Finnish customs conclude investigation into Russian cultural treasures detained in spring 2022

Finnish customs officers detained vehicles carrying works of art from Russian museums in April 2022. More than 200 exhibits were placed under arrest, among them items from the collections of the State Hermitage, the Tretyakov Gallery, and the museum-reserves "Gatchina", "Pavlovsk" and "Tsarskoye Selo". The detained works included pieces by Antonio Canova, Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, Vigée Le Brun and Giulio Carlini, which had previously been shown at an exhibition in Italy.

The detention of the cultural and artistic objects at the Vaalimaa checkpoint on the Russian border in spring 2022 was based on suspicions of breaches of sanctions legislation. Soon afterwards, however, the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued an exceptional transport permit, whereupon the detained treasures were sent on to Russia.

In procedural terms, the case has only now been closed. Such is the red tape of the Finnish realm.

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Finnish customs conclude investigation into Russian cultural treasures detained in spring 2022

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At the close of the Strugatskys' "Roadside Picnic" the Golden Sphere is asked for this: "Happiness for everybody, free, and let nobody go away unsatisfied!" I do not promise to leave no one aggrieved, but the digest really does come free

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