Putin Orders Nationwide Inventory After Museum Theft

Inside the Hermitage Museum (ITAR-TASS) August 10, 2006 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered an inventory of artworks held in museums across the country to be compiled.

Putin today instructed ministers to set up a commission to carry out the inventory to help reveal possible thefts of artworks.

Last week, St. Petersburg's famed State Hermitage Museum discovered that 221 items worth $5 million had been stolen from its collection.

(Reuters, ITAR-TASS)