[MSN] Russian police find artifact stolen from Hermitage

[Museum Security Network Mailinglist]

Russian police find artifact stolen from Hermitage
Last Updated Thu, 03 Aug 2006 16:35:40 EDT
CBC Arts
A religious icon included on a list of more than 220 items stolen from
Russia's State Hermitage Museum has been discovered in a trash bin,
according to local police.

 Mikhail Piotrovsky, director of Russia's State Hermitage Museum, has said
he believes the theft from the St. Petersburg museum was carried out by
museum employees over several years. (Dmitry Lovetsky/Associated Press) An
anonymous caller reportedly alerted officers on Thursday to where the wooden
icon could be found: a garbage container in a yard near the St. Petersburg
police station spearheading the investigation.

A police spokesperson told Russian media that the icon appeared in good
condition but had been "slightly disassembled."

The museum, which holds one of the world's largest collections of art and
artifacts, announced Monday that 221 items in storage - including medieval
Russian jewelry, silverware, religious works and precious stones - had been
stolen from its coffers.

Hermitage officials announced the theft after the completion of an inventory
check that began last October and ended in late July.

Critics have blasted the museum for its poor security, while Hermitage
director Mikhail Piotrovsky blamed museum workers for what he believes was
an inside job carried out over several years.

Also probing curator's death

In addition to the theft, Russian police are investigating the mysterious
death of a curator who was in charge of the collection and died just as the
inventory inspection began. The museum has not released the staffer's name
or any details about the death.

While the museum has said the items stolen are worth about $5.5 million Cdn,
some experts have estimated the value at more than 10 times that amount. The
Hermitage also revealed that the items were not insured.

A statement on the Hermitage's Russian-language website includes the list of
stolen items, including the wooden icon found Thursday and identified as the
Assembly of All Saints.

With files from the Associated Press.