Why rare Russian books are vanishing from European libraries

First editions of works by Russian author Alexander Pushkin can fetch well above CHF10,000 ($11,050) – one factor which recently made them the targets of a criminal gang operating throughout Europe, including in Switzerland. Last year, the university library in Geneva was the victim of a rare theft: two men managed to get hold of four valuable Pushkin first editions, insured to the value of CHF173,000. The theft on October 31, 2023, was not an isolated case: first-edition works have been disappearing from numerous European libraries over the past two years. What’s striking is how the thefts have targeted Russian classics – especially by Pushkin (1799-1837). Georgian suspects arrested In April this year, European police authority Europol arrested a further four Georgians in connection with the thefts; following previous arrests, nine people have in total been stopped – in France, Georgia, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. The individuals are suspected of having stolen a total of 170 ...