Stolen painting pieced together
A painting turned over to Communist Party officials in Moscow on Wednesday is believed to be a 19th century French work stolen from Russia’s State Hermitage Museum five years ago, officials said.
Communist Party leader Gennady A. Zyuganov said a man whom he did not identify brought a package into the party’s parliamentary offices. Inside was a painting that had been cut into four pieces.
Officials later realized it was the painting “Piscine du Harem” by French artist Jean Leon Gerome, which was stolen from the Hermitage in March 2001. The painting was valued at about $1 million.
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