August 19, 2023

Ukraine's "War and Art" Database


Ukraine's "War and Art" Database
Painted Ukraine flag. Tim Mossholder, Unsplash.

Ukraine’s National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP) has published an online database of art belonging to sanctioned Russians, which seeks to thwart the illegal trade of art and antiquities stolen during Russia’s war on Ukraine.

The “War and Art” database reports that “Russian oligarchs and other sanctioned individuals can still easily hide and launder their funds through art, despite the sanctions imposed on them. Paintings, sculptures, artistic jewelry – this is exactly what they use as a loophole to circumvent sanctions.”

With over 300 items valued at more than $2 billion, the NACP aims to bolster efforts against sanctions evasion, actively seeking artworks linked to sanctioned Russians, so that they can potentially be frozen, seized, and repatriated to Ukraine.

Featured in the database are notable collectors such as ex-Chelsea owner and Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich. He reportedly owns Francis Bacon’s Triptych, 1976, Alberto Giacometti's The Venetian Woman I, and a set of eight albums from Ilya Kabakov’s 10 Characters series. The database also lists other figures like Uzbek-Russian businessman Alisher Usmanov, Russian rapper Timati, Russian producer Yana Rudkovskaya, and Russian oligarch Dmitry Rybolovlev (who sold Leonardo da Vinci’s Savior of the World for $450.3 million).

You Might Also Like

Frozen Fortunes
  • June 23, 2023

Frozen Fortunes

And oligarch wants to donate funds to the victims of the war on both sides.
War and Beef
  • June 07, 2023

War and Beef

Sculptures of soldiers and tanks made from ground meat are making waves.
Evading Sanctions
  • May 22, 2023

Evading Sanctions

Western sanctions are not preventing Russia from supplying its military from abroad.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of our Books

Marooned in Moscow
May 01, 2011

Marooned in Moscow

This gripping autobiography plays out against the backdrop of Russia's bloody Civil War, and was one of the first Western eyewitness accounts of life in post-revolutionary Russia. Marooned in Moscow provides a fascinating account of one woman's entry into war-torn Russia in early 1920, first-person impressions of many in the top Soviet leadership, and accounts of the author's increasingly dangerous work as a journalist and spy, to say nothing of her work on behalf of prisoners, her two arrests, and her eventual ten-month-long imprisonment, including in the infamous Lubyanka prison. It is a veritable encyclopedia of life in Russia in the early 1920s.

The Moscow Eccentric
December 01, 2016

The Moscow Eccentric

Advance reviewers are calling this new translation "a coup" and "a remarkable achievement." This rediscovered gem of a novel by one of Russia's finest writers explores some of the thorniest issues of the early twentieth century.

A Taste of Russia
November 01, 2012

A Taste of Russia

The definitive modern cookbook on Russian cuisine has been totally updated and redesigned in a 30th Anniversary Edition. Layering superbly researched recipes with informative essays on the dishes' rich historical and cultural context, A Taste of Russia includes over 200 recipes on everything from borshch to blini, from Salmon Coulibiac to Beef Stew with Rum, from Marinated Mushrooms to Walnut-honey Filled Pies. A Taste of Russia shows off the best that Russian cooking has to offer. Full of great quotes from Russian literature about Russian food and designed in a convenient wide format that stays open during use.

93 Untranslatable Russian Words
December 01, 2008

93 Untranslatable Russian Words

Every language has concepts, ideas, words and idioms that are nearly impossible to translate into another language. This book looks at nearly 100 such Russian words and offers paths to their understanding and translation by way of examples from literature and everyday life. Difficult to translate words and concepts are introduced with dictionary definitions, then elucidated with citations from literature, speech and prose, helping the student of Russian comprehend the word/concept in context.

Bears in the Caviar
May 01, 2015

Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar is a hilarious and insightful memoir by a diplomat who was “present at the creation” of US-Soviet relations. Charles Thayer headed off to Russia in 1933, calculating that if he could just learn Russian and be on the spot when the US and USSR established relations, he could make himself indispensable and start a career in the foreign service. Remarkably, he pulled it of.

A Taste of Chekhov
December 24, 2022

A Taste of Chekhov

This compact volume is an introduction to the works of Chekhov the master storyteller, via nine stories spanning the last twenty years of his life.

Murder and the Muse
December 12, 2016

Murder and the Muse

KGB Chief Andropov has tapped Matyushkin to solve a brazen jewel heist from Picasso’s wife at the posh Metropole Hotel. But when the case bleeds over into murder, machinations, and international intrigue, not everyone is eager to see where the clues might lead.

Woe From Wit (bilingual)
June 20, 2017

Woe From Wit (bilingual)

One of the most famous works of Russian literature, the four-act comedy in verse Woe from Wit skewers staid, nineteenth century Russian society, and it positively teems with “winged phrases” that are essential colloquialisms for students of Russian and Russian culture.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955