MOSCOW, December 28 (RAPSI, Oleg Sivozhelezov) – Police have arrested three suspects in stealing paintings by famous Russian artist Isaak Levitan from his house-museum in the Ivanovo Region, the Interior Ministry spokeswoman Irina Volk told journalists on Wednesday.

In August 2014, five paintings of Levitan including "Roses", "A Quiet Pool", "A Quiet River", "Gully to the fence" and “Railway Halt” were stolen from the Levitan House-Museum in Plyos, a small town on the Volga. The total value of the stolen paintings is estimated at around 77 million rubles ($1.3 million).

Police have seized the paintings during searches at premises of the suspects. Defendants, who are also suspected of robbery and embezzling 5 million rubles ($82,200) from a bank and armed assault against cash-in-transit couriers and traffic policemen, have been put in detention.

Levitan, one of the most famous Russian landscape artists, completed about 1,000 paintings, studies, drawings and sketches. Most of his masterpieces are at the State Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow.

The Plyos museum is the only Levitan “house-museum” in Russia. It was opened in 1972. Levitan first visited Plyos in 1888 and completed 23 well known paintings there as well as about 200 drawings, studies and sketches.