MAN DETAINED IN HERMITAGE HEIST ATTEMPT

Ria Novosti reports that a man was detained Friday in the Hermitage in Saint Petersburg on suspicion of trying to steal a silver object on view in the museum. An unknown man broke a glass showcase in the Hermitage’s applied-arts hall to steal a nineteenth-century silver chalice, setting off an alarm. “The alarm went off, and the Hermitage’s security service detained the offender,” police said. “The man is being identified at the moment.” The Hermitage, which boasts one of the world’s largest fine-arts collections, has been at the center of a large-scale theft scandal this year. The museum announced in late July that 221 items had been stolen from its Russian section. The $4.85 million theft was uncovered during a routine check. Three people have been charged so far in the ongoing probe, including the husband and son of a museum employee, who died last year shortly after the thefts were uncovered.