Published on: 2026-10-04
Source: Moscow Government – Правительства Москвы –
An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
On October 8 at 7:00 PM, a lecture by Ekaterina Burkova will take place at the Petrovsky Travel Palace “About the most high-profile crimes in the field of art”. A hereditary collector, art historian, and former Interpol officer specializing in the protection of international cultural heritage will talk about world-famous museum heists. Guests will learn details about the theft of the “Mona Lisa,” the high-profile robbery of the Louvre, the Green Vault museum, and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum treasure in Boston.
“The world was shaken by the robbery of the Louvre. The investigation is ongoing, and new discoveries have been made during it. I will also explain how the security system is still suffering and why the museum with four software works by Renoir was robbed just days ago,” promised Ekaterina Burkova.
The lecture will discuss investigations that the author conducted at Interpol, where the stolen items were listed in the international collection “Most Wanted Artworks.”
“I will tell about detective cases that I investigated myself. For example, how justice triumphed after more than 30 years. In 1973, masterpieces of world significance were stolen from the ‘Dmitrov Kremlin’: works by Karl Bryullov, Ivan Aivazovsky, and the French artist Élisabeth Vigée-Lebrun. In 2016–2017, working at Interpol and overseeing auctions, I saw these works begin to appear at Swiss and German auctions. We assembled a working group with the participation of an expert from the Tretyakov Gallery and traveled to Germany. As a result, we managed to prove the stolen works belonged to the property of the Russian Federation,” continued Ekaterina Burkova.
One of the main topics of the lecture will be the most sensational crime of the 2020s — the Louvre robbery. The criminals stole unique jewelry from the Apollo Hall that belonged to Napoleon’s second wife. These one-of-a-kind precious items have a long history. During World War II, the heirs, finding themselves in a difficult situation, put them up for auction. A major collector bought them to donate to the Louvre.
“In such robberies, the stones are always removed from the setting. The set, which had been kept in the family for many years, is irretrievably lost because those very same sapphires no longer exist in nature. This inflicts irreparable damage to the world heritage,” notes Ekaterina Burkova.
No less sensational a robbery took place in 1990 at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. That night, works by Titian, Jules Dupré, and other first-tier painters of world art, whose works are rarely seen in museums, were stolen. The paintings have not yet been found. The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation offered a five million dollar reward for any information about the missing paintings.
The lecture’s author recalls that even bona fide purchasers can have a stolen masterpiece taken from them, so buying stolen goods is pointless.
“Recently in Spain, when selling a country estate, a painting by a fairly well-known artist, which was considered lost, was discovered. The photographer simply took a picture of the living room or bedroom, and people knowledgeable in art recognized the work,” said Ekaterina Burkova.
Ekaterina Burkova was born into a family of collectors of Meissen porcelain from the 18th to 20th centuries. After obtaining a law degree, she decided to study art history. Her grandfather, Sergey Murashov, headed the investigative department of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs; it was under him that the Russian Federation established the National Central Bureau of Interpol. Therefore, the choice of profession for Ekaterina Burkova became obvious.
The lecture “On the Most High-Profile Crimes in the Field of Art” will take place at: Leningradsky Prospekt, building 40. Tickets can be purchased without markups and commission in the service “Mosbilet”.
“Mosbilet” — the official service on the mos.ru portal, through which you can purchase tickets to theaters, museums, concert halls, and other establishments supervised by the city’s Department of Culture, without commissions or markups. The service page features announcements of the most anticipated events, season premieres, activities within city festivals, exhibitions, performances, and concerts that will take place in the upcoming weekend.
You can buy a ticket directly in the service. For events where personal data is required to purchase a ticket, there is no need to enter the visitor’s last name, first name, patronymic, and information: if the user has a standard or full account, it is enough to leave the default value — Mos ID — in the document selection field. Mandatory fields must be filled in manually if the account is simplified. When processing tickets for young guests through the service, all data must be entered only by the accompanying adult. For children under 14, only the last name, first name, patronymic, and date of birth can be specified; showing the child’s document at cultural events is not required. In addition, authorized users will be able to open QR codes of tickets in the mobile applications “My Moscow”, “My id”, and “Moscow Public Services”.
Learn about performances, concerts, exhibitions, and other interesting events on the official “Mosbilet” channels in messengers “Max” and “Telegram”.
Please note; This information is raw content obtained directly from the source of the information. It is an accurate account of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.