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– They know how to make toys for children. Okay, you major must bring something for loved ones, after all, we went through such a war before our Victory. Close this junk, restore.
When the turn came to an antique table with four-legged faces, the captain asked: – What is this shabby table for restoration? He is not on the list.
– So, comrade captain, I’m an antique dealer, after restoration, both the safe and this table will be delivered to the Kremlin, by oral order of Comrade Marshal Victory Zhukov.
The captain completed the inspection on the second day. And already in the office, Lavrenty Beria took out the order of Georgy Zhukov from the red folder with the attached list of trophies from Germany to replenish the Kremlin’s historic chambers and rooms. After reading the order, Beria tore the sheet into two parts in front of the captain who was standing at attention. Then he went to his desk, took a piece of government letterhead with typewritten text and a red seal on it, and handed it to the captain.
– Here is a new order from the higher authorities. Follow the instructions in it. You will return the order form to me personally.
– There is! – the captain put a new order in the folder, turned in a military circle and left.
«So,» the captain began to say, sitting down on a bench lying in the compartment of the car accompanying the cargo from Germany, «this is the order of Comrade Lavrenty Beria, furniture, clothes, carpets and utensils to take Comrade Zhukov to the Moscow apartment. And things for restoration, there is this dilapidated safe and a table in Kiev. Transport and soldiers will be allocated for loading. Here is the Act of cargo acceptance, bill of lading to Kiev and passes for transport police and commandant’s office. Depart tomorrow, on a truck with cargo…
Furniture, carpets and some utensils by order of Lavrenty Beria was delivered to Zhukov’s Moscow apartment. And at the request of the Marshal, Oleg Mikhailovich an antique table with a safe, in which priceless treasures of Faberge eggs and a twin diamond Shah were stored, were delivered to Kiev to Peremet’s apartment, to a secret bomb shelter to other valuable specimens, where a collection of old wines was stored…
History reference:
«A year later, the famous «Trophy Case» took place in Moscow, during which the legendary Marshal of Victory was accused of misappropriation of various luxury goods. Georgy Zhukov admitted that he had indeed brought a lot of furniture, carpets and other fashionable utensils from Germany, and repented that he had not informed the higher authorities about this. As a result, he was transferred to the post of commander of the Ural Military District.
After Stalin’s death, the commander is returned to Moscow and, by order of Nikita Khrushchev, is appointed first deputy minister of defense, and later minister. By the way, Georgy Zhukov played far from the last role in the removal of Lavrenty Beria from power, who was his exposer in the Trophy Affair. According to most researchers, Marshal Zhukov became one of the key figures in the suppression of the 1956 Hungarian anti-communist uprising and carried out the rather bloody Whirlwind operation. After it, Khrushchev was frightened by the great influence of the Minister of Defense on the public and military leaders, so he achieved the complete removal of Georgy Zhukov from work and dismissed.»
And the priceless treasures delivered to Kiev became the property of the Oleg Peremet family
Chapter 5
The door was opened by Igor.
– Come on in, there are a few ideas, you need to consult.
I took off my shoes and, jumping into slippers, followed him into the kitchen. Near the stove, with a Turk in which strong coffee was already boiling, Igor began to mess around.
– Have a seat. – He said, bringing the Turk and pouring coffee into cups. Croissants and cookies were lying on the table; it was evident that he had already managed to visit the deli. Then he sat down at the table and began to speak.
– I thought that since you are in courses about these treasures, then it’s time to tell you the story of their origin.
– My grandfather Peremet Oleg Mikhailovich, as you know, served as the quartermaster in the army of the first Ukrainian front during the war…
Igor’s grandfather didn’t report on the treasures he kept, fearing for the consequences for his family. And it was undertaken by Comrade Peremet, a major front-line soldier, an action that distracted the attention of the authorities from the main treasures – this is that he tried to give away the antique safe of Catherine the Great, as you know, the authorities dismissed the annoying assaults of the front-line soldier with such a request.
So, now the antique safe, Faberge eggs, and engraved diamond belong to Igor.
– I searched the Internet for historical reports about this diamond, and that the most interesting exact copy of it is in the Kremlin Armory. I checked the size of the diamond with the size of the treasure being stored, the copy is identical.
– Or maybe it’s just a glass? I asked warily.
– Look, here I wrote out the comparative sizes from the Internet, and those that were removed from our diamond are identical.
– I see that even in weight match.
«Well, of course, I checked it on a kitchen electronic scale, that’s for sure.» – Igor said.
– So this is the script. – I thoughtfully thought, – I am confused only by the fact that how it was possible to make two twins. After all, each stone must be different and absolutely identical diamonds do not exist in nature?
– I think that it was a solid crystal, which was split into two halves and then the master polished these parts, finishing to the same perfection, and then engraved.
– Wow! I exclaimed.
– This diamond was found in ancient times in India, and its identity with the Shah suggests that it has no price. – Igor remarked delightedly, – The certificates of the German expert are also present here, however, the expert did not even understand that this is the Twin Shah. And Shah in 1922 was transported from St. Petersburg to Moscow and placed in the Kremlin Armory.
– No, I do not think so. It seems to me that this copy of Shah, was made in Germany in the thirties from another diamond, suitable in shape and the engraving was carried out by more advanced methods.
– And how to understand this? – asked Igor.
– Do you have a diamond here? Let’s take a closer look. If all three inscriptions are identical in groove depth and evenness, then my assumption is correct.
«I don’t understand why to make a copy?» – Igor said, passing me the stone.
– Apparently, one of the customers really wanted to have the Shah diamond for something of their vanity, to raise a scandal in the world among collectors of ancient jewelry, and thus inflate the price at times. After all, this is not a glass, but a real diamond, clean and sparkling, as befits a diamond. – I held this treasure in my hands, admiring the work of the master, examining through a magnifying glass an even cut of grooves of the same depth study.
– Yes, Igor, this is a more modern work. The ancient masters did not have tools for inscribing on such a solid surface of equal depth and evenness. But its price from this will not be less, if not more than the cost of the Shah of the first 88.7 carats.
– On the Internet, the historical price of the Shah is four million royal rubles at the date of 1827. – Igor reported.
– Well, at an auction such a well-known stone can cost from twenty-one million to fifty million dollars, and this is not the limit. This is if a true connoisseur of precious stones wants to have in his collection this copy of the relic of the whole history of the events that accompany this stone.
I held this amazing piece of jewelry in my hands and fell in love with its sparkling facets every minute, feeling the magic power of diamond and some kind of hypnotic effect coming from the brilliance of its perfect transparent purity. With difficulty taking my eyes off the sparkling faces, I handed over the diamond to Igor. And silently, almost mechanically, he sipped his already-cooled coffee. Igor wrapped the stone in a soft suede napkin made of thin leather and hid the treasure in a box.
– Igor, this does not happen. There are no ideally identical diamonds. There can only be a skillfully executed fake. Here the suggestion suggests itself, what if a glass is kept in the Armory, a fake, and here we have a real Shah.
– Let’s also make some coffee and drink cognac.
Having a drink of coffee with cognac croissant with apple jam, I began to reason.
– Think, and simply according to the available photographs and drawings, the jeweler made an exact copy of Shah, and when transporting from the treasury of the Winter Palace in 1922 to Moscow, the shah was replaced. Well, how can we prove that this stone from the Armory already belongs to you. This would be so if the grandfather left a list of treasures in your name in the will. He is not there? – I carefully looked at Igor.
– The fact of the matter is that no. And no one began to engage in the search for Shah, neither the German authorities, nor the Soviet authorities because everyone knew that the stone was stored in the Kremlin.
– The German expert, of course, informed his German post-war authorities about his expertise in stone. And they checked that Shah was in the Kremlin treasury, and Zhukov, apparently for some reason the higher Kremlin authorities, carried out an examination of the diamond on their instructions. Therefore, this copy fell out of sight of the competent authorities. – I spoke authoritatively, – and now it belongs entirely to you.
«And now what?» What should I do with this, and what should I do? – Igor began to speak vaguely.
«It all depends on you.» – I said, trying to help him, I will determine the problem of treasures.
– Like this?
«Well, how, for example, you want to keep a stone for yourself and pass it on to your heirs.» Either give or sell.
– Well, give it, it is unlikely. But to sell this is something.
– Our state is not stable, like France, Germany, or England. There is Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and finally, the tiny state of Andorra, where they will not ask you who the real customer of this product is, but will always assume that it is yours. But there is one problem, this diamond has unique value and information about it has probably been preserved. As soon as you announce it. Therefore, you must become an anonymous seller and agree on the auction of precious stones anonymously, putting it up for sale for twenty-one million dollars. Such a thing, I am one hundred percent sure that it will be successful. Since the royal courts, whether it be Spain, Great Britain, Japan, the Rajas of India, the Royal House of Saudi Arabia and so on with great pleasure will buy this diamond no matter how much it stands. You just need to correctly name it, for example, Shah the second, the Shah Twin, or simply the Twin, to show that this is not the original, but a real diamond and is an exact copy of the Shah.
– Well, Valentine, but where to find such an auction?
– I heard that such auctions are held in Hong Kong. It is necessary to investigate the issue of auctions in Hong Kong and the conditions that must be provided for bidding.
– Well, what about Valentine, I’ll take up the search for ways to participate in this auction. And, something worries me that such an event requires funds, and not small ones. And we do not have these funds.
– It turns out some kind of vicious circle. – I said, and added, – We can’t even lay a Faberge egg, as soon as we get the attention of various criminal rabble and law enforcement agencies with them.
– Therefore, we will hurry in a hurry.
– What is it like? Slowly but surely? I asked with a smile, adding, «I think that is enough for today.» We still need to rest, because tomorrow early to get to work.
On this I said goodbye to Igor until tomorrow…
Chapter 6
On Monday, we met with Igor in the technological bureau of the machine shop. After five minutes, which was always carried out by the leader, and we received tasks on the working day, we went out for a smoke break. Since Igor and I are not smokers, we stepped aside and began to eagerly discuss our search for suitable auctions of ancient antique stones. As I expected, Igor was inclined to believe that Hong Kong is the most ideal trading environment.
– Have you found out who can become a seller? – I asked Igor when we moved away from excess ears.
– Absolutely anyone can put jewelry for sale. If the jewelry is suitable for auction and is a high-quality product, the administration will be happy to put the stone up for auction. I even found out that preference is given to stones with a rich history. So I’m sure that the Shah Twin will go under the hammer of the auction. In addition, experts inspect and recommend the starting price at which bidding will begin. – Igor enthusiastically began to speak, – I’m only worried about one single question, where can I get money for a trip to Christie’s auction in Chinese Hong Kong?
– We have one single way out. – I said mysteriously. Igor’s eyes lit up.
– Which one? – he asked.
– Win at the casino, at roulette.
– No, I thought about it, even tried to create a system. All to no avail. This is a failure. – He objected categorically.
«Then it costs you nothing, you have to hand over one Faberge egg to the Kremlin Armory.» This is the worthiest outlet for you. – I declared authoritatively.
«And to get twenty-five percent of the fifteen thousand dollars, this antique thing will be appreciated there as cheaply as possible.» And buy a one-way tour package? – Igor answered offended.
– What are you so worried about friend. Take the diamond and sell it there. Believe me, this is the only way. – I began to persuade him.
– And draw attention to me. Tracking will begin for me, I am sure that they will penetrate me, install listening devices in the apartment, and even cameras. I will only draw unhealthy attention to myself. No, this option is not suitable. I think that the only way out is to get a loan from the Bank on the security of an apartment. And when I become a millionaire, come home and work, as if nothing had happened, paying a loan from my salary. Until I pay. Then in a year it will be possible to come up with something, where to invest the money and live from those funds that will drip on interest.
– Yes, there’s nothing to think about, having opened abroad, a bank account immediately there in Hong Kong there are branches of various banks. If only Raiffeisen Bank. In this bank you open an account here. There you take a loan, which is transferred to you on a credit card. In Hong Kong, you reissue your card at the Chinese branch of the Swiss bank so that no one knows how much money you have in your account. Those who want to know will track only your credit funds on the card that you issued in Ukraine, that’s all. And interest from the proceeds of money for a diamond will drop in another branch of the bank.
«Yes, friend, you’re right, as always.» But you still need to finalize at least to leave. And then do this operation…
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