MOSCOW, November 26 (Sputnik) — Four Crimean museums have filed a class action lawsuit in an Amsterdam court seeking the return of a collection of golden Scythian items from Netherlands to Crimea, Tatyana Umrikhina, director of the Kerch historical and cultural preserve, told RIA Novosti.
"We have filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of four museums in an Amsterdam court November 19," she said.
The director is hopeful that justice will be served and the collection will get back to the place it belongs to — "to its native soil, to Crimean museums."
The collection contains archeological artifacts from five museums, including four Crimean institutions: the Central Tavrida museum, the Kerch historical and cultural preserve, the Bakhchisarai historical and cultural preserve and the "Tauric Chersonese" national preserve.
In March, after Crimea’s reunification with Russia, the Ukrainian government demanded all of the gold back to itself. Crimea dismissed the claims as groundless.
However, the Dutch museum where the collection went on display, decided to keep the artifacts until the sides resolve their dispute peacefully or in court.
The exhibition officially ended in late August, however due to the dispute between Ukraine and Crimea the collection cannot return to the museums so far.
