Russia

'A crisis is always a good time to unite': Russian art galleries form new alliance to boost industry

The Association of Galleries aims to simplify the country's customs procedures and secure government funding

Russia sends Moscow’s museums into second lockdown until mid-January

Cultural workers voice frustration at mixed closure orders, as theatres, concert halls and restaurants are allowed to stay open

Russianews

US and Russia 'leave aside the politics' to restore Raphael frescoes

A grant of over $100,000 has been given from the US to St Petersburg's State Hermitage Museum for the maintenance of three 16th-century school of Raphael works

Russianews

For Putin’s birthday, Pussy Riot hangs rainbow flags on Moscow’s government buildings

The activist performance artists called their actions “a gift as a symbol of the love and freedom that are lacking” for LGBTQ communities in Russia

Hermitage plans ‘exchange of outstanding and significant exhibits’ with National Museum of Iran

Despite pandemic, Russian and Iranian museum directors met online to discuss future cultural collaborations

Has Putin’s $1.6bn plan to build new cultural centres throughout Russia hit the rocks?

Foundation running the huge project has cut more than 80% of staff, but construction continues

Cosmoscow determined to be first major fair to go ahead

Event still plans to run this week and hopes for a less distracted local Russian collector base, starved of international art travels

Will US Congress finally pass anti-money laundering legislation?

A recent Senate report found that secretive art market enables sanctions circumvention

New York-based residency for Russian artists goes ahead as 'East-West divide' intensifies

US-Russia tensions heightened in the run up to November's US presidential election

Prizesgallery

Prozac nation: Russian photographer’s images of depression win 2020 Wellcome Photo Prize

Arseniy Neskhodimov’s photographs raise awareness of mental health in the age of coronavirus

Belarus protest work—painted with a police baton—sells for three million rubles

Contemporary artists in the country are reacting to the crisis after allegations of election fraud and police brutality

Russia to fund small-scale replica Hagia Sophia in Syria that will be used as a church

Tactical move comes after Turkish president ordered historic Istanbul site to be turned into a mosque

Cultural love-in between Italy and Russia sets ‘soft power’ alarm bells ringing

Growing unease as the special relationship between the two countries gains momentum during the Covid-19 crisis

Russianews

State Russian Museum staff decry damage to antique picture frames

Petition to museum management raises alarm over frames in "critical condition" from improper storage

Signed, sealed, delivered: new monument honours couriers on the front line of the coronavirus pandemic

Unveiled in a business centre in Moscow, the statue by contemporary artist Alexey Garikovich was commissioned by top Russian e-commerce and foodtech companies

Podcastspodcast

The destruction of Australia’s ancient Aboriginal heritage

Plus, art under threat in Putin's Russia and George Shaw on Thomas Jones. Produced in association with Christie's

Hosted by Ben Luke. with guest speaker Sophia Kishkovsky. Produced by Julia Michalska, David Clack and Aimee Dawson

Russian art collector Andrei Filatov offers to buy America’s problematic statues

His Art Russe Foundation has made offers to preserve monuments of Theodore Roosevelt and Alexander Baranov that have been the target of protesters in the US

Russianews

Forty protestors detained for defending Russian activist facing prison for posting art with LGBTQ message

Russia's arts community rallying behind Yulia Tsvetkova whose trial starts in July

Russianews

Russian theatre director Kirill Serebrennikov found guilty of fraud and ordered to pay $1.85m in damages to culture ministry

Accused of embezzling funds while staging a contemporary arts festival, Serebrennikov faced six years in prison but was handed a suspended sentence

Russianews

Culture crackdown ahead of Putin's referendum

Artist Pyotr Verzilov was sentenced to 15 days in prison for "petty hooliganism" in latest clampdown on the arts in Russia

'I have a 1% chance of being acquitted': Russian activist faces six years in prison for posting vagina drawings online

Police say the body-positive images, accompanied by captions like ‘Real women have body fat and it’s normal,’ violate pornography laws

Religious sites in Russia and Ukraine hit hard by coronavirus thanks to pilgrims and poor social distancing

Many Unesco World Heritage sites that are also working monasteries have been accused of reacting slowly to the pandemic

Coronavirusanalysis

Russian museums in crisis: State Hermitage projects losses of almost half its annual revenue after closing for two months

Loss of tourism and oil market crash because of coronavirus pandemic wreak havoc as institutions seek state help

Russia’s culture minister has coronavirus

Appointed in January, Olga Lyubimova is the third Russian government minister to announce a Covid-19 diagnosis in the past week

Cache of Russian avant-garde works surfaces in regional museum's basement

Art historian Andrey Sarabyanov is planning a new exhibition of forgotten pieces by Kandinsky, Rodchenko and Stepanova

The Pushkin's From Dürer to Matisse show closed just two days after opening—here's a special guided tour

The team at Russian Art Focus were lucky enough to film the exhibition before the Covid-19 pandemic forced the Moscow museum into lockdown

Barcelona rejects plans for outpost of Russia’s State Hermitage Museum

Hermitage officials dismayed after city council refuses planning permission for new venue, citing multiple concerns

Coronavirus: Russian museums hit as Chinese tourists stay away

Russia has banned Chinese citizens from entering the country, slashing attendance at cultural institutions in Moscow and St Petersburg