What do the Louvre jewellery heist and the theft of heritage copies of 19th-century Russian authors from several prestigious libraries in Paris and Lyon have in common? In both cases, the haul has yet to be found. 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 Russian literary classics. Among the items stolen were works by Alexander Pushkin, including a first edition of "Boris Godunov" (1825), as well as texts by Mikhail Lermontov and Nikolai Gogol, described as a "genuine theft of treasure" by the prosecutor, who in his submissions spoke of a "massive, organised operation, planned and carried out with meticulous care and cynicism".
The case forms part of a wave of thefts targeting libraries across Europe since the launch of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, 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 forming a criminal association with a view to committing an offence, with some also convicted of stealing cultural property on display.
