Archives: USA return historical documents stolen from national archives to Russia

Yellowed from the time pages of decrees which bear the signatures of Russian Empresses Anna Ioannovna, Elizabeth Petrovna, Catherine the Great, Alexander I, Alexander II and Alexander III, Nicholas I and the last Russian Emperor – Nicholas II, as well as orders of legendary Soviet commanders Vasily Blyukher and Georgy Zhukov, were returned by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to Russia.

The ceremony of returning unique historical and cultural values was held in Washington at the Embassy of Russia. The agreement on return of 21 documents was signed by the Ambassador Sergey Kislyak of the Russian Federation to the United States and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director John Morton.

ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) opened investigations on several websites after receiving leads from the RosOkhranKultura, the Russian Government agency responsible for the protection of cultural heritage property. Historical documents from various archives including Moscow and St. Petersburg military archives were identified for sale or loan from websites in California, Atlanta, New York City and other cities in the United States. The documents, many of them signed by czars and czarinas, emperors and empresses, ranged from the 18th to the 20th century and were reported stolen from national archives in Moscow and St. Petersburg between 1994 and 2002. Prices ranged from $300 to $15,000 per document.

ICE HSI was able to identify dozens of the documents that the Russian Government suspected of being in the United States. Most of the documents repatriated at the ceremony were forfeited by the sellers or owners when they learned that they had been obtained illegally. The investigation continues into dozens of other documents missing and suspected of having been smuggled into the United States and sold since the theft from the Russian archives.