How the ancient warrior people of the steppes have found themselves on the cultural frontlines of Russia’s war against Ukraine :

Since Russian forces have captured the city of Melitopol in the south of Ukraine, one of few successes amid the failure of the wider invasion of Ukraine. In the city’s Museum of Local History, a collection of at least 198 golden artefacts is deliberately and systematically pilfered by the occupiers. This is not the opportunistic, haphazard looting of individual soldiers. According to eyewitnesses and local officials, it is a well-organised, meticulous operation, led by Russians claiming to be archaeological experts, and enacted in the immediate aftermath of the city’s capture. The museum staff, anticipating the danger, attempt to hide the artefacts in a cellar; but their efforts ultimately prove futile; betrayed by a collaborator, they are forced to watch the Russians abscond with the museum’s prized possessions.

Around 2,700 kilometres away in the Allard Pierson Museum in Amsterdam, a similar collection of golden artefacts became embroiled in a legal battle lasting nearly a decade. Loaned to Amsterdam by museums from the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea, the artefacts were left in limbo after Russia’s invasion of Crimea in 2014. After three high-profile court cases to determine whether the artefacts should be returned to Crimea or Kyiv, the Supreme Court of the Netherlands finally ruled in Ukraine’s favour in 2023. These artefacts and the collection stolen from Melitopol share a common origin: the Scythian civilisation that inhabited the steppes of present-day Ukraine and parts of Russia thousands of years ago. Far from being consigned to the pages of ancient history, the Scythians have now found themselves on the cultural frontlines of Russia’s war against Ukraine.

Scythians are known today from the substantial surviving archaeological evidence, much of it exquisite golden artefacts from warriors’ tombs, and from historical accounts from the ancient world. A warrior people of Iranian ethnic origin famous for their skills in mounted archery and their nomadic lifestyle, their presence in Ukraine and Russia has left a historical and archaeological legacy to both countries. Some evidence of a more symbolic cultural presence can be found in Russia, where elements of nationalist thought and political philosophy have conceptualised the Scythians as embodying both the warlike side of Russian identity and its sense of cultural superiority over its neighbours. Although ancient history features infrequently in political discourse in both Ukraine and Russia, its relevance lies more in its illustration of the all-encompassing nature of the existential war that Russia has brought to Ukraine. Significance of the Scythians – both in a tangible and symbolic sense – to Russia and Ukraine cannot be considered independently of the wider context of the impact of Russia’s invasion on the cultural heritage of both countries.

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