Moscow elite strive for pre-Soviet identity via art

By Amie Ferris-Rotman

MOSCOW (Reuters Life!) - Interest in Russian art and Russian interest in fine art around the world is booming.

Russia's new super-rich want to re-connect to a pre-Soviet cultural heritage and have been using their vast fortunes to bring native art and the best of the rest of the world to the mother country for ownership or display.

Russian oligarchs have made headlines bidding millions of dollars to bring cultural icons back home, Russians are in the majority at foreign auctions of their countrymen's art, and big auction houses are setting up shop in Moscow.

"Art and cultural symbols are the best way for Russians to identify with their cultural heritage, which is considered imperial and splendid," Mikhail Kamensky, director of auction house Sotheby's Russian division, told Reuters.

The London-based auction house displayed pre-Bolshevik paintings last week near the Kremlin to prospective buyers, of which many are Russian.

The collection, which includes majestic, somber scenes of empty Russian landscapes by the artist Arkhip Kuindzhy, will go on sale in mid-April in New York.

Kamensky said that 80-90 percent of traditional Russian art at Sotheby's is bought by Russians, who either live in the country or abroad. They also buy about 70 percent of contemporary Russian art.

"It (art) is to present themselves to the world. It is used to bridge the gap between 19th century Russia and 21st century Russia," Kamensky said.