Translated material
Memory of Khalid Asaada
On August 18, in ancient Palmyra, the IS militants were executed by the archaeologist, a former caretaker of the ancient complex in Palmyra Khalid Asaad.
I saw many deaths in my centuries -old story, but this, due to its meaninglessness and cruelty, was one of the worst ... Before the death of Halid Asaad, they tortured for several weeks and then executed ... We have no doubt that another terrible gravity was for the science of the destruction of many cultural monuments in the territories where IS is trying to settle down.
What was dangerous for the militants Khalid Asaad? What threat could the 82-year-old scientist, author of many scientific papers? Apparently, the work of Khalid Asaad was the danger and threat to them-the preservation, study and description of the oldest cultural monuments. This work allowed the peoples of many countries to look back, supervise what is said about the past now, with those material cultural monuments that have survived to this day, and think about a lot ...
Almost half a century ago, the film “The White Sun of the Desert” was released on the screens of our country, and we all remember the scene of the murder of the Guardian of the Museum Pedente Lebedev - then it seemed that it was a story from the distant past, now this past has returned, and it returned to significantly large territories inhabited by various nations.
In 2001, the Bamian statues of the Buddha were destroyed in Afghanistan, IS militants destroy the cultural heritage monuments in Syria and Iraq, our, homegrown wrestlers for the purity of art. All these are links of one chain - chains of constant attempts to prevent people from knowing, thinking and empathy.
More than once, the history of mankind has witnessed how the radicals of any nationalities, any faith and ideology first destroy the material monuments of culture - architectural monuments, sculptures, books - and then inevitably execute people - guardians of civilization.
No matter how terribly it sounds, but, we think, Khalid Asaad would voluntarily ascend to the block for the sake of saving Palmyra. He was killed, killed in the war between culture and ignorance.
Eternal memory to him!
President of the Union of Museums of Russia ,
Director of the State Hermitage
M. B. Piotrovsky