Russia's largest museum, boasting one of the world's richest art collections, announced the large-scale theft after a routine inventory check in late July. It said 221 items had gone missing from storage, including icons, medieval and 19th-century jewelry, silverware and enameled objects.
"The husband and son of a museum curator who died when the check began are among those who have been detained," the spokesman said.
After it was discovered that the items were missing in late July, the Hermitage said staff members were likely to have been involved in the theft as only insiders had access to the museum's storerooms. The curator in charge of the missing items died suddenly when the check that identified the stealing began.
Last Thursday, an icon resembling one of those on the Hermitage's list of stolen objects was found in a trash bin after police hunting the missing treasures received a tip from an anonymous caller. A 19th Century chalice reported stolen from the museum was returned the next day.
