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MOSCOW, Aug 10, 2006 (UPI via COMTEX) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered an inventory of all cultural artifacts in the country's museums, it was announced Thursday.
Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said Putin set a Sept. 1 deadline for the creation of a commission to conduct the inventory, RIA Novosti reported Thursday. He said the commission would be made up of officials from the Interior Ministry, the Ministry of Culture and Mass Communication, the Federal Security Service, the Prosecutor General's Office and other government bodies.
The announcement follows an announcement in late July by Moscow's the Hermitage museum that an inventory revealed items missing from storage worth a total $4.85 million. Among the missing items are medieval and 19th Century jewelry, antique silverware and enameled objects.
The museum said only staff members had access to the storerooms the items disappeared from. Three suspects have been arrested in the investigation, including the husband and son of a museum curator who died suddenly when the probe began.
URL: www.upi.com Copyright 2006 by United Press International
