Russia

Thief of Crimean painting at State Tretyakov Gallery apprehended

Brazen incident raises questions about museum security in Russia

Is an art Cold War thaw coming? US and Russian museum leaders and diplomats to discuss loan freeze

Public conversation to be held in February will address long impasse on museum loans

Moscow residents petition Garage Museum to reject sponsorship from property developer

Activists say PIK Group's high-rise developments are environmentally unsafe and only aimed at making "super profits"

Restored Soviet apartment listed on Airbnb takes guests back in time to ‘1930s Russian utopia’

The 35m sq. one-bedroom flat has been carefully renovated to include avant-garde furniture and design

Moscow's Tretyakov Gallery develops blockchain app to bring Russian art to the world

Digital initiative will invite users to explore and sponsor more than 190,000 works in the collection

Staff at State Russian Museum take legal action to halt renovation

Senior employees claim the $17m project threatens the Mikhailovsky Palace building and its collections

Pussy Riot to receive €37,000 compensation from Russia for human rights violations

European Court of Human Rights ordered payment over treatment of the group in pre-trial detention and treatment in court

Russianews

Russian police seize drawings by high school pupils under 'gay propaganda' law

Students’ parents complain and psychologists sent to school after art contest for International Day of Tolerance draws fire from authorities

Kant monument splashed with pink paint in Kaliningrad

Defacement may be politically motivated as nationalists see the veneration of the German figure as unpatriotic

Selfie-takers accidentally damage Goya and Dali works in Russia’s Yekaterinburg

A group of women send partition crashing to the ground, as one punter only just escapes being crushed

Russia announces major Kandinsky show in Saudi Arabia amid Khashoggi murder controversy

A small number of works by the Russian avant-garde artist are currently at “Davos in the Desert” conference to act as teaser for future exhibition

Citing 'rapidly developing' ties, Russian fund will take art exhibition to Saudi Arabia

Announcement comes as evidence mounts in slaying of the dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi

New Russian cathedral to feature frescoes celebrating armed forces

Church is latest example of symbiosis between church and military patriotism

Russian authorities force Gulag museum to close

Volunteer-run organisation has been based in former Soviet secret police headquarters for the past decade

Pussy Riot protester Pyotr Verzilov ‘was probably poisoned’, doctors say

Medics in Berlin have not identified substance but are confident Russian will recover

French court releases Russian protest artist Pyotr Pavlensky from pre-trial detention

Femen activists showed their support outside the courthouse by sewing their lips shut in a recreation of his first performance

Pussy Riot supporter Pyotr Verzilov in critical condition after suspected poisoning

Activist who was recently imprisoned for Russian group's World Cup protest in July "lost his vision, speech and ability to walk"

‘Genuine’ Leonardo ‘sold’ for €72m on classified ads site Avito

The seller says that the painting, titled A Young Girl in Furs, was authenticated by the Stockholm art valuation firm Atelje Catellani

Russia and Qatar cosy up at Cosmoscow as tensions continue in the Gulf

Moscow contemporary art fair features a Qatari contemporary art exhibition in Russia as the two countries try to foster cultural ties

Putin demands ramping-up of cultural hub in annexed Crimea

State Hermitage Museum and Tretyakov are involved in arts centre in contested region

Banksynews

Banksy’s viral post about unauthorised Russian show is a sign of its success, organiser says

The street artist’s Instagram comment that the show has “nothing to do with me” set off an online debate about artists’ rights—which made him LOL

Russianews

Russian authorities stop Pussy Riot member from travelling to Edinburgh's Fringe festival

Maria Alyokhina had spent two years in prison for “hooliganism motivated by religious hatred”

Russianews

Action star Steven Seagal is 'deeply humbled' by his appointment as Russia's special envoy

The actor, who will be working on improving Russian-American relations including culture, was granted a Russian passport by Putin in 2016

Russianews

Tretyakov clamps down on ‘illegal’ tours by banning visitors from discussing works of art

Ordinary groups are being targeted by the gallery’s guards for "exchanging views" about paintings in fight against bogus guides

Syrian museums seek Russian expertise to restore destroyed Palmyra sculptures

Ancient city occupied by Islamic State was retaken by Syrian army with Russian support in 2017

Russianews

Putin praises Moscow's urban development in wake of World Cup success

But Russian president's remarks at eighth Moscow Urban Forum angered preservationists

Russianews

Pussy Riot say they invaded pitch during World Cup final as political protest

Russian activist group describes performance as a tribute to dissident poet and artist Dmitri Prigov

Moscow's Garage Museum still going strong at ten, despite co-founders’ split

Roman Abramovich and Dasha Zhukova will continue to fund their contemporary art museum