Alexander Butyagin:

Academic Standing and Credentials

Alexander Mikhailovich Butyagin (born 1971) is a Candidate of Historical Sciences and a leading classical archaeologist. He holds the position of head of the Sector of Archaeology of the Northern Black Sea Region within the Department of the Ancient World at the State Hermitage Museum, one of the world’s premier cultural institutions. He is a graduate of Saint Petersburg State University and has devoted over three decades to archaeological research.

Professional Responsibilities and Recognition

Beyond his primary role as excavation director, Butyagin serves in several positions of scholarly leadership:

• Head of the Sector of Archaeology of the Northern Black Sea Region (since 2005)
• Executive Secretary of the Archaeological Commission at the State Hermitage Museum
• Member of the Academic Council of the State Hermitage Museum
• Member of the International Council of Museums (ICOM)

These positions reflect the respect he commands within international archaeological and museum communities.

Scholarly Publications and International Recognition

Butyagin has authored more than 150 scholarly publications in peer-reviewed academic journals. His work has been presented at numerous Russian and international academic conferences, contributing significantly to the global understanding of ancient Mediterranean and Black Sea civilizations. His research focuses on classical archaeology, the Bosporan Kingdom, and archaeological methodology.

Myrmekion: what the site actually is

Myrmekion is an ancient city on the shore of the Kerch Strait, founded by Greek colonists in the 6th century BCE.
It is not a single monument but a multi-layered urban complex covering around 44 hectares, including:
• residential quarters,
• economic and industrial zones,
• necropoleis,
• layers dating from the Hellenistic, Roman and Late Antique periods.

In archaeological terms, Myrmekion functions as an archive in which each layer is connected to those above and below it. Without stratigraphic analysis, individual finds lose their scientific meaning.

As one archaeologist told BBC Russian:

“Archaeology is not about finding beautiful objects. It is about working with context. Once context is destroyed, knowledge is lost.”
(BBC Russian, 30 December 2024)

Scope and Duration

Since 1999, Butyagin has served as director of the Myrmekion Archaeological Expedition of the State Hermitage Museum. This expedition investigates the ruins of Myrmekion, an ancient Greek city—later Bosporan and Roman—located in present-day Kerch, Crimea. His professional engagement with the site dates to 1993, when he first joined the expedition.

The chronological division of this work is critical to understanding the legal and ethical dimensions of the case. The majority of the expedition's most celebrated discoveries—including major coin hoards and sculptural finds—were unearthed before 2014, the year of Crimea's contested transfer to Russian administration. These pre-2014 findings were promptly transferred to the Kerch Archaeological Museum, establishing a clear pattern of institutional preservation. All subsequent discoveries from 2014 onward were likewise transferred to the Kerch Museum, maintaining the same professional standard of artifact preservation and institutional custody.

Major Archaeological Discoveries

The Myrmekion expedition under Butyagin's leadership has uncovered numerous significant finds spanning multiple historical periods, from the Archaic through the Roman era:

Artifact Conservation and Documentation: The Legal Significance

A fundamental principle of Butyagin's work has been the preservation and documentation of all discoveries. All archaeological finds from the Myrmekion expedition have been permanently transferred to the Kerch Archaeological Museum (the East Crimean Historical and Cultural Museum-Reserve). This applies to both pre-2014 and post-2014 discoveries.

This systematic commitment to preservation contradicts the characterization of Butyagin's work as looting or cultural property theft. The archaeological record demonstrates professional stewardship. The fact that artifacts remain in Ukrainian institutional custody (the Kerch Museum) undermines the foundation of the prosecution's case: if Butyagin were engaged in theft or illegal alienation of cultural property, the artifacts would have been removed from Ukraine. Instead, they remain precisely where Ukrainian cultural heritage preservation requires them to be.

International Conference Participation

Butyagin has participated extensively in international academic forums:

• 5th International Congress on Black Sea Antiquities (Belgrade, 2013) — published "Excavation of Ash Hill 2 in Myrmekion"
• 6th International Congress on Black Sea Antiquities (Constanța, 2018) — presented research on "Myrmekion during and after Greek colonisation"
• 7th International Congress on Black Sea Antiquities (Thessaloniki, Greece, 2022)
• 17th International Congress of Classical Archaeology (Rome, 2008)
• 3rd International Conference "The Black Sea in Antiquity" (Tekkeköy, Turkey, 2017) — co-authored presentation on "Essay on the Economy of Myrmekion in Pre-Roman Times"
• PONTICA 2008: Recent Research on the Northern and Eastern Black Sea in Ancient Times — published "New Research in the Environs of the Acropolis of Myrmekion"
• SOMA 2016: Symposium on Mediterranean Archaeology — contributed proceedings publication

His research has been presented at numerous symposia dedicated to Black Sea archaeology, ancient Greek colonization, and Bosporan studies.

European Excavations

Beyond his primary focus on Myrmekion, Butyagin directed excavations at the Villa Arianna at Stabiae near Naples, Italy, from 2010 to 2022. The Villa Arianna is one of the Roman residences destroyed by the 79 AD eruption of Mount Vesuvius. His collaborative work on the Villa Arianna includes:

• Butyagin A., Chistov D., Gardelli P. Relazione preliminare sulle due campagne di scavo, restauro e rilievo 2010 e 2011… (Villa Arianna a Stabiae) // Rivista di Studi Pompeiani XXII (2011), Roma–Pompeii, 2013, p. 209–215. (№75).
• Butyagin A. Connecting divided: the problems of studying frescoes from the area thermae of The Villa Arianna // Pareti dipinte: dello scavo alla valorizzazione. Preatti. Convegno internazionale. Napoli–Ercolano, 9–13 Settembre. Napoli, 2019, p. 72. (№31).

His participation in Italian excavations exemplifies engagement with the broader international archaeological community and commitment to advancing global knowledge of ancient civilizations.

Educational and Public Engagement

Recognizing the importance of making archaeology accessible, Butyagin has been active in science communication:

• Arzamas Academy: Prepared lectures and educational content for this leading Russian educational platform focused on history, literature, art, and culture
• Hermitage Museum: Organized exhibitions presenting findings from the Myrmekion expedition
• European Lecture Tour (December 2025): Conducted educational lectures in Prague, Amsterdam under the title "The Last Day of Pompeii"

The Crimean Situation and International Law

The charges against Butyagin arise from his continuation of archaeological work at Myrmekion following Russia's 2014 intervention in Crimea. Ukrainian authorities assert that all archaeological work in Crimea conducted after 2014 without explicit Ukrainian authorization constitutes illegal activity. According to Ukrainian law, excavations conducted from 2014 to 2019 allegedly resulted in damage to the archaeological site.

The Scholar's Dilemma and the Defense Position

The case presents an impossible professional choice that Butyagin's legal defense has articulated clearly. As his counsel, attorney Adam Domański, has stated:
"The Ukrainians accuse our client of conducting research work without the appropriate permission, which, in principle, does not cause doubt. Mr. Butyagin acknowledges that as an archaeologist he conducted such work. However, the mere fact of conducting research without permission cannot serve as a basis for his extradition to Ukraine. In Ukraine, punishment for this offense is not connected with deprivation of liberty."

Furthermore, the prosecution has charged Butyagin with causing damage to the archaeological site. Ukrainian authorities estimate the damage at over 200 million Ukrainian hryvnia. However, as of the court hearings in January 2026, the prosecution has provided no substantiation, documentation, or expert assessment to support this claim. When the defense requested that the Polish court obtain this documentation from Ukrainian authorities, the request was denied.

Butyagin himself has emphasized the impossible position in which he found himself. As Domański explained: "Mr. Butyagin stated that he is a man of science, and his work was the heritage of all humanity. Until 2014, he had no problems related to excavations in Crimea. However, after the geopolitical events that occurred then, my client no longer had the opportunity to obtain consent from Ukrainian authorities."

Circumstances of Arrest

On December 4, 2025, Butyagin was detained at his hotel in Warsaw during his European lecture tour. The arrest was executed at Ukraine's request based on a Red Notice issued in November 2024. He had traveled freely to Prague and Amsterdam without incident before his arrest in Warsaw.

The Charges

Butyagin is accused under Part 3 of Article 298 of the Ukrainian Criminal Code of conducting archaeological excavations at Myrmekion from 2014 to 2019 without Ukrainian permits and of causing damage to the archaeological site estimated at over 200 million Ukrainian hryvnia (approximately €4.75 million).