The theft of old copies of classical Russian literature is spreading across Europe.

Six vintage books by the Russian writer Aleksandr Pushkin (1799-1837) were stolen from the National Library of the Netherlands (KB) in 2023. They are 19th-century editions, and the incident, made public this May, is not an isolated incident. With the help of the European Police Office (Europol), nine Georgian citizens were arrested last year on suspicion of being part of a gang that stole at least 170 works by Russian authors. According to officials, they operated between 2022 and 2023 in the Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Switzerland. In some cases, the originals were replaced with counterfeit copies.

The value of all these books stolen in Europe is estimated at 2.5 million euros, but given their cultural significance, the loss is incalculable. In a rare gesture, Wilma van Wezenbeek , director general of the Dutch KB, made public the disappearance of the six Pushkin works on May 9, after the police investigation had stalled. In a lengthy note of reflection published on the library's website—based in The Hague—she admits that institutions like hers do not share sufficient data on similar incidents "for fear of revealing sensitive information and damaging their reputation." She believes that it is precisely "this secrecy that increases their vulnerability," and admits that the list of missing Pushkin books "does not cheer us up." On the other hand, while she assures that they do everything possible "to prevent this type of incident," she is convinced that institutions dedicated to preserving heritage will always be "at a disadvantage" if they try to combat these risks on their own and "alone."

Between 2022 and 2023, a group of criminals stole at least 170 titles of 19th-century Russian romantic literature from national and historical libraries in the Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Switzerland. Favorite authors include Pushkin and Nikolai Gogol , and their approach was "simple but sophisticated," according to a joint investigation carried out in all affected countries and overseen by Europol and Eurojust, the European agency that facilitates judicial cooperation. Once in the libraries, the thieves asked to consult the old books in person, claiming they were of particular academic interest. "Once they had them in their hands in the reference rooms, they managed to measure the size of the volumes and take photos before returning them to the librarian." Some time later, whether days or months later, they would return and request the same work. "This time, however, they returned a counterfeit copy that experts have rated as being of excellent quality," Eurojust and Europol explained in a statement. On other occasions, the perpetrators "simply broke into the library and stole the books," the same sources said.

The international investigation was launched after France sent a message to Europol, and other partners confirmed similar thefts from their libraries. Seeing that the situation spanned several European states, the law enforcement agency facilitated the exchange of information between the affected countries. In Georgia, authorities investigated until they located several members of an organized criminal group, and between 2023 and 2024, nine arrests were made in Georgia, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, and France. One book was then recovered, and others were seized and required further examination. In November 2023, sources from the University of Warsaw library showed Agence France-Presse (AFP ) screenshots of auctions held by the Russian auction house Litfond (Moscow and St. Petersburg) featuring books bearing the school's stamps and catalog numbers. Litfond states on its website that it occupies "approximately 60% of the Russian market in the sector." Europol confirmed in a statement that "some of these stolen historical works were sold at auctions in Moscow and St. Petersburg, making them unrecoverable."

In an email, spokespersons for the Dutch KB explain that, in 2023, they checked their repository when they began receiving reports from other members of the library community that “books of Russian romantic literature were being stolen from libraries across Europe.” They then discovered that it had also happened in the Netherlands, and their report “has been shared internationally.” To date, the police have not located them. “Since we published the news [on May 9] and asked the public for help, we have received numerous leads, which are now being investigated,” they state in the same message.

Dutch police believe the incident may be linked to the Georgian gang of the nine arrested, and have shared information about the books in the hope that "those investigating online will find traces online." At the same time, Europol clarifies: "We supported the first part of this investigation, and since then, each country involved has acted independently at the national level; the case is no longer active for our agency."

A theft is always the result of a combination of factors, but for now, it has not been possible to explain how the works were measured and photographed unnoticed in guarded spaces. “As the National Library, we preserve our collection for posterity, but we also ensure that it is accessible to the public and researchers,” reads a lengthy statement published on the KB website. After the incident, measures have been taken , for example, by compiling an inventory of “high-risk books,” which are now under closer surveillance. “When necessary, we use precision scales to record the entry and exit” of copies. There are other measures that they describe as secret. However, the library acknowledges that while all the stolen volumes “are known to the National Police Investigation Unit” and are registered in the Interpol database, they are aware that “theft can never be 100% preventable.”

To help with the search, the KB has published on its website all the details of the six stolen Pushkin books, including early 19th-century editions of the play Boris Godunov , centered on the Russian tsar who reigned from 1598 to 1605. Also missing is a copy of Ruslan and Ludmila , a poem that recounts the abduction of the princess and the efforts to rescue her from the knight of the same name. The library is not speculating about the fate of the books, which remain missing, but is not ruling out the involvement of the same Georgian gang suspected by Europol.

“Cultural heritage belongs to everyone, and it's not just institutions that should act [to protect it],” writes Director Van Wezenbeek on the KB website. In her opinion, heritage “resists when we, its users and lovers, also take care of it.” And to underline the urgency of her call to citizens, she quotes a verse by the Dutch poet Lucebert (1924-1994), which says: “Everything valuable is defenseless.”