In April 2022, soon after Russia invaded Ukraine, two men arrived at the library of the University of Tartu, Estonia’s second-largest city. They told the librarians they were Ukrainians fleeing war and asked to consult 19th-century first editions of works by Alexander Pushkin, Russia’s national poet, and Nikolai Gogol. Police are now investigating what they believe is a vast, coordinated series of thefts of rare 19th-century Russian books — primarily first and early editions of Pushkin — from libraries across Europe. Since 2022, more than 170 books valued at more than $2.6 million, according to Europol, have vanished from the National Library of Latvia in Riga, Vilnius University Library, the State Library of Berlin, the Bavarian State Library in Munich, the National Library of Finland in Helsinki, the National Library of France, university libraries in Paris, Lyon and Geneva, and from the Czech Republic. The University of Warsaw library was hardest hit, with 78 books gone.

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Persons: Estonia’s, Alexander Pushkin, Russia’s, Nikolai Gogol, Eager, Krista Aru, “, ”, Pushkin Organizations: University of Tartu, Police, National Library of Latvia, Vilnius University Library, State Library of Berlin, Bavarian State Library, National Library of Finland, National Library of France, The University of Warsaw Locations: Russia, Ukraine, United States, Europe, Riga, Munich, Helsinki, Paris, Lyon, Geneva, Czech Republic