From the church at Cherson: Russia steals Potemkin’s bones

From the church at Cherson
Russia Steals Potemkin’s Bones

10/28/2022 5:03 am

In Cherson, Russian occupiers are preparing for the advance of Ukrainian troops by removing the city’s art treasures from museums. But that’s not all: the remains of Field Marshal Potemkin are no longer where they belong.

The Russian invaders of Kherson stole the remains of Prince Grigory Potemkin. According to the report of the British “Telegraph” and “New York Times”, a special team was sent to St. Catherine’s Cathedral to dig up the bones. The Russian-appointed governor of the region, Vladimir Zalto, said on local television that it was done for security reasons. The bones were brought to the left bank of the Dnieper. “We are taking him and all the relics from where they are,” Salto was quoted by the Telegraph as saying.

Russian armed forces have been taking exhibits from the city’s museums for some time, and the looting has been formally legalized by the imposition of martial law in annexed areas in violation of international law. The city has said that all museum collections in the city are currently being destroyed in preparation for the Ukrainian advance. “Frankfurter Allgemeine”. Footage was taken in Kherson over the weekend, including one of Potemkin erected in 2003, with several statues missing from the city.

It was known that the memory of the field marshal and counselor of Catherine the Great had not yet played an important role in Russia. Its film has recently found particular acclaim among editors close to the Kremlin. In the second half of the 18th century, Potemkin conquered Novorossiya and persuaded the king to annex Crimea — a template that could provide a template for Kremlin propaganda, even if President Vladimir Putin sees himself more in the tradition of Tsar Peter the Great. In his May 9 speech, he mentioned Potemkin among other generals and urged his people to fight like them for “internal security”.

Since Potemkin died of malaria in 1791 at the age of 52, his body was reconstructed several times, probably never with careful treatment. In St. Catherine’s Cathedral, the numbered bones were stored in a bag in a wooden coffin in an underground crypt. According to Ukrainian activists, only the bones are missing. The expansion of the church that Potemkin encouraged during his lifetime may have been looted.