MOSCOW. Nov 23 (Interfax-AVN) - Orders, stolen from the Russian Armed Forces Central Museum in the 1990s, might have been among Soviet decorations, offered at the Sotheby's auction, though, there is no information confirming the fact yet, head of the Armed Forces Central Museum Alexander Nikonov told Interfax-AVN on Thursday.
"At the moment, there is no information that those are our orders. Our museum admits each theft in public, and files criminal cases. However, not all museums follow suit. Thus, the decorations may not be one of ours. Otherwise, we will be happy to get them back," Nikonov said.
"We will be happy to get the orders back to the museum," he added. A criminal case was filed when orders were stolen from the museum in the early 1990s, and the decorations are still wanted, Nikonov said.
He noted that the museum closely followed the information on Soviet orders, which were to have been auctioned in Great Britain. On Thursday media reported that all 11 orders were withdrawn from the auction, slated for November 28, at the request of the Russian side.