General Director of the Chersoneses of Taurica National Preserve Leonid Marchenko claims that a number of monuments of world culture located in Sevastopol could be lost forever unless the preserve is granted property rights to 23 land lots in the Heraclean peninsula (Crimea). Mr. Marchenko said in his interview with Interfax Ukraine that there are unique ancient objects situated on the peninsula: an ancient road from fourth century BC, the chorus land lots UNESCO is especially interested in, etc. In the words of the preserve director, all documents proving the lots’ value have undergone expert examination at the Sevastopol City Planning and Architecture Administration and Land Resources Administration. The lots in question were also approved by the Sevastopol City Administration. However, the issue of allotting land to the preserve has not yet been put on the agenda of the City Council. Neither the land resources commission nor committee on culture of the City Administration seem to pay adequate attention to this issue, Mr. Marchenko stated. He also announced that in late May a UNESCO commission is coming to Sevastopol to study the question of including the Chersoneses of Taurica National Preserve on the UNESCO World Heritage List. However, to nominate Chersoneses for this list, in addition to the acknowledgement of its historical value, it is necessary to clearly define the preserve’s borders, which should also include these 23 lots.
At present, there are three Ukrainian monuments of culture included in the World Heritage List: St. Sophia of Kyiv, the Kyiv Pechersk Monastery of the Caves, and Lviv historic center.
