A Paris court this week heard the case of six Georgian nationals accused of orchestrating a two‑year raid on European libraries that lifted more than 170 rare Russian literary works. Investigators label the scheme Operation Pushkin, noting that the stolen Pushkin editions alone are valued at nearly $3 million. The defendants face up to 10 years behind bars if convicted under intense media scrutiny.

Authorities say the thieves travelled by bus across ten countries, using forged library cards and false identities to infiltrate institutions from the National Library of France to the Tartu University Library in Estonia. Inside, one accomplice would distract staff while a partner swapped originals with high‑quality forgeries after multiple visits, a method that baffled librarians until patterns emerged, leading to a coordinated police sting in 2024.

The case highlights a booming underground market for early editions by Pushkin, Gogol and Lermontov, where wealthy Russian collectors pay premium prices. Auction house Litfond warns that demand, not a coordinated state effort, fuels such thefts, exposing lax security in European rare‑book collections. Convictions could deter future heists and prompt libraries to tighten safeguards for cultural heritage and public.