From Warsaw to Paris, from Tallinn to Geneva, rare editions of the works of Russian poet Alexander Pushkin have disappeared from libraries over the past two years. Very ingenious thefts whose motivations remain unclear: financial motive or nationalist operation linked to the war in Ukraine?
The affair shook the establishments concerned and triggered a large-scale police investigation, involving around a hundred agents from European countries. At the end of April, Europol announced the arrest of several Georgian nationals accused of having stolen at least 170 rare books worth at least 2.5 million francs. During this operation, 120 books were found.
Scale of thefts and method of operation
These thefts are striking in their scale and method of operation. All of Europe was affected: libraries in Poland, France, Germany, the Czech Republic, Lithuania and even Switzerland saw dozens of original works dating from the living of the greatest Russian poet and writer, died in 1836.
The Geneva Library was affected by a series of thefts committed at the end of October 2023 by two individuals. Criminal proceedings are still ongoing. Three rare works, including a collection by Alexander Pushkin, have disappeared. Their total value is estimated at more than 173,000 francs. Since then, the institution has strengthened security measures.
But the novelty in this story is above all the fact of having been able to create false books which made it possible to thwart the institutions
This affair is unprecedented, as Alexandre Illi, a bookseller in Geneva and specialist in rare books, explains in the show Tout un monde: “It’s impressive to organize these thefts on this scale. But the novelty in this story, It is above all the fact of having been able to make fake books that made it possible to thwart the institutions. It is quite surprising to make fake old books.
Replaced by facsimiles
The originals were in fact replaced by high-quality facsimiles, detectable only by experts and which evaded the surveillance of library staff. The packages were carried out by a very organized team. Thus, at the National Library of France, a man claiming to be writing a thesis came around forty times to consult original editions of Pushkin. He took photos, measurements and substituted fakes for the originals.
That the original works of Alexander Pushkin are particularly targeted does not surprise Aglaé Achechova, head of the Russian collection at the University Library of Languages and Civilization in Paris (BULAC). “For collectors, the first editions of Pushkin are rarities. In addition, there is the sensation of touching this copy with your hands, it gives you a thrill.”
At first, experts thought that collectors could be behind these thefts, but this is no longer Aglaé Achechova’s favored hypothesis: “My first hypothesis was that there is a collector who placed an order, but At the time, we didn’t know the extent of this network. When the books went on public sale, I said to myself that it’s more like concealment.
Since these books have stamps, they are unsellable on a traditional market in any case.
These books cannot, however, be sold within a legal framework, underlines Alexandre Illi: “It seems that many books have passed into Russia, books which are considered to be definitively lost since they must have entered private collections in Russia. Since these books have stamps, they are unsaleable on a traditional market in any case. A book with a stamp from a European library cannot be put on sale in bookstores.
There is no “gray market” where books of dubious provenance could be sold. “When we correctly identify the stamps, we contact the institution. Nine times out of ten, these books have not necessarily been stolen. They are often long-term loans. At the time, professors could go out books for a long time and forgot to return them. When the successors sell the libraries, we discover all these books and return them to the libraries.
Link with the war in Ukraine?
These large-scale thefts began two years ago. Are they linked to the war in Ukraine? Aglaé Achechova does not really believe in a political-patriotic aspect, in a desire to repatriate treasures of Russian heritage, even if the war had an impact.
“At the start of the war, ‘normal’ communications were broken. In any case, it was much more difficult for buyers to go to foreign markets. The thieves had the idea of bringing the goods to the buyer, because it is in Russia that Pushkin has such importance”. And she notes that in this situation of lawlessness in Russia, which violates all international legislation, it is “not a problem to bring back a book freshly taken from a European public collection to sell it without hiding on the Russian market . I believe that the war has something to do with that.”
Library vulnerabilities
This affair also revealed security flaws in libraries. “This story raised a lot of questions,” but Aglaé Achechova wants to emphasize the importance of preserving memory and access to collections for readers. “A library is openness, accessibility to heritage for readers.”
Although libraries have since strengthened their security measures, they are committed to the principle of allowing access to all books, even the most valuable.
Patrick Chaboudez/lan
