Germany began to return to Russia icons and religious objects detained by German customs. This was reported by RIA Novosti with reference to the Russian embassy in Berlin.
We are talking about more than 2.9 thousand relics. Now they are in the customs department of the Ministry of Finance of Germany, the cargo is being prepared for transportation.
The department of the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media said that negotiations on the transfer of confiscated icons to Moscow “are basically completed.”
The fact that the German authorities planned to return several thousand icons to Russia became known on September 25. The head of the National Bureau of Interpol added that over the past 10 years, Moscow has managed to return more than 250 relics. Among them are icons of the 15th – 19th centuries, such as Boris and Gleb, Our Lady of Odigitria of Smolenskaya and Descent into Hell, as well as written decrees of Russian tsars, a porcelain medallion with the profile of Peter I and other valuable things.
