
Eastern Europe – stolen classics
Expensive original editions of Russian book classics have been stolen from their libraries, according to several universities in Eastern Europe. The originals, written by, among others, Alexandr Pushkin and Nikolai Gogol, have been replaced by dubious copies. Universities in Poland and Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have all discovered that several original editions of Russian novels have disappeared from the shelves of their libraries in the past year. According to former Polish diplomat Hieronim Grala, the case seems to draw threads to Russia. He is a professor at the University of Poland’s capital, Warsaw, and has extensive knowledge of Russian politics. “The first three cases of theft hit countries that the Russians accuse of fighting Russian language and culture,” Hieronim Grada said. He said he had seen evidence that one of the stolen originals had been sold at an auction in Russia’s capital, Moscow. /ritzau/AFP