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U.S. to Return Historical Documents Missing 20 Years to Russia

Denis Abramov / Vedomosti

The United States will return to Russia more than 20 valuable historical documents which were stolen from Russian archives in the early 1990s, the Kommersant newspaper reported Friday.

Among a total of 28 documents are authentic orders of Russian rulers including Peter the Great, as well as papers signed by former Soviet leader Josef Stalin, Kommersant reported.

The papers were discovered during an investigation carried out by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security between 2006 and 2012.

The official handing over of the missing documents to Russian authorities will be held on March 3 in the residence of the U.S. Ambassador to Russia John Tefft.

The ceremony will be attended by representatives of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Russia's Culture Ministry as well as history experts and prominent cultural figures.

William Stevens, spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, told Kommersant that the event signifies that despite political confrontation, cooperation between the two countries on practical issues continues.

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