A French court has reached a verdict over the theft of heritage copies of 19th-century Russian author Pushkin's books from several prestigious libraries in Paris and Lyon.
Six Georgians have been sentenced in Paris, 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 of forming a criminal association, with some also convicted of stealing cultural property on display.
