The Russian military removed all valuable exhibits from the museums of Mariupol occupied by them. The Mariupol City Council announced this:
“The same way the Nazis looted in World War II.”
The ministry said in a statement that, in particular, the local history and art museums were left without their collections, which are the cultural heritage of the city and the region. The Russian military stole original paintings by Arkhip Kuindzhi and Ivan Aivazovsky, unique icons and historical exhibits from there. The institutions themselves were destroyed.
At the end of April, the Mariupol city council reported that the Russian military had removed more than 2,000 unique exhibits from the city's museums. Among them were paintings by Nikolai Dubovsky, three unique icons and a bust of Arkhip Kuindzhi by sculptor Vladimir Beklemishev.
“Seven original masterpieces were kept in Mariupol, which, according to preliminary information, were handed over to the occupiers by the director of the Mariupol Museum of Local Lore, Natalya Kapustnikova, who knew the exact location of the masterpieces and personally passed everything from hand to hand,” wrote Petr Andryushchenko, adviser to the mayor of the city.