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Source: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1150387.html
Netanyahu Lobbies Russians for Ancient Hebrew Texts
(Ha'aretz) Noah Kosharek - Prime Minister Netanyahu and Russian President Medvedev on Monday discussed Israel's desire to retrieve the Guenzberg collection of ancient Jewish manuscripts. The collection includes 14,000 books (some published in the 14th century) and more than 2,000 Hebrew manuscripts. Following the death of Baron David Guenzberg in 1910, Zionist activists arranged for its relocation to prestate Israel. In May 1917, the Russians agreed to sell the collection to the Jewish National and University Library for half a million rubles. But after the money had already been paid by Russian Zionists and the collection was packaged and ready for shipment, World War I erupted, delaying the shipment. After the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917, the newly installed Soviet authorities expropriated the collection.