Russian museum inventory could take 10 years

ST PETERSBURG, Russia, Aug 16 (Reuters) It may take Russia's museums 10 years to complete an inventory of their treasures following a stolen art scandal at the world-famous Hermitage museum, a senior official said yesterday.

''If the government decides that a commission must count all 79 million artefacts in Russian museums then this could take a decade,'' Itar-Tass news agency quoted Anna Kolupayeva, head of the federal culture agency's department for cultural heritage, as saying.

President Vladimir Putin ordered the inventory after thefts were uncovered at St Petersburg's Hermitage museum late last month. The husband of a curator has been charged with theft.

At least 5 million dollar worth of artefacts, mainly enamel and silver pieces from the Middle Ages and the 19th Century, were found to be missing.

About 20 of the more than 200 items have been recovered. The Hermitage is one of the world's leading museums with more than three million artefacts ranging from Stone Age figurines to paintings by Pablo Picasso.

The theft of Russian art treasures -- including thousands of Orthodox icons -- boomed after the fall of the Soviet Union, with criminal gangs raiding art collections for sale abroad.

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