Dispute Rages Over Russian Jewels

A dispute over custody of jewels once owned by the czars of Russia led cars from the Russian Embassy to block a tractor-trailer that was to have carted the $100-million collection to its next stop in a two-year American tour. Anatoly Dubekhin, cultural attache from the embassy, said Russia wanted the collection returned to Moscow for the Russian capital’s 850th anniversary. The exhibit was to have been sent from the Corcoran Gallery of Art to Houston. The dispute is between the Russian Embassy and the American-Russian Cultural Cooperation Foundation. David C. Levy, president of the Corcoran, said the museum would not release the jewels until the dispute is resolved.