Romanian Treasure

Romanian Treasure

World War I rages and Bucharest is occupied by the German army...
The Romanian government fears a complete German victory and sends the treasure to safety. The Romanian Prime Minister must quickly decide where the treasure will be taken. Proposals to send the treasure to London and the United States, as well as to neutral countries such as Denmark, are gradually rejected. The Romanians fear the North Sea and the German submarine fleet. In the end, the choice falls on Russia, Romania's ally in World War I.

Sending the treasure

The Romanian government signs an agreement with the Tsarist government, obliging Russia to protect the Romanian treasure within the walls of the Kremlin until the end of the war. Thus, during the night of 14-15 December 1916, 97 tons of gold in gold coins and ingots are sent by train. The value of this train in 2005 prices is approximately $1.25 billion.
Seven months later, in the summer of 1917, Romania is even worse off militarily. The most precious objects of the Romanian nobility, the archives of the Romanian academy, dozens of paintings, etc. are sent away.

The Communist takeover in Russia

After the communist coup in Russia, in 1917, the communists refused to respect the treaties signed by the previous tsarist government. Thus, from 1922 onwards, the Romanian governments tried
to return the treasure, but with very little success.
In 1935, the USSR returned only a small part of the archives and in 1956 some paintings and ancient artifacts. The most valuable part of the treasure, about 42 wagons, was never returned.

Treasure during the Revolution

Very little is known about the fate of the treasure at the time of the Great October Revolution. The archives, returned in 1935, lacked many documents, and during World War II, when Moscow came under direct threat from German troops, the treasure was sent unsealed to safety further east.

Modern negotiations

After the fall of the USSR, a glimmer of hope briefly dawned for the Romanians. Romanian President Iont Iliesku signed an agreement with Vladimir Putin to form a commission to investigate the whole sequence of events.

To date, of course, nothing has happened.

Freon

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