Escorted by a joint Russian-Armenian security detail, Tempest Storm at Rocky Shores, an 1875 painting by Hovhannes Aivazovsky that was stolen 21 years ago was finally returned to Armenia's National Gallery in Yerevan.

Sold and resold several times, the latest owner of the painting was Hovhannes Ohanyan, a senator in Russia.

"It's as if some strange force from above determined that I should be the person who obtains this painting," said Ohanyan. It was scheduled for sale at the Gelos auction house in Moscow on February 26 and the opening bid was pegged at 5.5 – 8 million rubles.

Ohanyan says he obtained the painting around seven years ago after having checked with Interpol if it had been stolen. The reply he received from the international agency was negative.

This canvas by the famed artist went missing in suspicious circumstances from the Armenian Cultural Relations Society in 1990. The painting was pulled from the auction block after employees of the RA Central Department of Investigation, accompanied by art critic Shahen Khachatryan, followed the trail leading to Moscow.

Mr. Khachatryan told the newspaper Azg that, "When we got to Moscow, we supplied convincing evidence that the painting had indeed been stolen. We showed where the canvas had been cut with a knife. I also presented my five books on Aivazovsky that included information on the theft. We saw how the canvas was restored and placed on a new background. The size of the original had gotten smaller as well."

Storm at Rocky Shores was transferred to Armenia in 1957 in a collection of other Aivazozsky works held by the famous French-Armenian art lover Abraham Zintchian that were donated. It was shipped by the organization J.A.F (Jeunesse Aménienne de France) as a gift to the Cultural Relations Society

Shahen Khachatryan told Hetq that they came upon the painting by chance in the auction house's catalogue a mere three days before the bidding was to start.

"It was a great help that the books published 15 years back mention that the painting had been stolen. I was able to verify without any doubt that it was the original. It should be returned home to Armenia in 2-3 weeks. There have been four Aivazovsky works stolen in Armenia in recent decades. We've found one, and with God's help we'll locate the others," says Mr. Khachatryan.

The art expert says that the painting was crunched up a bit when stolen and that it was touched up a bit here and there.

For a time, Storm at Rocky Shores was on display at the National Picture Gallery and that's where it's destined to stay once returned. The Cultural Society no longer enjoys its former clout.

RA Minister of Culture Hasmik Poghosyan also assisted in the painting's return to Yerevan. She used to head the Cultural Society, founded in 1944, before becoming minister.