The thesis’s subject is the study of National Commission’s activities
concerning the return of cultural valuables to Ukraine (1992), and in the future – the
20
activities of their successor, State Control Service for the movement of cultural
valuables through the state border of Ukraine (2000), provided the retention of the
national memory.
It is considered that the first state program of the Commission – «Returned
names» (1996) was directed, first of all, to the gift to the independent Ukraine of the
artistic heritage of emigrants, who were forced to leave their motherland. The second
large-scale program of the Commission – «Cultural values of Ukraine. Losses. Ways
of return» (1999) provided profitable international cooperation with the governments
of Europe and United States of America, regarding of returning treasures to the
owners of the country of origin. In addition, the service actively developed a cultural
project «Cultural values of the Crimean Tatar people. Losses. Ways of return» (2004),
focused on the restoration of the Bank of works, forms, traditional ornaments of the
indigenous peoples deported from the Crimea on 1944.
It is revealed that the Commission and the Service were organized each year
meetings of the permanent acting round table on strengthening the fight against the
cultural property illegal traffic. These events were held with the participation of
representatives of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on culture and spirituality, the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine, the
Central state archive of foreign Ukraine, the State Frontier Service of Ukraine,
customs and law enforcement agencies, authorized Services, art experts. An art
review ground works of the Commission and the Service are also connected with
exhibitions, organized for scientific and practical events: the Scientific and Practical
Symposium «Legal aspects of the cultural property restitution: theory and practice»
(1996); the Round table «Return of the cultural property to Ukraine» (2009); The
international interdepartmental conference on the prevention of the cultural property
illegal traffic (2008).
In turn, the staff of the Commission and the Service were regular participants
in scientific and practical tests on the restitution of cultural property abroad: in
Washington, New York, Tartu, Minsk.
We reviewed the works obtained by the state thanks to the activities of both the
Commission and the Service during late 20th – early 21st century.
Key words: art, cultural values, cultural memory, restitution, Ukraine, late 20th –
early 21st century.
