Rich Ruskies Buy Back Their Heritage

The super-rich of the new capitalist Russia are busy buying back a treasure trove of Russian art, much of it bought up on the cheap by foreign collectors after the 1917 revolution. This week, a throng of Russian billionaires walked away with most of the good stuff from a series of Russian art auctions in London, reports the Telegraph.

One piece—a Faberge egg-shaped clock with a diamond-crusted rooster that pops up and flaps its wings—sold at Christie's to a Russian collector for over $18 million. Before the revolution, the Telegraph reports, there were a number of superb art collections in Russia, but Soviet leaders had little interest in imperialist art, much of which they sold off to make a quick ruble. (More Russia stories.)