Poland detains Russian archaeologist accused of illegally excavating ancient Greek site in Crimea

Following a request from Ukraine, the Polish authorities have detained a prominent Russian archaeologist wanted in connection with illegal excavations mounted in Russian-annexed Crimea, Polish radio station RMF FM reported on Thursday.

The man, identified in Polish media as Alexander B., is described as “head of the ancient archaeology department” at the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg. He was reportedly detained in Warsaw last week while passing through the Polish capital on his way from the Netherlands to an unnamed Balkan state where he was due to give a talk.

Russian Telegram news channel Baza said that the man in question was likely Alexander Butyagin, a prominent Russian archaeologist who works at the Hermitage.

The Ukrainian authorities are seeking Butyagin’s extradition on suspicion of conducting illegal excavation works in annexed Crimea, specifically at the site of the ancient Greek city of Myrmekion, in the city of Kerch, according to a November 2024 indictment issued by the Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s Office.

According to Kyiv, the work was carried out without permission from the relevant Ukrainian authorities, and led to the partial destruction of the site, with damage estimated at 200 million hryvnia (over €4 million).

A Polish court placed Butyagin in custody for 40 days while Ukraine prepares an official extradition request. If extradited and convicted in Ukraine, Butyagin faces between one and 10 years in prison.

Butyagin’s arrest was met with outrage by Russian officials. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said on Thursday that Crimea was “an integral part” of Russia which made the charges “absurd”.

“We hope that Poland understands the absurdity of the accusations against the respected Russian archaeologist … and realises that such politicised actions cannot be successful and will not remain without consequences,” Zakharova said.

Butyagin told Russian news agency RIA Novosti in November 2024 that he had overseen excavation work at Myrmekion since 1999, adding that he had been surprised by the charges against him for carrying out what he called his “life’s work”.

Ukraine has repeatedly accused Russia of carrying out illegal excavation works in Crimea since Moscow annexed the Black Sea peninsula in 2014, causing damage to Ukrainian cultural heritage sites and exporting archaeological discoveries to Russian cities in breach of international law.