What should a really great power do in such a case?
It all started back in February (not very, of course) February 2014. The Simferopol Art Museum and the Mariupol Museum of Local Lore have signed a contract for exhibiting paintings in the framework of the exhibition “Russian and Ukrainian Art of the 18th - early 20th centuries”.
In accordance with the contract, paintings from the Crimea arrived in Mariupol on February 19 and were to be exhibited before May 27 on the 2014 of the year.
However, Mariupol museum workers received a letter from 19 in March from the director of the Simferopol Art Museum, in which she asked for the return of works of art due to the tense social and political situation in Ukraine.
In the Crimea, as we all remember, the “Russian spring” was raging in full swing ...
The head of the Mariupol Museum, Olga Chaplinskaya, agreed to early terminate the contract on the exposition of paintings from the Crimea, and the head of the department of funds of the Art Museum. A.I. Kuindzhi KU "Mariupol Museum of Local Lore" Natalya Kurenysheva 20 in March handed over pictures to the envoy of the 52 museum in Simferopol.
Then I give the floor to the officials.
"These persons transferred to the temporarily occupied territory of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea KRU" Simferopol Art Museum "52 paintings, in connection with which the State caused property damage totaling over 1 320 000 US dollars.
The Prosecutor's Office of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, together with the State of Emergency in the Crimea and the city of Sevastopol 07.09.2017, reported suspicion to officials of the administrative staff of the Mariupol Museum of Local Lore Museum criminal offense under Article 5 Art. 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (misappropriation, embezzlement of property or seizure of it by means of abuse of official position). "
This is from the official statement of the press service of the prosecutor's office of the ARC Crimea. The prosecutor's office "temporarily" is in Kiev.
There was a court in which Chaplinskaya and Kurenysheva fully admitted their guilt.
As a result, the Ukrainian court found the museum workers guilty and appointed Chaplinskaya (by the way, she is an honored culture worker of Ukraine) and Kurenysheva's punishment of imprisonment for a year of 3, with deprivation of the right to hold posts related to the implementation of organizational and administrative duties for a year .
However, according to the amnesty law, women were freed from the main and additional punishment.
And here is a list of paintings that returned to the Crimea ahead of schedule and are now the property of Russia.
Samokish N.S. "Autumn landscape";
Samokish N.S. "Yard, lit by the sun";
Frenz R.F. "Inn";
Makovsky V.E. "Hospital visit" (sketch) ";
Polenov V.D. "Landscape" (etude) ";
Yuon K.F. "On the shore. The Pskov River";
Krichevsky V.G. "Cyril Church";
Braz O.E. "Portrait of a boy";
Sverchkov N.E. "Rider in the forest";
Tsionglinsky I.F. "Mosque in Tiberias";
Zhukovsky S.Yu. "Departure";
Kolesov A.M. "Portrait of Gilyarov - Platonov";
Shebuev V.K. "Old man's head";
Schedrovsky I.S. "Apple Trading";
Rylov A.A. "Village Makarye";
Yakovlev P.F. "No mercy";
Turzhansky L.V. "Last flowers. Manor";
Shishkin I.I. "Road in the forest";
Levitan I.I. "Swamp (etude)";
Fedotov, PA "Widow";
Vinogradov S.A. "Shepherdess";
Zhukovsky S.Yu. "At the mill";
Polenov V.D. "Autumn landscape";
Savrasov A.K. "Landscape. Evening";
Korovin K.A. "Landscape with a fortress" (sketch of scenery) ";
Polenov V.D. "Landscape with a boat";
Samokish N.S. "On the trotter";
Kazas MM "Portrait of a father";
Raesberg C. "Portrait of a Girl";
Magdesian E.Y. "The courtyard of Alupka Palace";
Magdesian E.Y. "Alupkipski Palace";
Samokish N.S. "Troika" (author's repetition) ";
Samokish N.S. "Petersburg Konka";
Aivazovsky I.K. "Moonlight night";
Blagoveshchenskiy V.I. "Old house";
Blagoveshchenskiy V.I. "Old Kremlin";
Chemesov E. "Portrait of Elizabeth";
Utkin "Aeneas and Anchises";
Orlovsky A.O. "Horse racing";
Orlovsky A.O. "Self Portrait";
Beggrov K. "Petersburg. Vladimir Cathedral";
Rozanov I. "Church in Resurrection near Moscow";
Jordan F. "The Torture of the Savior";
Beggrov K. "The first line of the Vasilievsky fortress. The Lutheran Church of St. Catherine";
Galaktionov "Peterhof. Marley";
Skorodumov "Diana and Acteon";
Kochalov G. "Nevsky Prospect";
Elyakov I. "Prospectus Exchange and Gostiny Dvor";
Grekov A. "Summer Palace of Elizabeth Petrovna";
Smirnov "Portrait of Tomilov";
Mate V.V. "Portrait of Grigorovich DV";
Kramskoy I.N. "Peter I" (etching from the portrait of I. Nikitin) ".
Probably enough names Aivazovsky, Shishkin, Levitan, Polenov, Makovsky Savrasov.
And now the question arises: how, in theory, should a really great power behave in such a case?
To keep silent, since greatness does not allow (which, in fact, is the place to be)?
Say "thank you", and that's all?
Or maybe express gratitude in the form of citizenship and an invitation to work in one of the Russian museums?
You can, of course, hang a medal, of those that pop stars are hung up. But - not necessarily.
The situation is peculiar. Two employees of the museum behaved as their conscience told them. And they gave Russia 52 pictures for the amount indicated above.
Now they are criminals with all the ensuing consequences. Amnesty, but nonetheless.
And it is quite possible that it is easier not to notice a small feat. And cheaper.
And it will be fair when ukropeytsy will mock at them: "Well, what did your son, your Poles (Russians), help you to your son?"
A good lesson for the rest in Ukraine (and not only there), who will face a choice ...
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