Preservation of Cultural Heritage of Crimea in Conditions of First World War: Activities of Taurida Scientific Archival Commission

Abstract

The activities of the Taurida Scientific Archival Commission for the preservation of the cultural heritage of the Crimea during the First World War was discussed in the article. The study was carried out using the principles of the procedural approach and is based on the office materials of the commission, which were not previously involved by the researchers. The relevance of the work is due to the need to analyze the historical experience of organizing the protection of cultural heritage in the context of military conflicts. The author found that in the conditions of the First World War, Taurida Scientific Archival Commission carried out diverse work in the field of protecting cultural heritage. It is shown that the commission successfully replenished its own archival collection and museum collection, commission monitored the state of architectural and archaeological monuments, identified and preserved random archaeological finds. It is noted that the commission carried out work to preserve the historical memory of the events of the First World War, participated in an international campaign against the vandalism of the German army. The author concludes that during the war years, commission remained highly active in the field of cultural heritage protection, but the difficulties of wartime did not allow the full implementation of many significant projects to preserve the cultural heritage of the Crimea.