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If war has taught us anything, it is that there's no limit to mankind's reprehensible behavior when autocratic leaders use a nation's army as their own personal band of pillagers and plunderers. Early this week, we learned that Russian special forces made their way into the Museum of Local Lore in the occupied Ukrainian city of Melitopo to steal some of the ancient treasures dating back to the days of the (in)famous Scythian Empire.
According to reports, Russian troops accompanied by a mysterious man wearing a lab coat looted the museum of valuable artifacts while holding the staff at gunpoint. Most intriguing of all, was the eagerness of the alleged lab-coat-wearing academic to get his hands on specific relics belonging to the nomadic Scythian culture.
Lore has it, these gold artifacts were gifted to the Scythians by the ancient Greeks, who apparently got it from the Olympian gods themselves. If true, the artifacts are not only valuable due to their precious metal content and historical significance, but are also endowed with supernatural powers said to imbue its possessor with the ability to vanquish their enemies in the battlefield, something that might interest President Putin given the disastrous military occupation his army is waging.
This is not the first time in history dictators have gone after so-called magical regalia in the wake of an invasion. Prior to, and during World War II, Nazi archaeologists scoured the world far and wide for mythical atifacts in order to gain a supernatural advantage over their adversaries. Hitler, who was obsessed with the occult, personally launched a crusade to grab as many historical relics as possible in order to use them as political symbols and national amulets.
It remains to be seen if this latest act of bellicose plundering will benefit the Russian aggressor in its endeavor. While deplorable, it is rather befitting that these plunders of war are now in the hands of Magogian hordes, who, much like the ancient Scythians, took pleasure in all manner of brigandish behavior. More details in the link below.
Ukraine says Russia looted ancient gold artifacts from a museum. (Published 2022)
According to Ukrainian officials, Russian soldiers, aided by a mysterious expert, broke into a museum and spirited away priceless artifacts from the Scythian empire.