[MSN] Ex-curator's husband to stand trial for Hermitage thefts

[Museum Security Network Mailinglist]

Ex-curator's husband to stand trial for Hermitage thefts

The husband of a former Hermitage curator will stand trial on charges that he stole from the famed St. Petersburg museum, Russian officials announced Thursday.

In a statement released on the Russian Prosecutor General's website, officials said that Nikolai Zavadsky will be tried for stealing rare and valuable objects from the Hermitage along with his wife, Larissa, a former curator who died suddenly in October 2005.

There was no mention of when a trial would begin.

In August, Russian authorities charged Zavadsky, his son and a university professor in connection with the theft, in which 221 artifacts were discovered missing from the famed Russian cultural venue.

Theft announced after inventory check

The Hermitage announced the theft in the summer after completing a routine inventory.

After police investigated, they uncovered pawn tickets at the home of the late curator. Zavadsky has said through his lawyer that his wife needed money to pay for her medical bills.

Museum officials released a detailed list of the missing pieces. Since then, the police have recovered more than two dozen items. While some were left with or sent anonymously to the authorities, others were brought forward by antique collectors and dealers who had no idea the pieces had been stolen.

Theft turned world's eye to Russian museums

The massive theft from the famed Russian museum made headlines worldwide. Just days later, the country's cultural reputation slipped further when a state archive in Moscow announced that scores of architectural drawings had been stolen from its collection.

The two high-profile thefts highlighted the financial difficulties suffered by many Russian cultural institutions since the collapse of the Soviet empire in 1991. 

Often, staff are paid a pittance and resort to stealing and reselling artifacts in order to survive. About 50 to 100 thefts are reported each year in Russian museums, and many places have lax security.

The incidents eventually prompted Russian President Vladimir Putin to order an inventory of all Russian museums.

Established by Catherine the Great in 1764, the Hermitage is renowned for its vast collection of approximately three million objects of antiquities, decorative and Western art, which are mostly in storage.

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