Moscow police recovered an exorbitantly priced violin stolen from a hapless owner, cracking the caper in a single day, Interfax reported Sunday.
The violin was stolen from Sergei Chekanov of the Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra at a bus stop in eastern Moscow last Monday.
The theft appeared to have been an improvisation — the thief simply nabbed the instrument that the 50-year-old violinist left out of his sight during the early morning hours.
The suspect was apprehended within a day, though his detention was not initially made public, police said Sunday, without disclosing the man's identity.
The violin in question was produced by Timofei Podgorny (1873-1958), Russia's award-winning maker of bowed string instruments, known as the "Russian Stradivari" as his skills are seen by some to rival those of renowned Italian luthier Antonio Stradivari.
Like Stradivari, Podgorny's violins are known go for sumptuous sums. The violin played by Chekanov is valued at 700,000 rubles ($19,000).
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