More shocking news about the Hermitage thefts: The Associated Press reports that Larisa Zavadskaya, the deceased curator who had been in charge of the Department of Russian Culture, had allegedly tried to sell the stolen objects herself, according to an antiques dealer who told investigators about the curator’s dealings with him.
The Hermitage has done a poor job of updating information about the thefts on its website. Some 17 of the 221 stolen items have reportedly been recovered, but there is not a word of this on the website’s list of missing works.