HERMITAGE MUSEUM STAFF "HELP STEAL" $5M ART


MOSCOW, Russia (AP) -- Russia's famed Hermitage Museum on Monday reported the theft of more than 220 works, including jewelry and enameled objects, worth around $5 million.
In a statement, the St. Petersburg museum said officials noticed the theft during a routine inventory check. It said the curator in charge of most of the collection where the theft occurred died suddenly at his workplace when the investigation began, and that his colleagues discovered the items were missing.
The museum did not identify the curator or say when or how he died.
"There are many strange aspects of this affair, but unfortunately, there is no doubt that it did not happen without the participation of museum staff," the museum statement said. It gave no other details.The Hermitage also said it was trying to modernize its system for monitoring visitors and employees, and acknowledged that most of the premises were not fully secured. Many of the building's more than 1,000 rooms have inadequate ventilation and security systems; for example, museum employees are often forced to open windows for fresh air.
The Hermitage's vast holdings of antiquities, decorative art and Western art includes world-renowned collections of Renaissance, Dutch and Flemish, and Impressionist paintings. The museum was started by Catherine the Great in 1764 and is housed in the former Winter Palace of the Russian czars, overlooking the Neva River. 31/JULY/2006

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