Fedir Ernst: The Executed Savior of Historical Monuments

Thanks to Fedir Ernst, Ukrainian museums have received thousands of art objects, with hundreds of Ukrainian masterpieces being returned from Russia

Thanks to Fedir Ernst, Ukrainian museums have received thousands of art objects, with hundreds of Ukrainian monuments being returned from Russia. As a result, we now possess a deeper understanding of the architectural masterpieces that were destroyed by the Bolsheviks.

Portrait of Fedir ErnstNational Museum of the History of Ukraine

Nonetheless, only a few personal belongings of this museum curator and art critic have survived, as he spent a third of his life in exile and was ultimately executed.

Fedir Liudvihovych Ernst was born in 1891 in Kyiv into the family of a German colonist. Perhaps his interest in historical monuments began during his studies at the Hlukhiv Gymnasium. Hlukhiv has its history dating back to the times of Rus and was a hetman capital, with many ancient temples located there.

Photo. Views of Kyiv. St. Volodymyr UniversityNational Museum of the History of Ukraine

Views of Kyiv. St. Volodymyr University

Later, his uncle provided Fedir Ernst with funds for studying in Berlin. The future researcher chose the Department of Art History at the local university. According to Ernst's memories, the German capital seemed rather uninteresting and boring to him. Within a year, he transferred to Kyiv University and continued his studies in art history.

Fedir Ernst among the students of St. Volodymyr University at a lectureNational Museum of the History of Ukraine

Museum of St. Volodymyr University

Fedir Ernst among the students of St. Volodymyr University at a lecture (right, sitting)

During this period, Fedir Ernst visited museums and attended lectures of Stara Hromada, the center of Ukrainian intelligentsia. He got acquainted with the authoritative researchers Mykola Biliashivskyi and Danylo Shcherbakivskyi, with whom he later collaborated a lot.

Library of St. Volodymyr UniversityNational Museum of the History of Ukraine

Library of St. Volodymyr University

Ernst's works immediately caught attention at the university – he was awarded a gold medal for his research on Kyiv architecture of the XVII-XVIII centuries.

Photo. Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra. Cathedral of the Dormition. Kyiv-Pechersk LavraNational Museum of the History of Ukraine

During World War I, Fedir Ernst was exiled to Siberia as an "unreliable" person because he was German by birth. Ernst returned from exile at the end of 1917 and soon became actively involved in the preservation of monuments and science.

Book. Ukrainian portrait, Fedir Ernst, 1918, From the collection of: National Museum of the History of Ukraine
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Book. Ukrainian painting, Fedir Ernst, 1925, From the collection of: National Museum of the History of Ukraine
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In 1922, Fedir Ernst joined the predecessor of the National Museum of the History of Ukraine (MIST), namely the First State Museum, which in 1924 became the Taras Shevchenko All-Ukrainian Historical Museum. Ernst found many like-minded individuals in the museum, and the director of the museum Mykola Biliashivskyi, Danylo Shcherbakivskyi worked there as well.

Portrait of Hetman Ivan SkoropadskyiNational Museum of the History of Ukraine

Portrait of Hetman Ivan Skoropadskyi

Within a year, Fedir Ernst took over the art department at the museum. Initially, the institution's collection comprised approximately 200–300 works of art, and the scholar increased their number to 5,000.

The researcher went on business trips, inspecting large private and monastic collections. Fedir Ernst's efforts ensured that the monuments from these collections made their way to the museum, rather than being taken abroad by the Bolsheviks.

Vase for dessert (1810 - 1825) by UnknownNational Museum of the History of Ukraine

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Pitcher (1831) by UnknownNational Museum of the History of Ukraine

Pieces from Chinoiserie faience service (1839) by UnknownNational Museum of the History of Ukraine

Fedir Ernst organized the first exhibition at the All-Ukrainian Historical Museum in 1925. The project was dedicated to the Ukrainian portrait. The exhibition featured portraits of hetmans that Ernst brought back from Russia, as well as images of the Polish nobility and Russian emperors. The curator collected works by famous artists, such as Ilya Repin, Mykhailo Vrubel, Oleksandr Murashko, Heorhiy Narbut, Taras Shevchenko, and many others.

Portrait of Hetman Bohdan Khmelnytskyi, From the collection of: National Museum of the History of Ukraine
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Portrait of Hetman Ivan Mazepa, From the collection of: National Museum of the History of Ukraine
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The portraits of hetmans Ivan Mazepa, Bohdan Khmelnytskyi, and Ivan Skoropadskyi, presented at that exhibition, are now preserved in the National Museum of the History of Ukraine.

Insert of Book. Paintings by T. ShevchenkoNational Museum of the History of Ukraine

Fedir Ernst organized several other high-profile projects, including an exhibition of works by Taras Shevchenko, who was not only a poet but also a talented artist.

In the 1920s, the Bolsheviks confiscated cultural values for sale abroad. Initially, they did it under the pretext of aiding the hungry and later for other reasons. Fedir Ernst documented the items taken by the Soviet authorities from Kyiv churches and monasteries. These records revealed what had been confiscated. Ernst then attempted to trace where these items ended up. Many artifacts were lost, but some of them were recovered.

Archive book (1928) by UnknownNational Museum of the History of Ukraine

Sanctuary lamp by UnknownNational Museum of the History of Ukraine

Together with colleagues, Fedir Ernst tried to give less important items for sale abroad while preserving genuinely valuable ones, claiming that the Bolsheviks would receive nothing for them. As a result, the researcher was suspended from such activities.

In the 1920s, there was also an anti-religious campaign, during which the Bolsheviks closed and destroyed monasteries. The famous XIX century Kyiv-Mezhyhirya faience factory was located within the territory of one of them.

Ceramic cross by UnknownNational Museum of the History of Ukraine

Seved ceramic cross

Fedir Ernst, along with Danylo Shcherbakivskyi, managed to save many of its items by removing them from the factory premises. Among these items were religious ones: icons, crosses, and lanterns.

Ceramic icon by UnknownNational Museum of the History of Ukraine

Fedir Ernst became one of the co-founders of the Museum Town on the territory of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra. The monastery could have been closed and destroyed, but thanks to individuals like Ernst, it was preserved as a museum.

Guidebook. Kyiv (1930) by Fedir ErnstNational Museum of the History of Ukraine

The photo. The main church of the Lavra, Fedir Ernst, 1918, From the collection of: National Museum of the History of Ukraine
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The photo. Mazepina's tower of the Lavra, Fedir Ernst, 1918, From the collection of: National Museum of the History of Ukraine
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The researcher captured numerous ancient Kyiv temples in photographs, many of which were later destroyed by the Bolsheviks. Thus, thanks to his materials, we can reconstruct their appearance.

At the end of the 1920s, Fedir Ernst was losing like-minded people and facing increasing opposition. The Soviet authorities aimed to build a new world where there would be no place for the past, so the attitude towards antiquarians grew progressively worse. The researcher lived under the constant threat of arrest and endeavored to save as many historical artifacts as possible. Ernst continued to organize exhibitions, went on trips to various regions of Ukraine, and wrote articles and reports.

Certificate of conviction of Fedir Ernst (1934)National Museum of the History of Ukraine

Certificate of conviction of Fedir Ernst

In the early 1930s, an absurd case was fabricated regarding the counter-revolutionary activities of museum workers.

In 1933, Fedir Ernst was arrested in connection with this case and was soon sentenced to three years of corrective labor on the White Sea-Baltic Canal. 

Map of Belomorkanal (White Sea - Baltic Sea Canal) (2007) by UnknownNational Museum of the History of Ukraine

This structure was a source of pride for the Soviet authorities. It was mostly built by so-called "enemies of the people" who labored under dreadful conditions.

Photo. Prisoner labor at construction of Belomorkanal (1932) by UnknownNational Museum of the History of Ukraine

Even in exile, Fedir Ernst remained dedicated to museum work: he established the Museum of the History of the White Sea-Baltic Canal in the city of Poventsi and served as the head of the Museum of the Construction of the "Moscow-Volga" Canal in the city of Dmitrov.

Fedir Ernst among the employees of the Bilomor-Baltic Canal MuseumNational Museum of the History of Ukraine

Fedir Ernst

among the employees of the Bilomor-Baltic Canal Museum

After his release, Fedir Ernst lived in Kazakhstan and led the work on the establishment of the Kazakh Art Gallery in Almaty. His conviction was not lifted, and such individuals were forbidden to live in the European part of the Soviet Union.

Photo. Rooms of State Museum of Arts, Almaty (2019)National Museum of the History of Ukraine

Photo. Bashkir Nesterov Art Museum (2016)National Museum of the History of Ukraine

Subsequently, the researcher served as the Deputy Director of the Bashkir State Art Museum in Ufa.

In 1941, Ernst was arrested for the third time, falsely accused of being a German spy (once again, his German heritage played a role). On October 28, 1942, he was executed by a firing squad. His family was not informed about Fedir Ernst's execution. His wife, Tamara Ernst, appealed to the authorities to find out what had happened to her husband. She was told that he died of an illness in 1946. Only in the late 1950s did the true circumstances and timing of the researcher's death become known.

Portrait of Fedir ErnstNational Museum of the History of Ukraine

His name was rehabilitated in 1989. Documents related to Fedir Ernst were preserved in the archives, but only specialists had access to them. Scientific works about him began to emerge after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Museum of St. Volodymyr UniversityNational Museum of the History of Ukraine

The main array of monuments saved by Fedir Ernst is kept in several institutions: the National Art Museum of Ukraine, the National Museum of Taras Shevchenko, the National Museum of Ukrainian Folk Decorative Art, the Museum of the History of the City of Kyiv, the National Museum "Kyiv Art Gallery," and the National Museum of the History of Ukraine.

Museum of St. Volodymyr UniversityNational Museum of the History of Ukraine

During Ukraine's independence, museum workers restored information about these monuments, particularly the fact that they were obtained thanks to Fedir Ernst. Just as the researcher once rescued thousands of artifacts from oblivion, now museum professionals are preserving his name for future generations.

Credits: Story

Research and text: Helena Kokhan, Mariya Prokopenko
Project Сurator: Bohdan Patryliak
Technical implementation: Oleg Mitiukhin, Oksana Mitiukhina, Liudmila Klymuk
Text editor: Valentyna Yanchuk
Translation: Dmytro Mitiukhin
Selection of exhibits: Olena Ivanova
Photographer: Viktoriia Sidorova, Oleg Mitiukhin

Credits: All media
The story featured may in some cases have been created by an independent third party and may not always represent the views of the institutions, listed below, who have supplied the content.
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