MOSCOW, December 11. /TASS/. Last week, Polish security services detained Alexander Butyagin, an employee of the esteemed Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, at Ukraine's request. He is alleged to have carried out archaeological excavations in Crimea, RMF FM radio reported. According to the station, the Russian archaeologist was detained while traveling from the Netherlands to the Balkans. RMF FM noted that he refused to answer any questions from prosecutors. A Warsaw court has ordered to arrest him for 40 days, and an official extradition request from Kiev is more than likely coming, the news outlet added.
TASS has compiled the key details of the case.
Poland’s response
The arrest was confirmed by Jacek Dobrzynski, spokesperson for the Polish Minister Coordinator of Special Services. Speaking to the PAP news agency, he said that Butyagin was detained on December 4 by officers of the Internal Security Agency on a court order from the Warsaw district prosecutor’s office and pursuant to a request for legal assistance from Ukraine.
Piotr Skiba, spokesman for the Warsaw District Prosecutor’s Office, noted that Butyagin is a respected figure in the scientific community and a world-renowned expert.
Russia's response
Russian diplomats will work to protect Butyagin’s rights in Poland, and their immediate priority is to secure his release, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in response to a question from TASS.
"We will demand through diplomatic channels the right to protect the interests of our citizen. Our diplomats will, of course, continue to work on this," Peskov said. He described Butyagin’s detention as legal arbitrariness.
Russia will seek his release and return home, said Russia's Charge d'Affaires in Poland, Andrey Ordash.
The State Hermitage Museum said that it is doing everything possible to resolve the situation involving its employee.
According to the archaeologist’s Telegram channel, Butyagin was travelling around Europe giving talks on Pompeii.
"I am going on a short European tour with a story about Pompeii. I hope I will be able to do everything planned," the message says.
A poster he published on November 30 indicates that he was due to speak in Prague on December 1, Amsterdam on December 2, Warsaw on December 4, and Belgrade on December 5.
The Hermitage confirmed that Butyagin was officially on vacation at the time but did not return to work afterwards. The museum learned of his detention from media reports.
Butyagin case
In November 2024, Ukrainian authorities filed charges in absentia against a Russian archaeologist conducting illegal excavations in Crimea. His name was not disclosed in official documents, but several Ukrainian media outlets reported that the case concerns Alexander Butyagin, an employee of the Hermitage Museum and head of an archaeological expedition in Kerch.