A religious icon included on a list of more than 220 items stolen from Russia's State Hermitage Museum has been discovered in a trash bin, according to local police.

An anonymous caller reportedly alerted officers on Thursday to where the wooden icon could be found: a garbage container in a yard near the St. Petersburg police station spearheading the investigation.

A police spokesperson told Russian media that the icon appeared in good condition but had been "slightly disassembled."

The museum, which holds one of the world's largest collections of art and artifacts, announced Monday that 221 items in storage — including medieval Russian jewelry, silverware, religious works and precious stones — had been stolen from its coffers.

Hermitage officials announced the theft after the completion of an inventory check that began last October and ended in late July.

Critics have blasted the museum for its poor security, while Hermitage director Mikhail Piotrovsky blamed museum workers for what he believes was an inside job carried out over several years.

Also probing curator's death

In addition to the theft, Russian police are investigating the mysterious death of a curator who was in charge of the collection and died just as the inventory inspection began. The museum has not released the staffer's name or any details about the death.

While the museum has said the items stolen are worth about $5.5 million Cdn, some experts have estimated the value at more than 10 times that amount. The Hermitage also revealed that the items were not insured.

A statement on the Hermitage's Russian-language website includes the list of stolen items, including the wooden icon found Thursday and identified as the Assembly of All Saints.

With files from the Associated Press.

Back 04.08.2006.