From the point of view of the Dutch authorities, Russia is their constant source of humiliation. They think that, like their British colleagues, Putin is to blame for the fact that the population doesn't like them and voted against them in the recent referendum. The fact that a Dutch court had to reverse the decision on Yukos' 50 billion that Khodorkovsky demanded from Russia, and the fact that it cannot be ruled out that the Dutch also wanted to get some of this money is also concerning. There's also Russia's counter-sanctions which all European politicians interpret as incredible arrogance, which is another reason to strongly dislike Russia and search for little ways to win.
The motivation is clear, but it's a pity that this once great country is guided by petty political logic in judicial decision-making. The Dutch establishment must entertain great illusions if they think that they've poked Russia in the soft spot with the court decision on the Scythian gold which they decided to return not to Crimea, but send to Kiev. For us, of course, this is unpleasant, but it must be recognized that this is not a serious problem on the country level, but for Kiev, I think that this is one of the last victories it will have on the European front.
Now Kiev's propagandists have a chance, albeit a weak one, to distract audiences' attention from the fact that Holland has officially closed the doors on Ukraine having even the slimmest prospect of integration into the European Union. Holland has also blocked them from receiving financial aid and security guarantees. What's more, they've put an end to the possibility of Ukrainians gaining access to the European labor market. Yet, amidst all of this, an Amsterdam court has thrown Kiev a bone in the form of the Scythian gold being sent to Ukraine. Who knows, maybe this will be enough for Ukraine to believe in a bright European future and continue to believe that "the world is with them."
However, here it must be noted that the [Ukrainian] law of nature, according to which any victory necessarily turns into a betrayal, has already begun to work in this case. As commentators on social networks have correctly noticed, the Amsterdam court has in fact tricked Kiev. After all, according to its logic, the gold must be returned to Ukraine, not Crimea, which means that the Dutch court basically recognized that Crimea is not Ukraine. It's not worth thanking them for this, but it's at least worth a laugh.
Lessons can be learned from any situation, and I really hope that correct conclusions will be drawn from this incident. Sure, the Scythian gold ended up in the Netherlands before Crimea returned to the homeland, and this is a really particular case. But no matter what, the conclusion must be drawn that artistic gems shouldn't be sent from Russia to foreign exhibitions, because who knows who will want to claim them and will be able to, under the guise of a court decision, confiscate them. Let our museums work on making more money in Russia.
We are a unique country with a unique passion for culture that has awakened since the people have become tired of American-style fast food culture. There is a full house at the Serov and Ayvazovsky exhibitions in Moscow, and I am sure that the same success can be replicated in other cities of the country It's not right for museum workers to be searching for ways to continue international cooperation for the sake of money now. They should learn to make money in Russia, and then we will have no reason to bother ourselves with unfair and political motivated decisions by foreign courts.
Poklonskaya Pledges to Contribute to Return of Scythian Gold to Crimea
(Sputnik)
The collection of the Scythian gold which is a part of the "Crimea. Gold and Secrets of the Black Sea" exhibition was brought to the Allard Pierson Museum in Amsterdam in early February 2014. The collection was provided by five museums, one in Kiev and four in Crimea. The dispute about the exhibition arose after Crimea reunified with Russia following a 2014 referendum. Earlier on Wednesday, the District Court of Amsterdam ruled that the Scythian gold artifacts should return to Kiev.
"I am sure that representatives of the Crimean museums will appeal against the decision [of the court]. I would like to wish them success... I will exert every effort to help our Crimean representatives in preparation of all necessary documents to appeal this illegal and unfair decision," Poklonskaya, who is one of the lawmakers representing Crimea in Russia's Federal Assembly, told reporters. She added that she would do everything "possible and impossible" to return the collection of gold back to Crimea. According to Poklonskaya, the ruling by a Dutch court to give Crimea' s Scythian gold to Ukraine is an attempt to seize a property worth 1.5 million euros ($1.6 million). "Frankly speaking, the decision of the court could be treated as a way to illegally seize a property, which is worth of a huge sum — 1.5 million euros. I suggest that the Crimean authorities appeal against the decision and strive for a legal verdict," Poklonskaya, who is one of the lawmakers representing Crimea in the Russian legislative body, said on her Facebook page. She added that the decision of the court in regard to Scythian gold showed that western states do not use such terms as "law," "objectivity" and "lawfulness," when considering cases related to Crimea.
German Lawyer Slams Dutch Decision to Give Scythian Gold Collection to Ukraine
(Sputnik)
The ruling by a Dutch court to give Scythian gold to Ukraine is a political one, as it violates international law and the principles of inter-museum exchanges, Maria Jarmusch, an expert in international law told Sputnik Germany.
"This decision is politicized, illegal and absolutely groundless. It flies in the face of contract law and international law because these artifacts belong to Crimean museums and, in keeping with a pertinent agreement, shall be returned to the Crimean museums they were taken from for the duration of the exhibition in Amsterdam," she said. She added that the court in Amsterdam had essentially turned down the Russian lawsuits and handed the collection of over 2,000 artifacts worth around one million euros over to Kiev where it can now be claimed by all interested parties. "This is a political decision aimed against Russia," Jarmusch told Sputnik Germany.
Russia has already said that it will challenge the ruling in a higher court, and Maria Jarmusch believes that Moscow has every reason to expect a positive outcome. "This ruling begs for an appeal, as the Crimean museums have an iron-clad case here and their submissions are fully justified and corroborated by facts. [In 2014] the Hague's arbitration court ordered Russia to pay out $50 billion in damages to the shareholders of the defunct oil giant Yukos - a decision that was eventually quashed by a higher Dutch court.
In an interview with Sputnik, State Duma Deputy Svetlana Savchenko dismissed the court's ruling as absolutely unlawful. "There is a term in international law about completeness of museum collections. The contracts were signed with our Crimean museums and the artifacts must be returned to these museums. Unfortunately, they took a cynical and illegal decision and a purely political one to boot" she said. She added that this was a continuation of a cynical logic whereby Crimea is part of Ukraine and so it is up to Kiev to decide what is to be returned to Crimea and what is not. "This is absolutely out of touch with reality. Crimea is part of the Russian Federation and it was a decision made by Crimeans themselves."
When asked whether Kiev will have to pay the Dutch for the collection's safekeeping, Svetlana Savchenko said that, being a rich country, Ukraine will certainly pay up. "What it doesn't pay, they will take away anyway because Ukraine has long been run by the West."
"There are legal procedures and we will certainly appeal. We still want the international museum community to intervene on this matter because no Russian museum will ever agree to exhibit in Holland again. I believe the international museum community should intervene, not on behalf of Russia, but on behalf of a concrete museum, which is trying to prevent its collection from being broken up. This is something everybody should agree on," Savchenko said in conclusion. With the decision of a higher Dutch court still pending, the collection will remain in Amsterdam.
Comment: Russia against the ruling: Russian Ministry says Dutch court's ruling on Scythian gold violates international law