A senior archaeologist at the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg was arrested in Poland at the request of Ukrainian authorities art newspaper, They are seeking his extradition on suspicion of illegal excavations in Crimea.
Alexander Butyagin, head of the Hermitage Museum’s department studying ancient archeology in the northern Black Sea region, was detained in Poland in December 2025 while on a lecture tour in Europe. The Warsaw Court of Appeal upheld his arrest in February and ordered that he remain in custody until June 1 as extradition proceedings proceed.
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Ukrainian prosecutors have accused Butyakin of conducting archaeological work in Crimea without authorization from Ukrainian authorities after Russia annexed the peninsula in 2014. Investigators said the excavation work was carried out without permission under Ukrainian law.
Butyakin was added in February 2025 to the government’s “Wars and Sanctions” registry, which tracks individuals accused of violating Ukrainian laws in Russian-occupied territory, according to Ukraine’s defense intelligence agency. Ukrainian officials said an archaeological expedition he led in the ancient Greek colony of Myrmekion in Crimea unearthed 30 gold coins, 26 of which were inscribed with the name of Alexander the Great.
Russia denies the accusations. In January, the Russian Foreign Ministry called the case baseless and defended Butyakin’s work as a contribution to the region’s cultural heritage. Mikhail Piotrovsky, director of the Hermitage Museum, also criticized the arrest, describing it as political pressure related to Western sanctions on Russia.
The case has sparked debate among scholars about the role of archaeologists working in military-occupied areas. Some Russian academics, including Kremlin critics living abroad, have defended Butyakin as a research scientist rather than a political actor.
Ukrainian heritage experts dispute this view, arguing that archaeological work must comply with the legal framework for cultural heritage management. Elmira Ablyalimova-Cyihoz of the Crimean Institute of Strategic Studies in Kyiv said the profession cannot be separated from the legal and political context in which the excavations are carried out.
The dispute comes amid wider tensions over Crimean cultural heritage since Russia seized the peninsula from Ukraine. Ukrainian researchers say archaeological sites are increasingly being used to reinforce political narratives about the region’s history, including the UNESCO World Heritage site of Taurik Chesonise, which has been largely inaccessible to international oversight since annexation.
Legal experts said the extradition request could have wider implications because it is premised on Crimea remaining part of Ukraine under international law. Irina Tarsis, founder of the Center for Art Law, noted that Ukraine has required official permission for archaeological work at heritage sites since 2004 and treats unauthorized excavation as a criminal offence.
