please check out Rubryka's article "Stolen Heritage: Russia's Archaeological Crimes."