The author of the fake story about “counterfeit” Faberge eggs is wanted by a secret service

Andrei Ruzhnikov, who tried to create a scandal by accusing the Hermitage Museum in organizing an exhibition of fake Faberge eggs, is guilty of counterfeiting himself, as evidenced by the documents of the special services.

An anti-corruption authority had recorded in official papers that Ruzhnikov had fraudulently obtained Romanian citizenship, which allowed him to settle in the UK.

It is believed that this information attack on the Russian museum was arranged by Ruzhnikov on purpose in order to get access to an Arab sheikh who is a wealthy collector of fine arts.



An Egg Looks the Same from Every Side

The fake story about the counterfeit jewelry exhibited in the Museum of St. Petersburg had emerged dramatically in February of this year.

Andrei Ruzhnikov, who was presented by the foreign media as a London collector, wrote an open letter to Mikhail Piotrovsky, the director of the Hermitage. In that letter, Ruzhnikov had clearly stated his claims.

Ruzhnikov claimed that counterfeits were allegedly present at the exhibition "Faberge - Jeweler of the Imperial Court", alongside with original Faberge eggs.

The "AiF" media outlet had reported that "Ruzhnikov announced that 25 out of the 102 exhibits presented at the exhibition are counterfeits made not by a legendary Faberge but by modern jewelers. In particular, among the alleged counterfeits is the “Little hen” Easter egg (the original egg resides in the Faberge Museum belonging to Viktor Vekselberg), as well as, probably, the "Anniversary wedding" egg, allegedly donated by Nicholas II to Empress Alexandra Fedorovna in 1904, and the Easter egg "Alexander Nevsky." The expert had stated that no official documents confirm that two those eggs were made by Faberge."

The BBC Russia had further exaggerated the scandal by “finding” a political motive in this story. According to NEWSru.com, "experts interviewed by the BBC Russia agree with the opinion of Andrey Ruzhnikov." "Presumably fake exhibits belong to the private Russian National Museum and the Museum of Christian Culture. The first organization is registered in the name of Alexander Ivanov, and the second is patronized by Konstantin Goloshchapov" – concluded the British media outlet.

The media was eager to declare that Goloshchapov is "a friend of Putin". At the same time, Ivanov was "reminded" of the Faberge “Rothschild egg” bought in 2007 at Christie's for $18.5 million, which Vladimir Putin had presented to the Hermitage in 2018.



A Marketing Attack on the Hermitage

Piotrovsky responded by saying that Hermitage experts would check the authenticity of the items. Subsequently, after performing a research, the museum had reported on its website that doubts about the authenticity of the items could have been caused by small alterations in their parts.

The message stated that "The exhibition made it possible to conduct research on objects from private collections. That research had revealed a rich history of the existence of those objects, the presence of numerous restorations, repairs, alterations, additions. The difference between the two types of restoration - museum and commercial, was quite clear ... This was the marketing attack on the Hermitage and the world of Russian collectors by some participants in the "Faberge market" ... "Imperial" eggs could undergo alteration with a replacement of parts like portraits on them. "

RIA Novosti cited the position of the Hermitage that "all these results do not contradict, in general, the statements of the owners, but make them dependent on documentary, historical and art history arguments."



The Hidden Background

"AiF St. Petersburg" had claimed that one of the possible reasons for the appearance of Ruzhnikov's letter to Piotrovsky is a personal grievance of Ruzhnikov.

The publication stated, while discussing the embarrassing attempt of the "London collector" to buy a Faberge egg in 2007: “However, Alexander Ivanov, a businessman, had got the Faberge egg literally from under their noses, for half a million pounds. Ivanov, according to the magazine, had been buying Faberge crafts all over the world for several years.”

According to his own statement, by the middle of the last decade he became the owner of the largest collection of Faberge products on the planet (more than 3 thousand exhibits) and opened a private museum in Baden-Baden.

The world of collectors is a small world. Few collectors could afford such grandiose purchases, and it is clear that Ruzhnikov and Ivanov are old acquaintances, and their relationship could hardly be described as friendly.



...I’m Going to Live in London

And now, let’s talk about the statement that is in the beginning of this article.

The editors got a copy of a document testifying to the possibility that Ruzhnikov, the author of the fake news about counterfeit Faberge eggs in the Hermitage, had received the citizenship of the European Union in a criminal and illegal way.

This is the appeal of the Main Directorate of Criminal Prosecution of the National Center for Fighting against Corruption of the Republic of Moldova to the Romanian Embassy in Chisinau.

Moldovan anti-corruption authorities had asked the Romanian ambassador to share information about four persons, including Andrei Evgenievich Ruzhnikov.

The appeal notes that official identification documents of Moldovan citizens were illegally issued to four persons from 2010 to 2013 in the city of Comrat. Among these persons is Andrey Ruzhnikov, born in 1950.

The appeal to the Romanian ambassador said: “As a result of the study, it turned out that using these documents in the Republic of Moldova, Ruzhnikov had fraudulently obtained Romanian citizenship via a citizenship restoration procedure. He had presented these forged documents in the process.
It should be noted that this person had arrived in the European Union and the UK with criminal intentions. Now he resides in the UK at 47 Grosvenor Square, Mayfair, London WIK2HS".

The representatives of the Moldovan anti-corruption intelligence service have added that "We will also be grateful to Your Excellency for any information about Ruzhnikov Andrey Evgenievich, Fisher Svetlana Georgievna, Ashirov Konstantin Kamilovich and Smirnov Mikhail Vladimirovich. Those beneficiaries or non-citizens of Romania, who had illegally received Romanian citizenship in the Republic of Moldova, had used these names. In addition, we would be grateful for any information about their present location, and we ask to perform the identification of these individuals in order to prevent crimes, as well as perform their detention and further prosecute them."

The letter was accompanied by personal data of Ruzhnikov, Fisher, Ashirov and Smirnov on 4 pages, originating from the state database.



The Commercial Component

Alexander Ivanov also expressed his opinion about the fake claim made by Ruzhnikov.

He had appeared on Andrey Karaulov's YouTube channel "The Evening Discussions" and was introduced as the CEO of the Faberge Museum in Baden-Baden.

Ivanov described Ruzhnikov as an "antique dealer" and noted that, figuratively speaking, this was not the first act of aggression carried out by Ruzhnikov.

"His goal was to create an image of a truth fighter for himself, like he is the only honest expert," Ivanov said.

He revealed the ins and outs and said that there is a huge Louvre museum in Abu Dhabi. The museum's management and sheikhs had made a decision to collect a whole section of Faberge products.

"One of the sheikhs has a lot of Faberge items, and for many years various antiquaries have been trying to get closer to him. That includes Ruzhnikov, who had been there many times," said Alexander Ivanov.

However, nothing has worked out so far, since the sheikh already has suppliers of Faberge products. Ivanov described them as highly experienced people with very good knowledge of the subject.

“This is a purely commercial component here,” summed up Alexander Ivanov.

The editors do not yet know how these events would develop in the future.

It seems to us that an official document of the National Anti-Corruption Center of the Republic of Moldova, even when published on April 1, should not be an "April Fool's joke".

There shouldn't be any jokes at all here.

Nevertheless, the fact that Ruzhnikov, who is accusing others of forgeries, has fake documents himself is highly suspicious and requires serious critical thinking.