Russia eyeing return of Amber Room

Published: Feb. 22, 2008 at 8:10 PM
Order reprints
MOSCOW, Feb. 22 (UPI) -- Russian officials would reportedly want the Amber Room to be returned to Russia if a recently unearthed treasure is discovered to be the historical artifact.

Ria Novosti reported Friday that Russian Culture Ministry head Mikhail Shvydkoi is eyeing the return of the 18th century chamber, which has been missing since 1945.

"If, hypothetically speaking, the room still exists, there will be no difficulties from a legal point of view" Shvydkoi said of the chamber's potential return to Russian soil.

Treasure hunters have discovered an unidentified underground site in Germany which may be the historical chamber from Russia's Catherine Palace, Ria Novosti said.

While Shvydkoi said Russia would welcome the return of the chamber, which was stolen by Nazis during World War II, he said the decorative room would likely not be intact.

The Russian press agency amber decays when left in the dark for extended periods of time. The work to uncover the possible remains of the Amber Room is expected to take several weeks to complete.


© 2008 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.



Mauer joins All-Star Home Run Derby (5 min)
MLB: Minnesota 6, Chicago White Sox 4 (10 min)
Report: General wants more Afghan forces (13 min)
Language use may predict Alzheimer's (16 min)
Report faults wiretap program (18 min)
MLB: Tampa Bay 6, Oakland 0 (23 min)
UPI NewsTrack Sports (26 min)
fark
Probably the most spectacularly disturbing suicide you'll read about today
Photoshop these creepy earrings
Patronizing Tijuana hookers while on drugs may be unhealthy, according to Dr. N.S. Sherlock, of...
Defense lawyers request words like "polygamy,""cult" and "compound" not be used in their client's...
TSG Mugshot roundup: Twin billing
Barbie-Con visitors split on major issue: Are you allowed to open her box and play with it?