Hungary's Reformed church has welcomed a decision by Russia to return a valuable Calvinist book collection, six decades after it was seized as war booty by the Soviet Red Army.

“We're very happy this collection is returning after so many years, and we hope all the books will be included," said Zoltan Tarr, general secretary of Hungary's Reformed church.

"It's an important symbolic act, which could help heal the war wounds which are still very real in the life of Europe." The 32-year-old pastor from Debrecen in eastern Hungary was reacting to news that Russian President Vladimir Putin planned to return the books in person to the Reformed college in the eastern town of Sarospatak during a visit to Hungary, set to start on 28 February.

The lower house of the Russian legislature, the State Duma, voted on 20 January by 345 to 53 votes for a law authorising the return of 134 volumes to the Sarospatak College, something long been demanded by the Hungarian authorities.

Russia's deputy culture minister, Leonid Nadirov, told the Novosti news agency on 20 January that after approval by the upper house, the law would be passed for signature by Putin.

The collection, including Latin, Hungarian and German prayer books, as well as works on medicine, law and history, was placed for safe-keeping during the Second World War in a Budapest bank vault. Later the books were seized and taken to Russia, where they were discovered in Nizhny Novgorod's Regional Scientific Library in 1994.

Tarr said he hoped the return of books to Sarospatak would encourage Russia to return other Hungarian art treasures.

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