– No doubt about that and in Eastern Europe as well: Chersonesus is the monument showcasing the development of three cultures: ancient Greece, ancient Rome and Byzantium. This is a graphic presentation because by virtue of historic specifics, it has remained almost intact, which is truly amazing. Regrettably, the rapid construction in Sevastopol was accompanied by the dismantling of the ancient walls of Chersonesus. Builders were attracted by thoroughly hewn stones, easy to transport and to use as construction blocks. But fortunately, some people in the Russian Empire of the XIX century took the cultural heritage close to their hearts. They provoked a robust discussion about the fate of this monument. As a result, barbarous obliteration of Chersonesus stopped. And in the second half of the XIX century they began studying it on a regular basis.

– They were, and Catherine the Great was the first to care. She is known to order Prince Grigoriy Potemkin to find the city in the Crimea where Vladimir was baptized. And he obeyed. It should be noted that the errand was not just a caprice or purely scholarly interest of the Empress who was known to have a passion for antiquity. I believe this was a wise decision. Those who do not know their past have no future. Turning to the origins and roots is very emblematic and extremely important, especially in present-day conditions. It is necessary to bring this issue in focus again and Chersonesus is again ready to act as a spiritual emblem.

– Absolutely: Orthodox believers from the whole world must find their spiritual unity here, where the whole thing began. The past and ongoing events in the post-Soviet space, especially on the territories populated with Orthodox Christians, are largely tragic. Alienation has reached unheard-of proportions and it is very difficult to convince these people to become brothers in faith again. But there is no alternative to unification and so this challenge is to be addressed. I am sure the principal source of our unity is our common roots, and sooner or later people of one faith will come to Chersonesus both in a physical and in the spiritual sense.

– The preserve’s headcount is nearly 200, including research and technical workers. Besides caring for and monitoring the monument and organizing various tours, we are also making digs and exploration work. Last year 18 expeditions worked on the territory of Chersonese Taurica. This year a number of foreign archeologists have not come here – e.g. from the US and Poland. They have not given up the exploration of Chersonesus completely, but just temporarily suspended cooperation. We treasure our relationships with overseas archeologists and historians and hope to resume them.

On the other hand, restoration of the lost academic ties with Russian institutes, museums and scholars is well under way. Fortunately, we never quit our relationship with the Hermitage and they sent to us at least one expedition a year. A short time ago we signed a cooperation agreement with the Hermitage administration and now two expeditions will come to us from Saint Petersburg every year. Common interests also bind us with colleagues from other cities of Russia.

– They do. All major scholars consider Chersonesus as part of ancient Greece. Right now we are about to finish the reconstruction of our antique exposition, since the former exposition was formed soon after the end of the Great Patriotic War, but during the recent decades a lot of new discoveries have been made. The renewed exposition is much larger: we put up for display about 6,000 artifacts out of 250,000 in our possession. Greek scholars show interest in the new exposition and even helped us fabricating the window cases.

– We admit everybody having a command of the subject and authority in the scholarly world. It so happens that true bigots of archeology come to Chersonesus; archeology for them is the work and passion of their lifetime. The problem is that Chersonese Taurica is not as widely known in the international archeological community, as it deserves. But those who get some information about it express their desire to come immediately. When last year our museum preserve was included in the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage List and a presentation was held, for many this was a real revelation – they were not aware that there is such an exciting and important object existing in the Crimea. We were even rebuked for poor promotion. It’s hard to disagree with this point, but in recent years very limited financing was available to us. We could not even use the money which we ourselves earn. The museum annually receives about 400,000 visitors, judging by the number of sold tickets. But we have a multitude of bonus programs and if these are taken into account, the number of guests reaches 600 thousand a year.

– First of all, we’d complete the exposition on ancient Greece. The hall has already been repaired; the scholarly part has been assembled and put in order; now it’s up to technical works. Secondly, we’d conserve those monuments on the territory of the museum preserve, which need it. Thirdly, we’d take care of numerous urgent needs: technological outfit, reinforcement. There is no space for temporary expositions; we are short of premises for employees and collections. We keep priceless mosaics in a special hangar. There is a project developed together with Italian archeologists to address the issues of their storage and exposition. But for now it exists only on paper. In addition, we’d like to rebuild the central entrance, making it wider and more convenient. The old one is criticized for cramped space and long lines waiting.

– Up-to-date computer technologies are needed and they will surely come here. The museum of Chersonesus will only benefit from going virtual. A common person, looking at the ruins, often cannot comprehend and imagine how people of old lived in this city. “How did they fit here? How did they squeeze between the houses? Why were buildings developed so densely?” – our guides daily hear these questions. We made the first attempt of showing the real life in Chersonesus by opening an exhibition of miniature buildings. The problem is that we cannot finish any building on the old foundation, even if we tentatively know how it looked. We just have no right to do so and at this point virtual technologies should snap into action. Suppose, a person comes up to the remains of this or that house or quarter and, using a smart phone or another gadget, sees a live city in its erstwhile splendor.

– Nevertheless, we have both; how could we manage without them? The only difference is that our cleaner carries a dustbin and a scythe. Mowing down the grass on such a huge territory takes a lot of strength and funds. The rules require that grass should not only be mowed, but also plucked out. When we could afford it, we hired mowers, but when we were short of money, we involved our own staff in this work. Dry grass is dangerous because it can easily catch fire and unfortunately limited fires occur on the territory of Chersonesus every summer. The monuments are monitored by our research fellows: when it is necessary to level something off or reinforce the foundation, they do this work as well.

– There are some, but the text is different: ‘Do not walk on the walls’. This destroys a monument. But no signs or barks of our staff help, since some visitors are too eager to walk on the walls. Unfortunately, the modern society has developed a consumerist attitude towards history and exhibits, and it did not happen just yesterday. In the 19th century the well-known historian, countess Uvarova sounded alarm over the destruction of Chersonesus and, thanks to her connections, she managed to bring her message home to the imperial family. Incidentally, the Romanovs loved this monument and representatives of the royal family visited the site more than once and donated quite a bit of money to this monument. Now about vandalism: after the October revolution Chersonesus was promoted as an attractive area of suburban leisure and recreation! Newspapers called upon commoners: come here to roast barbeque and play volleyball!

This policy was resumed after the Great Patriotic War and we often encounter its fruit today. For example, it is very difficult to persuade some folks that they cannot walk their dogs here. “I’ve been walking dogs at this site since my childhood,” they respond and enter into a conflict with guards. Or a person goes swimming on the coast of Chersonesus, but says at the entrance that he is going to worship in St. Vladimir Church which is also stationed on the museum’s grounds. Parishioners are always let inside freely and some pretend they are going to a prayer service while wearing swimming trunks beneath their outer garments. We are very much concerned not because people go bathing on the territory of the museum and walk on the ancient walls, but because they sincerely do not understand why they should not do it. They do not realize that we should put maximum effort to conserve the monument and hand it down to our posterity in its entirety. Answers to most important questions of the human history are hidden in the land of Chersonesus. Perhaps one day it will answer the main question asked by so many people and will teach them the main lesson: why did the city thriving throughout several millennia ceased its existence and was reduced to ruins?