French prosecutors charge six in Europe-wide rare Russian book thefts

French prosecutors have charged six defendants in a case that lays bare how vulnerable public collections can be when rare books, insider knowledge and a ready black market collide. The thefts targeted Russian literary works by Alexander Pushkin, Nikolai Gogol and, in the broader European investigation, Mikhail Lermontov, with losses stretching across libraries in France and beyond.

The French thefts took place in 2023 at the Diderot Library of the École Normale Supérieure in Lyon, the National Library of France in Paris and the University Library of Languages and Civilisations, known as BULAC, in Paris. Investigators say the suspects posed as researchers, studied the books by photographing and measuring them, then came back later with near-perfect copies to remove the originals without drawing attention.

One of the central figures, identified as Mikheil Z., visited the National Library of France 40 times between March and October 2023. He said he was researching democracy in 19th-century Russian literature, a cover prosecutors say masked repeated access to manuscripts, mainly by Pushkin. Another defendant, Beqa T., is also linked to the wider theft network.

The defendants face charges including criminal conspiracy and attempted theft, and some are also charged with theft of an exhibited cultural object. They face up to 10 years in prison. Two defendants are being tried in absentia, with warrants out for their arrests.

The French case is part of a much larger cross-border investigation that Europol and Eurojust helped coordinate after thefts in several European countries. Eurojust says 170 books of high historical and cultural value were stolen across Europe, with an estimated total worth of 2.5 million euros. The thefts reached libraries in France, Germany, Lithuania, Poland, Latvia, Estonia, Switzerland, Czech Republic and Finland.

The network’s reach was also visible in earlier convictions. Mikheil Z. was sentenced in Lithuania to three years and four months in prison for the organized theft of 19th-century publications valued at 606,000 euros. Beqa T. received a three-year, six-month sentence in Estonia. In April 2024, a coordinated operation led to the arrest of four suspects in Georgia and the recovery of one stolen book.

The case shows how fragile library security can be when open access, expert handling and international demand intersect. For public institutions guarding irreplaceable works, the loss is not only financial. It is a direct attack on cultural memory, carried out one volume at a time.