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Hermitage museum thief given five-year sentence

A Saint Petersburg court sentenced a history teacher to five years in prison on Thursday for stealing dozens of precious objects from the famed Hermitage museum in Russia's former imperial capital.

The court ruled that Nikolai Zavadsky, 54, colluded with his late wife, a museum curator, in the thefts, court spokeswoman Veronika Morozova said.

He was found guilty of stealing some 200 silver and enamel artefacts worth 14 million rubles (US$536 million).

Zavadsky's wife, Larissa Zavadskaya, died in 2005 of a heart attack. The loss of 221 artefacts from the Hermitage collection was discovered by her replacement last August during a routine check of items in storage.

The thefts went unnoticed for years and sparked alarm about the conditions in which the nation's art treasures are being kept.

Zavadsky pleaded guilty to the thefts. He said before his trial that he took many of the items to pawnshops and used the cash to buy insulin for his diabetic wife.

The St. Petersburg court ruled that Zavadsky, who teaches at a city college, would also have to pay back 7.4 million roubles to the Hermitage for the thefts.

"I implore the court to give me an opportunity to work to recompense the sum I owe to the Hermitage," Zavadsky told the court in his final statement.

Prosecutors had demanded a six-year sentence for Zavadsky. But the court said there were mitigating circumstances: Zavadsky had acknowledged his guilt, assisted the investigation and was in poor health.

Zavadsky's lawyer Lyudmila Mikhailova said it was unclear if her client would appeal the sentence.

"We in general had expected such a sentence, although we had been asking for a suspended one, taking into account his health, age and sincere remorse," Mikhailova told reporters.

At the prosecutors' request, the court also issued a separate injunction requiring the Hermitage to boost security for its artworks.
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