The pictures seized and blocked in Finland will return to Russia

These also include the six masterpieces exhibited at Casa Cavazzini, home to the exhibition “The shape of infinity”

The works of art seized last week from three trucks at the Vaalimaa border – between Finland and Russia – by Finnish customs, due to Western sanctions following the invasion of Ukraine, have been returned to Russia. These also include the six masterpieces exhibited at Casa Cavazzini, home of the exhibition “The shape of infinity”.

Finland’s customs authorities have, in fact, released about 200 works of art (paintings, antiques and sculptures) on loan from various Russian museums – including the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, but also the Tretyakov Gallery and the Museum of Fine Arts. Pushkin Arts in Moscow – to other museums, including in Italy, with a total insurance value of around 42 million euros. This brings to a positive conclusion a story that risked causing a diplomatic incident between Finland and Russia, after the seizure of Russian works was seen, by Moscow and the pro-government media, as a “theft of Russian culture”. The return of the works was made possible by the exception of the EU regulation on sanctions against Russia, which concerns works of art belonging to public institutions.

Russian culture minister Olga Lyubimova expects the return of the works by the end of next week.

But not all countries have resolved the so-called “war of paintings” in this way: the French Minister of Culture, Roselyn Bachelot, declared that two paintings from the Morozov collection, one of which belonged to a Russian oligarch (who has frozen assets) and the other from a museum in Dnipro, Ukraine, will remain in France for the time being, where they are for the exhibition at the Vuitton Foundation in Paris.