Putin to become Russia’s highest-earning painter

The paintings of Russia’s prominent politicians, public figures and athletes are going to be exhibited at Evropa Hotel in St. Petersburg January 14. Vladimir Putin promises to become the highest-earning painter at this point. The painting, which was painted by St. Petersburg Governor Valentina Matviyenko, was sold at 11 million rubles ($366,000), whereas the work by the former Russian president and the incumbent prime minister is expected to bring a higher profit.

Photo: Putin to become Russia’s highest-earning painter

The Tsarskoye Selo Carnival Foundation, which deals with the development of several cultural projects in St. Petersburg, organizes the event for the third time. The first auction of the foundation was held three years ago, when VIP participants were offered to paint anything based on the letters of the Russian alphabet, which they were offered. The auction was titled as “The Christmas Alphabet.” Last year, auction participants were asked to make a painting after Alexander Pushkin’s fairytales. This year, high-ranking painters were supposed to make a painting after Nikolai Gogol’s Christmas Eve (it is the first story in the second volume of the collection Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka).

Ballerina Uliana Lopatkina, conductor Maksim Shostakovich, actress Anna Kovalchuk and other outstanding Russians tried their skills as painters for the auction. St. Petersburg governor Valentina Matviyenko presented her another painting to the public, “Winter Storm,” a landscape painting with fur-trees and traditional Russian houses.

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin attended the exhibition of the paintings December 26, during his visit to St. Petersburg . He had a snack at the fair and agreed to make his own contribution to the auction. Putin used acryl paints to paint a pattern on the frosted window. The painting shows a window framed with Ukrainian curtains. Organizers of the auction decided to decorate the painting with glittering beads to make it look more attractive to potential customers.

Valentina Matviyenko’s painting “The Bear” (Medved) was sold last year to Dmitry Tyutin, the head of Stroykomplekt Corporation for 11 million rubles ($366,000).

Novy Region