the book thefts of the greatest Russian poet, a mystery with a political flavor

Dozens of original works by Russian poet Alexander Pushkin have disappeared from several libraries in Europe. Thefts which could have financial, but also political, motivations.

Who wants the original works of Alexander Pushkin, preserved in the libraries of Europe? For a little less than two years, several libraries in France, including the BnF (Bibliothèque nationale de France), but also in Poland, Switzerland and Lithuania, have seen dozens of books disappear, stolen or replaced by facsimiles. original works dating from the lifetime of the greatest Russian poet and writer, who died in 1836. Packages carried out by a very organized team, attracted by the value of the stolen works (several hundred thousand euros) but perhaps not only that.

After thefts in Lyon, Vilnius, Warsaw, and at the BnF in Tolbiac, their European tour brought the criminals at the beginning of October to the University Library of Languages ​​and Civilizations, in the 13^e district of Paris. But there, they will come up empty. Warned by colleagues who were victims of similar thefts, Aglaé Achechova, the head of the Russian fund, protected Pushkin’s works. “It was by default that they took works of no commercial value which were in the reserve room, she says. Those who were targeted were the original editions of Alexander Pushkin, the Russian poet, the founder of the Russian literary language.”

A possible “patriotic” motivation

As a good old manager of the Pushkin house in Saint Petersburg, our librarian will carry out his little investigation into the destination of books stolen all over Europe. “We already know that in Moscow, at least one book stolen from Warsaw, in Poland, was sold, recalls Aglaé Achechova. We cannot exclude a certain ‘patriotic’ motivation to recover Pushkin who is kept in this Europe considered decadent.”

The curator leans towards thefts to order from Russian collectors close to power. For André Markowicz, translator of Pushkin into French, everything relating to the greatest Russian writer necessarily has a political dimension. “Pushkin was used by absolutely all powers. Not just Putin, the Soviet power used Pushkin, and even the monarchist ‘Whites’. So Putin obviously uses Pushkin!”

The case coincides with the war in Ukraine

Without imagining for a second that these thefts were a posthumous revenge, the best connoisseur of Pushkin recalls that the party-loving writer, gambler, seducer, rebel and courtier at the same time, died in a pistol duel, killed by Baron d’Anthés , a Frenchman who had seduced his wife. “In 1836 he was looking for a duel, and no Russian agreed to fight with him, recalls André Markowicz. Why was there Anthès? Because d’Anthès was an imbecile! And that he thought that Pushkin was simply his wife’s husband. That’s why he was killed by a Frenchman.”

Just as disturbing, the thefts began at the same time as the war in Ukraine. In this country, the statues of Pushkin are torn down and its streets renamed, even if the poet had celebrated the charms of the city of Odessa, where he had found refuge during his disgrace.