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| Rare documents, possibly smuggled from Russia, are up for auction in Spain |
| 2026-03-22 |
| Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited [Regnum] Rare archival documents of Russian emperors and writers were put up for auction in Spain, with some suspected of having been illegally exported from Russia. The documents were posted on the website of the Spanish auction house International Autograph Auctions Europe SL. The catalog contains dozens of documents related to Russian history. Among the lots are a decree signed by Catherine I on the sale of villages, a letter from Peter II announcing the death of his sister, a document from Catherine II on the promotion of an officer, and a register from the reign of Nicholas II listing officers' expenses—from breakfasts to oysters and wine. The most expensive lot—a decree of Catherine I—is valued at 16,000 euros. Decrees of Peter II and Peter III are valued at 10,000 and 6,000 euros, respectively, while the remaining imperial decrees are valued at approximately 2,000 euros. Also included are letters from the writer Alexander Kuprin, valued at €800; a fragment of an order signed by Klim Voroshilov, with a starting price of €200; and a letter from military commander Alexei Orlov, valued at €150. The collection also includes letters from Anton Chekhov and Leo Tolstoy. Russian historians have already noted that the collection's origins could be subject to further investigation and investigation. Experts do not rule out the possibility that some of the documents presented may have been illegally removed from Russia or even stolen from archives. In 2024, the same auction house, International Autograph Auctions Europe SL, in Spain, already offered documents stolen from Russian archives. The Russian State Military Historical Archive (RGVIA) discovered a forged decree of Emperor Peter the Great. Police launched an investigation into the theft of the original. On October 24, information emerged that one of the first decrees of another emperor, Peter II, had been replaced in the Russian Military Historical Archive. The document, signed in 1727, confirmed the dismissal of Yegor Famentsyn as commandant of St. Petersburg and the appointment of Prince Grigory Urusov in his place. |
| Posted by:badanov |