What does the Louvre jewellery heist have in common with the theft of heritage copies of works by 19th-century Russian authors from several prestigious libraries in Paris and Lyon? In both cases, the loot is still missing. But in the case of the books, the courts have only just delivered their verdict.
Six Georgians have been sentenced in Paris to terms ranging from an 18-month suspended sentence to seven years in prison for the theft of classics of Russian literature. Among the stolen items were works by Alexander Pushkin, including a first edition of “Boris Godunov” (1825), as well as texts by Mikhail Lermontov and Nikolai Gogol – a “genuine theft of treasure”, according to the prosecutor, who in his submissions described a “massive, organised operation, planned and carried out with meticulous care and cynicism”.
This case is part of a wave of thefts targeting libraries across Europe since the launch of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, a wave attributed to an organised network potentially linked to Moscow.
The six defendants – five men and one woman – were all found guilty in the night from Friday to Saturday of criminal conspiracy with intent to commit an offence, with some also convicted of stealing cultural property on public display.
