Pushkin Thieves Face Up to 7 Years in French Prison
Poinews.com – A French court has delivered judgment on the theft of rare Pushkin publications from multiple esteemed libraries in Paris and Lyon. The six defendants, all Georgians, received sentences ranging from an 18-month suspended term to a seven-year prison sentence for the illicit removal of Russian literary masterpieces. Among the stolen items were Pushkin’s works, including a first edition of *Boris Godunov* (1825), along with writings by Mikhail Lermontov and Nikolai Gogol. The prosecutor called the theft a “genuine theft of treasure,” describing it as a “massive, organised operation planned and carried out with meticulous care and cynicism.”
A European Wave of Cultural Heists
The incident is part of a series of library thefts across Europe since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in 2022. Investigators believe the crime may involve a network connected to Moscow. The six individuals, comprising five men and one woman, were convicted of forming a criminal group and stealing displayed cultural artifacts. According to the probe, the thieves would visit libraries to study rare texts, take photos, and measure them before replacing them with nearly undetectable counterfeit copies. The National Library of France (BnF) alone suffered a loss of 770,000 euros.
Previous Convictions and International Cooperation
Two of the suspects were tried without being present, as they had been detained in Georgia, their home country, which does not extradite its citizens. A pair named Mikheil Z. and Beqa T. had already faced charges in the Baltic states for similar acts and were temporarily transferred to France for trial. Mikheil Z., 50, received the longest sentence—seven years in prison, plus a lifetime ban from French territory after his release. He was previously sentenced in Lithuania to three years and four months for a coordinated theft of 19th-century publications worth over 600,000 euros. Beqa T., 49, was given four years, following a three-year and six-month term in Estonia.
“The institution has not lost hope of recovering the stolen works,” said Alexandre de Konn, lawyer for the National Library of France (BnF), as reported by AFP.
Russian Auction House Linked to Thefts
In June 2024, the Russian antiquarian book dealer Litfond included a second edition of Pushkin’s *The Prisoner of the Caucasus* in its catalog. The auction house claimed the copy was acquired from a Russian owner between 2014 and 2015. This prompted French magistrates to consider the thefts as part of a broader effort to repatriate Russian cultural heritage, especially amid rising tensions between Moscow and European nations.
Euronews inquired about enhanced security measures at the BnF following the thefts, but no response was provided at the time of publication. The case also impacted Germany, Switzerland, and the Czech Republic, leading to the formation of a joint Europol and Eurojust investigation team. This collaboration resulted in multiple arrests in 2024, underscoring the cross-border nature of the crime.
