The Bluthund Collection Volume III -Two Breathtaking Thrillers: The Bluthund Collection, #3

The Romanov Diadem

Diadem is a feminine jewel that is used on the head. The diadems are pieces with a half-crown appearance that are open at the back.

Table of Contents

Dramatis Personæ

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Epilogue

Dramatis personæ

IRINA FIODOROVNA: RUSSIAN aristocrat. (Irina Ludmila Ekaterina Anastasia Fiodorovna.)

Thiago Ferrari: young Argentine, graduated in systems. Husband of Irina Fiodorovna. (Thiago Daniel Ferrari)

Jack Berglund: Member of the Bluthund Community, specialist in ancient alphabets.

Lakshmi Dhawan: Woman born in India, member of the FBI. Jack's current wife.

Anila Ragnarsson: daughter of Lakshmi and Ingo Ragnarsson, Icelandic academic.

Keneisha Sullivan: FBI Board, Lakshmi boss.

Dr. W. Richardson: Master of the Bluthund Community in New York.

Jerome Watkins: Master of Ceremonies at Bluthund events.

Madame Nadia Swarowska: Member of the Bluthund Management Committee

Suzuki Taro: Member of the Bluthund Management Committee.

Dr. Dieter von Eichenberg: Scholar in Eastern and Western esotericism.

Matsuko: Young Ninja warrior. Daughter of Taro Suzuki.

Sir Edwin Clark: Head of the British section of the Bluthund Community.

Igor Fiodorov: Cousin of Irina and leader of the Russian noble community in Austria.

Frederika Fiodorov: Igor's wife

Duke Ivan Golovkin: Member of the Russian nobility residing in Vienna.

Count Grigory Shuvalov: Member of the Russian nobility residing in Vienna.

Prince Ilya Vorontsov: Member of the Russian nobility residing in Vienna.

General Dimitri Naryshkin: Member of the Russian nobility residing in Vienna.

Baron Boris Demidov: Member of the Russian nobility residing in Vienna.

Aman Bodniev: Siberian shaman.

Roman Ungern von Sternberg: Russian military. Warlord in Mongolia in the period 1917"1921.

Admiral Aleksandr Kolchak: Chief of the White Army fighting against the Bolsheviks in the period 1917"1920.

General Piotr Wrangel: Head of the anti-Bolshevik resistance in Crimea and southern Russia in the period 1917"1920.

Arkady Turgenev: Young Russian mathematician from Krasnodar.

Captain Dmitri Kuznetsov: Member of the Wagner Group.

Colonel Yuri Ostrov: Kuznetsov´s boss.

Timur Aliyev: Kazakh tycoon.

Nurislam Aliyev: Timur's nephew and deputy.

Prologue

AFTER MAKING CONTACT with the ground, the Austrian Airlines plane rolled the wide runway until it was positioned in front of one of the central doors. Once the turbines were stopped, the commander's voice was heard saying first in German and then in English.

Welcome to Vienna International Airport. Local time is 11:25 a.m. and the outside temperature of fifteen degrees Celsius....

The passengers filling the airplane, a motley mix of Americans, Austrians and other Europeans, and the usual number of Asians present on all international flights, began to stand up, wake up their children and collect suitcases, laptops, and other luggage from the upper compartments.

Sitting in the aisle seat, the red-haired young man stood up and stretched his long legs after the long flight, then offered his hand to his wife, who was sitting in the window seat.

"Dear, let me help you, I guess you are numb after the trip.

The lady, in obvious aristocratic ways, appreciated the help and stood next to her husband. He lowered the two suitcases that were in the open compartment while the line of passengers in front of them began to walk toward the exit.

Next time we will travel in first class, I can't stand this tightness. said the woman.

It is three times more expensive, I think it doesn't make sense on a basically night flight.

It is not so nocturnal, we arrived at eleven in the morning.

Because the hour difference. It is five hours later than in New York.

After crossing they walked up the Migrations area. There the young man asked his wife an unusual question.

"Which passport are you traveling with? Russian?

No. I have an Austrian passport. Don't forget that I was born precisely in Vienna.

Then stand in the preferential row to make it faster.

No, I prefer that we continue together.

After collecting their suitcases, they left the international zone and entered the spacious central hall of the airport, full of tourists, family members and business contacts.

You told me that one of your relatives is coming to meet us. Said the man. It was more a question than a statement.

Yes, my cousin Igor. You met him at our wedding. He is one of thirty relatives who traveled to New York from Europe. Don´t you remember him? He looks like you but fifteen years older. He is also a Fiodorov.

Impossible to remember each one of the hundred or more faces that we saw at the wedding.

At that moment a tall and elegantly dressed man approached them. He was indeed slim but not as thin as the young man and had also reddish hair. He approached with open arms and a wide and friendly smile. He spoke in English with the characteristic German accent.

Irina dear. Welcome to Vienna.

The two cousins held each other in a long hug; then the lady separated a bit from him even holding his arms to contemplate his cousin from a certain distance and said.

You look like when we were young, you have almost no gray hair and you have hardly gained weight.

Then she suddenly changed the subject and asked.

Do you remember my husband Thiago? I introduced you at the wedding.

The man replied with a nice laugh.

How can I not remember the young man who stole my favorite girlfriend?

Irina also joined in the laughter and explained to her husband.

In our childhood and early youth Igor and I fantasized about being boyfriends.

Come on, I have my car waiting in the parking lot. I'll drop you off at your hotel.

Throughout the journey in the luxurious BMW Thiago was dazzled by the daytime landscapes around Vienna as well as by the internal comfort of the car.

After a journey of almost an hour, Igor parked in front of an imposing building exponent of the European belle époque bearing the name of Hotel Imperial.

The bellboys rushed to carry the luggage consisting of four large Irina suitcases and one medium sized suitcase belonging to her husband. The woman and Igor approached the desk while Thiago looked at the luxurious central hall of the hotel. The veteran janitor at the desk immediately recognized Igor.

Good morning Herr Fiodorov.

"Good morning Franz. I personally made reservations on behalf of my cousin Irina Fiodorovna and her husband.

Here I have them Replied the employee. With the name of the Ferrari Fiodorov family. The room has been available for two hours.

Igor thanked the concierge and asked him to give an excellent service to the newcomers.

Please make their stay a total pleasure. My cousin Irina was born in Vienna and she has not visited us in a long time.

Then addressing the marriage he said to them.

I must now return to my work. Do not forget that I will pick you up at 7:30 pm to have dinner at home. Frau Fiodorov will be delighted to see you again.

At the indicated time, Igor arrived at the hotel and picked up the travelers, and after a short drive, parked in front of his house. Frederika Fiodorov was waiting for them in the vestibule carefully dressed.

Do you remember Frederika?  Irina asked her husband. She was present at our wedding in New York.

Well ... I ... actually ...

Once again Irina had to come to his aid. She explained to her cousins.

That day I introduced him to over a hundred people, it is not possible that he remembers them all. After a pause and with a mischievous gesture, she added.

Although in truth Thiago is a bed physiognomist. I hope that seeing me every day he will not forget my face.

The exaggeration was followed by a general laughter.

Please, come to the dining room. The housewife replied amused.

The dinner was a complete success. Frederika Fiodorov had an excellent cook and was herself an exquisite pastry chef and had taken great pains to entertain her guests. Christina and Max, the children of the local marriage, monopolized Thiago´s attention because he was more of their age and his exotic South American origin; in this way they crowded the visitor with questions about youth in Argentina, their musical tastes and customs, which the newcomer was not always in a position to answer.

Meanwhile, the homeowners chatted with Irina. As the young people were far away, they did so in French, the language preferred by the Russian aristocracy of all time. At one point Igor said.

As you already know, Duke Golovkin will make a party in his palace for all the members of our community in Austria next Monday to discuss the subject I told you about when I was in New York.  He took a glance at Thiago who was with his children. Are you sure ...?

Dear Igor, I trust him as I trust myself. I know well what is at stake here. If I had doubts I would not have married Thiago Ferrari.

Then looking at Frederika she added.

More than me having become a Ferrari he is the one who has become a Fiodorov.

Well, I'm glad to hear that. In any case, before joining us, he must be approved by the plenary after interviewing him. You know there is a black ball.

I have no fear that he will fail. Have I ever disappointed you?

Never, I have no doubts about your good judgment when choosing people ... especially a husband.

Frederika watched the conversation closely. The calm and confident style of her visitor seduced her despite the potential rivalry between all women in the same circle.

Irina and Thiago spent the weekend touring Vienna. Each place brought the lady back memories of her childhood and early youth spent in the city, while her husband was dazzled by the architecture of Vienna and the obvious quality of life that its inhabitants evidenced.

On Sunday, when they returned to the hotel, while Thiago was taking a shower, his wife worked with her laptop. When the young man came out of the bathroom, it was Irina's turn to bathe and while he dried himself, the first one peeked at the screen of the device, more out of boredom than curiosity. Something caught his attention and he carefully read the article written in French. When Irina came out of the bathroom drying her hair, her husband asked her a slightly ironic question.

My dear, in this article you were reading, it says that Tsar Nicholas' mother, shot by the Bolsheviks, was called Fiodorovna, just like you.

So now you're spending your time browsing my computer? Doesn't that seem like a violation of my privacy? The tone was equally ironic.

Well ... actually I just looked  ...

When her husband fell into one of his usual confusions, Irina changed her tone.

I really don't care, because I have nothing to hide, much less about my origins. Well yes, the mother of Nicholas II and wife of his father Aleksandr III was called Maria Fiodorovna, but it has nothing to do with the branch of my family. Maria was actually Princess Dagmar of Denmark, daughter of the then king of that country. She became Tsarina of Russia by her marriage to Aleksandr III and then changed her name. If we were from the same family that would make us members of the royal house of the Romanovs.

Then we are not Princes? The man's ironic tone had become sarcastic, which convinced his wife to teach him a lesson. She stood in front of Thiago, standing on tiptoe, bringing her face closer to his and with her right hand gently pushed the man's neck to join his lips.

"No, we are not. And I remind you that you should take these things seriously since now you are also a Fiodorov.

On Monday at 5 pm, Cousin Igor accompanied by his beautiful wife Frederika came to look for them to go together to the reception that would take place in the Duke Golovkin's palace. Thiago had received hundreds of instructions on the protocols that governed the actions of the closed community of nobles exiled a century before and yet exhibited remarkable unity and coherence.

Don't worry Frederika said to the young man. I am ethnically German and not Russian, and at the time of my marriage to Igor I also had to adapt to the styles and beliefs of the Russian nobility.

Well, it is a consolation. The Argentine replied without much conviction.

The palace was located on the outskirts of Vienna, in a semi-rural setting and lived up to its name. It was huge, full of windows corresponding to as many other rooms, and Thiago lost count of the ones facing the entrance to the building.

Access was made through a marble staircase that ended in a huge wooden portal. Liveried clerks walked in and out of the palace incessantly carrying all sorts of items, and several men in dark suits wandered the gardens trying to remain unnoticed.

Security personnel thought the visitor without fear of being wrong.

In total, a hundred guests were already in the huge central hall of the building, men dressed in strict etiquette and beautiful ladies of all ages wearing luxurious dresses, jewelry and well-groomed hairstyles. Thiago felt transported to some film in a late European court of the XIX century, but he could not hide from himself the emotion and the visual joy that the unfolding process produced in him.

Many of the attendees knew Irina from her youth and childhood and lavished affectionate but formal greetings on her and the young man had to shake scores of hands from ladies and gentlemen who addressed him in French.

Finally Igor approached Irina and Thiago and told them.

Here our paths separate. I will accompany Thiago to a presentation meeting with Duke Golovkin and some other members of our community. Please you and Frederika join the ladies and the rest of the gentlemen for a reception evening in the next room.

Will the black ball show up here? Thiago whispered in his wife's ear, who burst out laughing.

There will only be white balls for you, dear. You cannot believe that I have exposed you to a potentially frustrating situation.

Igor and the young man entered another room that turned out to be a game room with pool tables. Around an oval table were five elderly men. Igor proceeded to the introductions starting with the homeowner. He did it in French although later the language turned to English to facilitate exchanges with the young visitor.

Our host, Duke Golovkin, Count Shuvalov, Prince Vorontsov, General Naryshkin and young Demidov.

Each of the nominees introduced himself with rigid formality and Thiago tried to imitate the modes as best as possible, taking into account the advice given by Irina and Igor.

Finally Duke Golovkin said.

Please gentlemen, have a seat.

In another huge room the other guests were standing or sitting in armchairs, attending a show that had spontaneously originated. Duchess Golovkin, the homeowner's wife, had sat in front of a huge grand piano from which she was playing some tunes. Suddenly one of the seated ladies said out loud.

Let Frederika sing!

The aforementioned made a modest gesture to apologize but the pianist cordially demanded.

Come on dear. Won't you deprive us of your voice?

Frederika stood by the piano and as if they had tacitly agreed something with Madame Golovkin began to sing a lied in German with a beautiful alto voice followed by the pianist.

Frederika is a lieder specialist. another lady whispered in Irina's ear.

Finally Duke Golovkin and his companions left the game room and entered the concert hall with a relaxed gesture. Irina looked at her husband and he returned her gaze with a smile.

At that moment Igor said out loud.

I propose that now my cousin Irina sing for us typical Russian melodies. Approaching the Duchess, he added.

I can accompany her to the piano, as we did as youngsters in this same city.

Before the concurring assent Igor added.

If you think so dear, we will start with Je vais seul sur la route.

When Irina began to sing with her clear soprano voice, her surprised husband, since he did not cease to learn new and unexpected aspects of his wife; then he recalled the series of melodies performed by a Russian singer named Svetlana he had heard in the musical center of the flat from Irina the day he met her.

After the magnificent dinner, Duke Golovkin tapped his glass goblet with a teaspoon to attract attention and once there was silence he said out loud.

I invite you to return to the main room to attend the presentation of the topic that decided us to convene this meeting, which will be in charge of Prince Vorontsov. It is not necessary to remind you of the absolute confidentiality of everything that we will hear next.

The assistants returned to the main room where in the meantime the dinner had taken place, the employees had transformed by placing chairs for everyone and a table on which were a laptop and a projection cannon. In front of the desk was a large screen that already had a first slide with a title in French and where it could be read.

The Trans-Siberian journey.

Thiago looked puzzled at his wife and asked her.

Do you know anything about all this?

Of course, it is one of the reasons for our trip to Vienna, in addition to introducing you to my family and friends and returning to the place of my childhood.

Chapter 1

RUSSIA- WINTER 1919-1920

After the Bolshevik Revolution of October 1917 and the signing of the peace treaty between Russia and Germany, countless rebellions against the communist government broke out across the vast Russian territory. Various military leaders, generally members of the Tsarist nobility, led powerful armed groups with which they held the ruling Bolshevik hierarchy in check.

Indeed, Wrangel in the south, based on the Crimean Peninsula, led a large force called the Caucasus Army, with which he initially obtained resounding successes that allowed him to establish a government in the area, which was by far the most brilliant and popular of all. Local governments organized by the rebels, participants in the so-called White Movement.

In addition, other nobles led military forces and participated in the struggles, including Yudenich in the Baltic and Miller in the North. However, it was Admiral Kolchak who led the main anti-revolutionary movement in eastern Russia. An anti-Bolshevik government was established in Omsk and Kolchak assumed the role of Minister of War. He was later elected Supreme Ruler of Russia, but his military successes were offset by intrigues against him by his alleged allies, internal rebellions, and an inefficient and corrupt civilian administration of the occupied territories that ultimately cost him the loss of support from the civilian population.

He had to lead a massive evacuation of military and civilians persecuted by the communist troops that finally took Omsk. The Tran-Siberian railway played a decisive role in this escape, but the members of the Czech Legion, who controlled this line, ended up deserting. Kolchak was captured and handed over to his internal enemies in Irkutsk who finally turned him over to the Bolsheviks, who shot him in February 1920.

The Trans-Siberian train continued its course towards the Russian East, losing itself in the harsh and dark winter and the night of time.

Vienna –Present Time

While they waited for the rest of the guests to finish the dinner and the drinks that were served later, a large group of participants including Irina and Thiago talked in the seats placed in the second row in front of the slide projector. Two or three people were busy, no doubt preparing the material to be shown. After a few moments the young man saw that one of the characters with whom he had been meeting in the games room was now sitting in front of the desk but facing the audience.

General Naryshkin. One of those who gave me their support at the meeting. Thiago said quietly to his wife.

Without a doubt it is who is going to make the presentation, given the military nature of the subject.

Military? I thought it was a matter of transportation and logistics.

As you will find out today the Trans-Siberian railway was and still is much more than a means of transport in Russia. It has been a geopolitical tool since the time of the tsars, a means of conquering the Far East of Russia and connecting with peoples that inhabit the vast space of what was the USSR and is now the Russian Federation. Many of these peoples are not of Slavic origin, they do not speak Russian nor are they Christians, but rather Muslims, animists and so many other things. The Trans-Siberian was the red thread of the Russification process in Siberia.

"How do you know all these strategic questions?

My dear, does the name Wrangel mean anything to you?

A brand of jeans?

Irina burst into a loud laugh that drew the attention of some of those present.

Nerd. That is Wranglers. I am talking about Piotr Wrangel.

I have no idea who you're talking about.

Fiodorovs are indirect descendants of this character. He was a mining engineer belonging to an aristocratic family of German origin from the Baltic. He was the most intelligent of the leaders of the White Movement until the Bolsheviks cornered in Crimea and from there he had to evacuate his people to Constantinople. The communists could not catch him.

And what is the relationship of your ancestor with the Trans-Siberian?

None because he was fighting like I told you in the south. The one who fought the Bolsheviks in the east was Admiral Kolchak. But it does explain my interest in the subject and answer your original question.

At that moment, Duke Golovkin and the rest of the guests entered the projection room and occupied the free seats. The homeowner stood in front of the auditorium and coughed lightly to request silence. When he began to speak, a chill ran down Thiago's spine.

Distinguished guests. I think everyone is aware of the agenda for this meeting, for which we have prepared an exhibition by leading speakers. But before starting the agenda I have the pleasure of introducing you to a new member of our community. And inviting Thiago with a gesture to stand up, he added.

The Engineer Thiago Daniel Ferrari Fiodorov, whom I invite to briefly address us.

Also surprised, Irina placed a hand over her husband's to give him encouragement. The young man stood up and walked shakily to the desk next to Golovkin; he naturally had no idea what he was going to say that would be of interest to that audience, but for the time being he decided that his French was not fluent enough to express himself so he opted for English.

Thank you Prince for giving me this opportunity to speak this time. You must know that I come from a very distant country with completely different customs and traditions from those that characterize this community, so I have not ceased to be amazed at the details that you will find usual. I want to quickly learn these traditions and perform at the level of what is expected of me. Thank you.

As he returned to his chair, he heard with surprise a round of applause that was dedicated to him. Irina whispered to him.

You were very good.

Bah! I am aware of having given a mediocre and predictable speech, but it is true that at this point I still do not have much to say.

Golovkin continued with his introductions.

The introductory thread of the theme that brings us together passes through a heroic and determined historical figure, Admiral Kolchak. To tell us about him I invite his descendant Baron Boris Ilyich Demidov.

The young man that Thiago already knew stood in front of the public with resolution. Meanwhile the projector showed a slide of an old photo of a handsome Navy officer dressed in white with some Russian texts.

My ancestor Aleksandr Vasiliyevich Kolchak was first of all a warrior and a man of honor, little used to the commitments of politics in the worst version. He was a prestigious admiral, military leader, and polar explorer who served with courage and loyalty in the Russian Imperial Navy in the Russo-Japanese War, World War I, and the Russian Civil War. Once the latter was unleashed, he established an anti-communist government in Siberia with the name of Provisional Government of All Russia, in which he held the position of Supreme Leader and Commander-in-Chief of all the Russian Sea and Land Forces, based in Omsk, in southwestern Siberia.

Demidov's speech expanded on the battles fought by his ancestor, while Thiago tried at all costs to avoid a yawn. Finally, the speaker finished his speech.

... despite the support obtained by the western powers, especially England, he was betrayed by the members of the Czechoslovak Legion, responsible for the custody of the Trans-Siberian railway, and then handed over to the Bolsheviks who shot him in Irkutsk in February 1920. His figure was vindicated in post-communist Russia, particularly as an explorer of the North Pole, and a statue has been built in Irkutsk in his honor.

Demidov's presentation was also greeted by a round of applause and as he returned to his seat Golovkin announced the next speaker.

General Dimitri Naryshkin will narrate the final stage of the drama that summons us today, the withdrawal of the remains of the white army and the population to the deep Siberia heartland, carrying the treasure of the imperial family.

The treasure of the imperial family!  Thiago mused in his wife's ear. Finally, the reason why more than one hundred exiled Russian nobles congregate in Vienna and follow closely the development of this conference comes to light. The adage Follow the money is right. Were you aware that this topic was going to appear?

Of course silly, I am one of the organizers.

You are a chest of surprises, something like a magician's drawer. You rub elbows with Dukes and Princes, you sing old Russian melodies with a beautiful soprano voice that I have never heard before and now... you are mixed with the treasure hunt of the tsars. I keep wondering what I will find out later.

"The final purpose of our wedding trip is to learn to know each other. You must remember that we got married only two weeks ago, those that were fully occupied in organizing our coming to Vienna in order to participate in this event. And yes, I have always sung my repertoire of songs from my country at all family and social gatherings. I also have the right to rub shoulders with these people since I myself was born in this environment. And finally, I am also active in important events of the Russian nobility no matter where they are organized.

Thiago, overwhelmed by all this information, could barely stammer.

Actually...

Shhh! Now General Naryshkin begins to speak.

Chapter 2

GENERAL NARYSHKIN BEGAN by thanking the organizer for the opportunity to speak.

I am going to talk not only about Admiral Kolchak but more specifically to the avatars of the treasure of Tsar Nicholas II and the Romanov family as far as we know them. Our host, Duke Golovkin, will illustrate the content of this treasure afterwards.

He took a sip of water from the glass in front of him, cleared his throat, and began his exposition.

In 1915, at the beginning of World War I, the Russian imperial treasury was located in Petrograd, today Saint Petersburg, and therefore close to the Russian western border. Fearing that it might fall into German hands, the Tsar's supporters, the so- called white forces, decided to move it to the east, bringing it to the city of Kazan, located 640 km from Moscow, on the trace of the Trans-Siberian Railway, assuming that if later it was required to take it further east it could be done by train.

The treasure remained in Kazan for several years in apparent safety. However, the Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin and Leon Trotsky, sent strong troops in its search, knowing that whoever had those financial resources would end up winning the Russian Civil War. The communists under Trotsky besieged the city of Kazan and in the summer of 1918 took it after a hard fight. Their disappointment was great when they found that the treasure had evaporated from the coffers of the Bank of Kazan and they concluded that it had been taken to East Siberia by rail, seeking to save it this time from the clutches of the Bolshevik revolutionaries, since the First World War was ending.

Naryshkin took another gulp of water and continued.

The Bolsheviks set up their own train and put it on the treasure track, always guided by the Trans-Siberian rails; so what happened was a bizarre chase between trains full of heavily armed soldiers.

The general stopped and reflected before continuing.

It is necessary to clarify that although the whole length of the Trans-Siberian Railway is covered today in three or four days, at that time the routes along the immense Siberian steppe took months. The locomotive ovens were loaded with coal by hand, fuel that was not always available at the following stop. Furthermore, both trains were stopped by enemy gangs along the way and had to sustain long battles. Indeed, the war had plunged Siberia into chaos and the Russian winter was finally doing its work. In this way the progress of the white and red trains was maddeningly slow and unsafe.

The general paused again to put his ideas in order.

After a couple of months of chasing, the train with the treasure arrived at the hands of Admiral Kolchak, who was acting in his capacity as Commander-in-Chief of the White Forces. As the Bolsheviks were already on their trail Kolchak rightly decided to forward the white train further east to get it away from his enemies, sending it to Irkutsk, a Siberian city near Lake Baikal. However in this city treason nested in the midst of the Czechoslovak Legion, which should have been allies of the whites.

New pause.

I will give a brief explanation about this legion. It was made up of Czech and to a lesser extent Slovakian prisoners of war who had fought for the Central Powers, that is to say Germany and in particular the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and decided to change sides to achieve the independence of their country from Austria-Hungary and then sided with the allies to fight in World War I and then continued to fight for whites in the Russian Civil War. One of their missions was precisely to control and give security to the Trans-Siberian Railway, but what they really wanted was to return to their country after the end of the First World War. That return was impossible towards the west since the Bolsheviks occupied all the territory and did not allow the passage to potentially enemy battalions. In this way the Legion leaders negotiate with the Communists and handed over the train to them with the treasure, or at least part of it. They also betrayed and handed over Admiral Kolchak who, as already said, was shot in 1920. In exchange for their betrayal, the Czechs obtained permission from the Reds to continue east and embark on Vladivostok, over the Pacific Ocean, on a sea voyage to Europe. Meanwhile the reds forwarded the train with the treasure back to Kazan and their territory.

After another sip of water Naryshkin concluded.

Up to here comes the verified official history. From this point on, speculations and uncertainties begin, but Duke Golovkin will speak to us about these.

Indeed, the host resumed the podium and the concluding phase of the event began.

Thank you General. First, we will try to specify what we mean by the name of the Treasury of the Czars. According to the records of the time it was the third gold reserve in the world, after that of the United States and France, consisting of about 500 tons of gold. The metal was in the form of bullion and gold coins from many different sources, including at least 15 countries. We do not know if there was also part of the imperial family jewels. Although many of them were seized by the Bolsheviks and are found in Russian museums and others were taken by nobles when they fled abroad, there are a number of other pieces of which there is no reference.

That said, he turned around looking at the slide show based on old photos with jewels laden with precious stones.

For example, this precious choker from the Tsarina of which the trail has been lost.

He paused again and changed the subject.

We will now refer to the real destiny of the imperial treasury and its various parts.

The next slide showed a pie chart divided into circular sectors each with a figure and a percentage.

Although there are different contradictory versions, not all the actors are convinced that what the members of the Czechoslovak Legion delivered was the total amount of gold that the train was carrying. It is actually credible that the Czechs had kept for they part of it to start with some financial backing their long and eventful journey back to their country by sea from Vladivostok, as has been said. One of the most consistent versions claims that the Legion put together their own trains that continued east along the mountainous terrain neighboring Lake Baikal. According to this actually legendary source, one of the trains would have had a fault that plunged it into the dark waters of the lake, one of the oldest and deepest in the world.

New pause.

In 2009 a research submarine submerged in the waters of the lake and the versions insist that it had found railway remains at great depth, although not traces of gold. Some theories insist that the derailment was not actually caused by train failures but by sabotage, specifically by an avalanche caused by enemies of the whites and that the train in that case had never reached Vladivostok. Other versions say that the train actually did arrive at that port but it sank in the bay for some reason, or perhaps it was sunk to conceal its arrival, after taking the gold out of it. Indeed, certain studies would have confirmed the presence of underwater wagons in that area.

Other destinations for gold mention a variety of Siberian regions, whose forests would still house part of the treasure. In short, according to the different arguments, up to 200 tons of gold could be missing from the aforementioned treasure.

A rumor ran through the projection room but was immediately extinguished.

Finally, there are versions in the sense that Kolchak himself, during the period when gold was in Irkutsk until the arrival of the Bolsheviks, would have sent all or part of the treasure to American and English banks as collateral to finance the purchase of arms and war supplies, and it was later used to finance the flight of nobles in Soviet times and their installation in the West. As you will see all kinds of versions and very little hard evidence.

The Duke moved away from the microphone for a minute and then asked, ending the presentation.

Any comments or questions?

In the absence of a response, he added.

I am infinitely grateful for your presence, I request that you pay attention to our future activities and I remind you to keep the strictest secret about what you have heard here.

After the cocktail that had been served in the palace, the atmosphere in Igor's car during the return trip was festive; indeed only Frederika, who was driving, was completely sober. At Igor's request, she and Irina alternated singing quietly German and Russian songs.

Well, Igor said unexpectedly, addressing the Argentinean. What do you think of the evening and in particular about the presentation of the speakers?

Interesting, very interesting.

Yet I thought I saw you yawn a few times.

That was before the gold train subject arose, Irina said ironically, proving that she was not asleep on her husband's shoulder as it seemed.

Oh! What a materialist. Frederika added following the jocular mode.

"It is not that ... to me the train story gives some