Russia: Man brazenly steals priceless painting from Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow

Employees of the Interior Ministry of the Russian Federation, in cooperation with the Federal Security Bureau (FSB of Russia), detained a suspect in the theft of Arkhip Kuindzhi's painting titled "Ai-Petri. Crimea" from the Tretyakov Gallery of Moscow. The suspect, a 31-year-old man, was detained in the town of Zarechye near Moscow, a message posted on the official website of the Ministry of Internal Affairs said.  The man told investigators that he hid the stolen painting on a construction site, where the police subsequently found it. It was said that there were no visible traces of damage on the painting.  "It was established that the suspect had previously been detained by the Moscow police for drug possession in December 2018 and was a defendant in a criminal case initiated under Article 228 ("Illegal acquisition, storage, transportation, manufacturing, processing of narcotic drugs") of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation," officials said.