The ancient Greek city-state of impresses with its stories and beauties. Many different myths and legends surround them. The city dates back to the 4th or 3rd century BC. According to some sources, the Kievan Prince Volodymyr the Great was baptized here. When the city came under the rule of the Russian Empire, barracks for Russian soldiers were built using the ruins of Chersonese. At that time, many places in the ancient Greek city-state were destroyed, demolished, and distorted.

Understanding the value of the ruins came only decades later when the first organized excavations began in 1827. Later, in 1892, an archaeological museum was founded on the territory of Chersonese. During Soviet times, interest in the monument only increased, especially from the point of view of the history and political significance of the locality. It was included in the list of monuments of Union and Republican significance.

With the restoration of Ukraine's independence, a new stage of research into Tauric Chersonese began. In 1994, an international archaeological expedition composed of graduate students from Texas University and other American and Western European universities, as well as experts and volunteers from Ukraine and Russia, visited the reserve.

The legal status of Chersonese also changed: it was included in the list of objects of cultural heritage of national significance of the State Register of Immovable Monuments of Ukraine. The museum also received international recognition and protection when on June 23, 2013 it was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

The attempt to annex the peninsula has invalidated the achievements of the Ukrainian and international community. From 2015 to 2016, Russia actively issued a series of orders that illegally expropriated the territory and property of the reserve. The museum itself is illegally included in the list of "objects of cultural heritage of federal significance" and the "single state register of objects of cultural heritage (monuments of history and culture) of the peoples of the Russian Federation."

The real "boom" of illegal archaeological excavations in Chersonese began in 2017 with the announcement of plans to build the historical and archaeological park "Tauric Chersonese". According to the "road map," this criminal construction is supposed to take place in the buffer zones of the reserve, after obtaining the conclusion and permission of archaeologists. As part of the implementation of the "construction" on the territory of Chersonese, two expeditions are actively working: the so-called "Complex Chersonese Archaeological Expedition," formed from archaeological units of the Institute of Archaeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Hermitage, the "State Historical and Archaeological Museum-Reserve" Tauric Chersonese, and the "Chersonese Expedition of the State Hermitage."

During the activities of these two expeditions, the occupiers discover new archaeological finds - at least four burial structures of the Hellenistic period, cut into the rock, and three residential complexes - two rooms cut into the rock and one room in a natural cave. The report posted on the Hermitage website, based on the results of the expedition's activities, states that carved rock tombs from the Hellenistic and Roman periods, as well as household and production facilities, new defensive walls, water tanks, and wine presses with a wild horse, were discovered and examined. Family tombs and burials in earthen mounds are also mentioned.

Numerous artifacts are illegally confiscated and transferred for "safekeeping" to the funds of the Chersonese museum or exported beyond the borders of the Crimean peninsula to the territory of the Russian Federation.

In 2021, the Institute of the History of Material Culture of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Archaeology of Crimea of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and Sevastopol State University joined in the illegal excavations in Chersonese. The Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation issued a permit for archaeological work in Chersonese, covering an area of 400,000 square meters, which is more than 15% of the reserve's territory, in just one year. In total, in 2015-2020, the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation issued over 410 such permits, allowing Russian "archaeologists" to drastically alter a significant portion of the museum's territory.

Another "researcher" of the reserve's heritage is the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation. From May to July 2021, under its direct control, with the help of excavators, trucks, and other construction equipment, a portion of Chersonese's buffer zone was "investigated." Such actions seriously damage not only the integrity of the monument but also irretrievably destroy previously unexplored areas of the reserve. Construction materials are piled directly on the territory of the ancient settlement, construction waste is scattered throughout the reserve, and construction equipment destroys the tracing of the medieval temple, disrupting the cultural layer and elements of the museum complex of ancient structures.

The then-head of the illegal archaeological expedition, Yuri Vinogradov of the Hermitage, stated that he did not know who these people were, who gave them permission to conduct the "research," and characterized the ruined area as unimportant to Chersonese.

Illegal excavations continued in 2022. Occupiers are rushing to build a new archaeological complex aimed at promoting Russian Orthodoxy and the grandeur of the "Russian world."

Cultural heritage is one of the most vulnerable and least protected victims of armed conflict. It cannot ask for protection or report damage on its own. Nevertheless, there are certain international norms and provisions aimed at protecting cultural heritage during armed conflict.

In particular, some rules of customary international humanitarian law establish an obligation for the state that has occupied part of the territory of another state to show respect for the cultural heritage that remains on that territory. The obligation is represented by the prohibition of destruction or intentional damage to cultural monuments, as well as the illegal export of cultural valuables from the occupied territory.

The provisions of the Second Protocol to the Hague Convention on the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict of 1954 state that the occupying authority may take any action regarding cultural heritage, including conducting archaeological excavations, but only if circumstances permit and in close cooperation with the competent national authorities of the occupied territory. In other words, cooperation with Ukrainian state authorities is mandatory in this situation.

      International Law leaves Russia no justification for not complying with Ukrainian legislation on cultural property and imposing its own rules. The authorities of the occupying power should use the norms of Ukrainian law in resolving any issues regarding the reserve. However, the reality is radically different.

According to Ukrainian legislation, the Tauric Chersonese and its Chora have the highest legal protection since the monument is an object of national significance and world heritage. At the same time, the Russian state endows the monument with a significantly lower level of protection, although it considers it to be "especially valuable objects of cultural heritage of the peoples of the Russian Federation."

In addition, in Ukraine the mechanism for making decisions regarding the fate of a monument is multi-level: through a supervisory board, governing bodies, the international community, and civil society. In the Russian Federation, there are no controlling mechanisms. It is only necessary to obtain permission from the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, and within the buffer zones of Chersonese, anything can be done - from changing the boundaries of the zone itself to carrying out construction of hotels, residential complexes, or entertainment facilities.

Russia does not listen to international institutions that refuse to support its position. UNESCO confirmed back in 2014 that it would only act in accordance with the UN resolution, which defines the territory of the Crimean Peninsula as the territory of Ukraine. The organization did not recognize Russian jurisdiction over the object and officially suspended cooperation with the museum-reserve during the period of temporary occupation of Crimea.