Inside the Hermitage Museum (ITAR-TASS) August 10, 2006 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered an inventory of artworks held in museums across the country to be compiled.
Putin today instructed ministers to set up a commission to carry out the inventory to help reveal possible thefts of artworks.
Last week, St. Petersburg's famed State Hermitage Museum discovered that 221 items worth $5 million had been stolen from its collection.
(Reuters, ITAR-TASS)
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