Information about selling “Lavra valuables” in Europe appears a fake

Billboard with the image of the fake Ausen auction. Photo: open sources

On July 12-13, a number of Russian Telegram channels, citing a photo of a billboard, spread information that an event was being prepared in the Parisian auction house to sell valuables from the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra. This was seen as confirmation of the reports of the Russian authorities about the impending removal of valuables from the Lavra.

In particular, the Tsargrad TV resource wrote in the telegram channel: “The treasures of the Lavra will go under the hammer. An auction of Orthodox shrines was announced in Paris... Now we can say with certainty that a robbery has taken place. In turn, Paris announces not an exhibition, but an auction ‘Treasures of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra’. UNESCO can be proud: everything possible has been done to preserve the shrines.”

The editors of the UOJ sent a request to the auction house and received a negative response.

“This is absolutely fake and slanderous information. No items from the KPL anywhere (as far as I know) will be put up for auction in France, if such items exist at all,” said Sergey Volkov, the French auction house specialist in Russian art.

According to his assumptions, the photo was most likely taken in New York or Istanbul.

“Someone used information about the upcoming auction of Russian art in our Osenal house and used our logo to fabricate a poster,” said its representative. “All official information about the auction, which will take place on September 24, is available on our website. The catalog of lots will appear only in the first week of September. I am very sorry that this kind of deliberately false information is published on the network.

Earlier, the UOJ wrote that the Russian Federation said that the relics of the saints were being taken from the Lavra to the West.

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