A Swiss museum has sparked a scandal by labeling Crimea as part of Russia in an exhibit
The Museum of Art and History in the Swiss city of Neuchâtel has labeled the temporarily occupied Crimea as part of Russia on two interactive maps. The incorrect labeling was discovered at an exhibition dedicated to the history of science and the local astronomical observatory.
The exhibition in question is “À la poursuite du temps” (“In Pursuit of Time”), which focuses on the activities of the local astronomical observatory and the development of science.
According to Yakubovich, the exhibition itself does not appear to be political at first glance. However, he drew attention to two interactive maps on display at the museum.
“But here, on the two interactive maps, we see an unpleasant surprise: Crimea is clearly marked as part of Russia,” wrote the Orientalist.
According to him, the maps depict countries that possess atomic clocks or other high-precision equipment.
Mykhailo Yakubovych reported that he had already sent a letter to the museum’s administration requesting that they address the incorrect labeling of Crimea.
However, as of the time of publication of his post, he had not yet received a response from the museum’s administration.
“This is the kind of ‘neutrality’ we end up with—one with a pro-Russian bias,” Yakubovich noted.
The scholar of Eastern studies also expressed hope that the Ukrainian Embassy in Switzerland would take note of the situation.
According to Yakubovich, the issue is particularly important given the duration of the exhibition. According to the exhibition schedule, the exhibition is set to remain at the museum until 2027.
Therefore, the incorrect labeling of Crimea may remain visible to visitors for a long time unless the museum makes the necessary changes to the interactive maps.
This was reported by Orientalist Mykhailo Yakubovych.
As a reminder, on August 31, power was cut off from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. in Simferopol and more than 20 other settlements in occupied Crimea. The occupying authorities attributed the outages to “emergency repair work” without specifying the cause.
