The National Museum of Folk Architecture and Life of Ukraine in Pirogov is under threat of being raided, the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy (MKIP) says. According to the Ministry, the attempt to seize non-residential buildings and the museum's plot of land took place in the fall of 2020, when a group of unidentified persons tried to register the property on fictitious persons. This is a property with a total area of over 17,800 square meters. m, was used by the museum since the 1970s.
In response to these actions, the museum appealed to the Anti-Raider Office of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, which canceled the illegal registration in July 2022. A criminal case was initiated under the procedural guidance of the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine.
However, the fraudsters tried to legalize the capture through the court. The Commercial Court of the city of Kyiv rejected the lawsuit on February 26, 2024, confirming the cancellation of the registration by order of the Anti-Raiders Office.
On August 7, 2024, the Northern Commercial Court of Appeal passed a decision, canceling the decision of the Commercial Court of the city of Kyiv and satisfying the claim of the raiders, canceling the order of the Ministry of Justice.
"With this decision, the Northern Commercial Court of Appeal actually legalized the raiding of part of the museum's territory and premises," the Ministry of Culture said.
The Ministry of Culture emphasized that the museum, with the support of MKIP, will fight for the restoration of justice and plans to appeal to the Supreme Court of Ukraine to challenge the decision of the appeals court.
