A series of thefts of rare Russian classics worth millions of euros from libraries across Eastern Europe have led to a trail that points all the way to auctions in Russia. Shelves of 19th-century Russian literature have been ransacked over the past two years in Poland and the Baltic states, with originals replaced by fakes. The University of Warsaw library discovered the thefts last month, including first editions of works by Alexander Pushkin and Nikolai Gogol.
A university employee with knowledge of the matter estimated the value of the stolen books at „around a million euros.”
Experts believe the stolen works have found their way to Russia, with at least some sold off at hasty auctions in Moscow. The first known case of what turned out to be a series of similar raids was detected at the National Library of Latvia last year, when three books were stolen. In the same month, two men claiming to be studying censorship and printing policy in early 19th-century Russia showed up at the university library in Tartu and asked for the nearly 200-year-old works of Pushkin and Gogol.
In May, Lithuania’s Vilnius University library discovered 17 of its rare Russian books had gone missing too. According to Lithuanian investigators, the stolen books were worth around 440,000 euros. The University of Warsaw has so far identified 79 books as missing, meaning it suffered the most substantial losses of all four countries.
Organized theft of old manuscripts and precious books from the 19th century and earlier poses a significant cultural and historical problem. These thefts deprive societies of invaluable artifacts, eroding the world’s cultural heritage. Stolen manuscripts often hold unique historical, literary, or artistic value, making them irreplaceable. The illicit trade in stolen manuscripts fuels a black market, where these treasures may be lost forever or resurface under dubious ownership. Efforts to combat organized theft involve heightened security measures, international collaboration, and public awareness campaigns to protect and preserve these invaluable pieces of human history.
