The media learned about the mass disappearance of rare books by Russian classics from German libraries

Ancient books by Russian writers began to be stolen in an organized manner from libraries in Germany. Bild writes about this.

Five books were stolen from the state library in Berlin in January, including three works by Russian poet Alexander Pushkin—1827's The Robber Brothers, 1827's Boris Godunov and 1828's Prisoner of the Caucasus, the newspaper reported on Feb. 15. The Bavarian State Library also reported the loss of two rare books.

The publication notes that books are stolen each time according to one scenario: first, criminals, disguised as researchers of Russian literature of the early 19th century, present fake passports in order to familiarize themselves with valuable works, and then they photograph each page of the book.

“Next time they take the same book again, and then exchange it for the perfect fake they brought with them. Therefore, sometimes months passed before it became obvious that these were copies,” the publication says.

The value of the stolen copies amounts to millions of euros, emphasized the spokeswoman for the Berlin State Library. At the same time, valuable books by Russian writers are disappearing en masse from libraries throughout Europe - such cases have been recorded in Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, as well as in France and Switzerland.

At the end of November last year, it was reported that three Georgian citizens were detained in France on suspicion of stealing rare publications of Pushkin. It was noted that the three suspects may be members of an extensive criminal network operating throughout Europe.