Putin painting fetches £750,000 in charity auction
He has a black belt in judo, goes fishing with his T-shirt off, and even owns a pet Siberian tiger. But Vladimir Putin's answer to action man – demonstrated his previously unknown artistic side over the weekend when one of his paintings sold for more than £750,000.
Putin's deft canvas, titled Pattern, fetched 37 million roubles at a charity auction in St Petersburg – 32 million more than its reserve price. The work was sold together with paintings by other Russian celebrities to raise money for children with cancer. The sale price is thought to be a record for the sale of a painting in Russia.
The former president and current prime minister's contribution shows a festive view from inside a log cabin. While not exactly a Picasso, the colourful scene seems surprisingly competent for a beginner.
Putin allegedly dashed off it on 26 December, just days before Russia's bitter gas row with Ukraine erupted, which saw Putin turn off Europe's gas. Ironically, the two frost-covered windows in the painting look out on to a Ukrainian landscape, with snow falling.
Natalya Kurnikova, the Moscow gallery owner who bought the artwork, said she had done so because it could be the first and last painting of its kind.
Politicians were careful to praise the work. In Russia these days, there is no such thing as being too loyal. St Petersburg's ultra-loyal governor, Valentina Matviyenko, admitted that Putin was a bit of an artistic beginner. But his canvas was nonetheless "excellent", she said.
