“Pichler’s case”: the most loud theft from the imperial public library.
Part II
In the office, at the request of Sobolshchikov, the Pichler from his frock coat took out a large and thick volume of the works of St. Ambrose in Latin. Then Mr. Sobolshchikov sent for the assistant director of the library, Pletnev, with whom, as well as with Seeler, went to the apartment of the latter on Bolshaya Konyushenny Street, to the house of the Finnish church. In the first room of Pichler’s apartment, in the cabinet, more than a hundred books were found with signs of belonging to their public library. Bychkov went to notify this find of the director of the Library of Delyanov. At this time, the Sobolshchikov and Pletnev saw more books in the second room. Pichler himself disappeared somewhere, saying that he was leaving for dinner, and the Bavarian citizen of the Cross, which was living in his apartment, did not want to give the keys to the third locked room. She was already opened at the insistence of the cleler of the secret adviser Delyanov, who arrived in the apartment, there were a large number of books in the boxes. In the presence of the invited assistant bailiff Osapchuk, a significant number of books were also found.
The books found in the Pichler apartment and belonging to the Imperial Public Library turned out to be 4372.
During the new inspection of the Pichler apartment, on March 13th, several more books were found recognized by the public library. There were 229 cards from the alphabetical and systematic catalogs of the library between the pikhler’s papers, and a frock coat and a bag between the dress, which Pikhler tied to a frock coat during books from the library ”
(“St. Petersburg leaflet”, June 26, 1871)
At the trial, Pichler claimed that he took books exclusively for his scientific work and planned to return them to the library. In addition to the clerk, his cohabitant of the Cross of Veter turned out to be on the bench of the defendants. The hearings in the case ended on June 25, 1871:
“The defendant of the Aloisia of the Pichler is deprived of all personal and due to the assigned rights, advantages, the Order of St. Stanislav 2nd degree and send to live in the Tobolsk province with an advance in the continuation of one year of excommunication from the appointed place and for 2 years from the province.
To deprive all personal and as assigned rights, to imprison the KRIMER, to imprison the house for 4 months, and to send abroad to return with the release, and in case of rejection of it in the Fatherland to send under the supervision of the police ”
(“St. Petersburg leaflet”, June 27, 1871)
VChK-OGPU
“ВЧК ОГПУ”
