Thieves used a crane, a truck and the cover of pre-dawn darkness to steal a 700kg giant bronze statue of 19th-century Russian author Mikhail Lermontov in the southern Russian city of Vladikavkaz, Itar-Tass news agency said on Friday.
The theft occurred from a well-known public square in the city across the street from a police station open round the clock, the report said.
The report said the statue was put in place in October to mark the 190th anniversary of the birth of Lermontov, whose works often touched on the virtues of Russia’s imperial presence in the Caucacus region.
Police are investigating the theft. — Sapa-AFP