Vladimir Putin has reportedly been bequeathed a private art collection worth approximately $2 billion by Russian arts expert Nina Moleva, who recently passed away at the age of 98.
This collection, amassed from Moleva’s late husband’s family, is said to include around 1,000 items, featuring 200 paintings by renowned artists such as da Vinci, Rubens, and Titian, alongside sculptures and furniture, a Russia Today report said.
Moleva, the surviving spouse of the Soviet avant-garde artist Ely Bielutin, acquired the collection through his family. It is believed to have been initiated in the 1870s by Bielutin’s grandfather, Ivan Grinyov, a notable figure in Russian nobility and a celebrated artist who was tasked with creating sets for leading national theaters.
Grinyov’s daughter wed a member of the Italian-Russian Bellucci family, Michele Bellucci, which became Mikhail Bielutin in Russian. Ely was born from the union of the Grinyov-Bellucci families in 1925.
Grinyov aspired to establish a private collection that could compete with those of the well-known Russian benefactors of his time. He constructed a home in central Moscow that doubled as a gallery, featuring seven large halls and a hidden room. Following the Bolshevik revolution, the Bielutins concealed their treasures before the new government could confiscate their property and transform it into a communal living space.
Despite the challenges, Ely managed to carve out a successful career in the USSR, enjoying privileges such as a five-room apartment in central Moscow. Starting from 1949, the Bielutins were able to access the old Grinyov gallery through their maid, who resided there, and retrieved the collection from the concealed room. Their connections within the Soviet elite and numerous donations to museums later allowed them to openly maintain ownership of the art.
The Bielutins expressed a wish for their collection to be passed on to Russia after their deaths, naming “the president of Russia” in their will as the beneficiary, owing to certain peculiarities in the national inheritance law. Ely Bielutin passed away in 2012.
However, some skeptics question the claimed value of the Bielutins’ collection, pointing out that its authenticity was never officially verified. There have been instances where museums declined their donations.
Art critic Mikhail Bode, who visited the apartment years earlier, shared with TASS that “no self-respecting arts expert” would consider the collection highly valuable.
“I recognized the paintings and the artists… and remarked it was odd, given that identical artworks are displayed in museums. Bielutin countered that the museums possess replicas and copies, while he owned the originals,” Bode recounted from his visit, noting that the Bielutins did not guarantee the authenticity of this claim.
Adding to the complexity, there are assertions that the Bielutins had intended to leave a portion of their collection to Poland instead of Russia. The Russian Belluccis were settled in Krakow, which was under the Russian Empire at that period.
This collection, amassed from Moleva’s late husband’s family, is said to include around 1,000 items, featuring 200 paintings by renowned artists such as da Vinci, Rubens, and Titian, alongside sculptures and furniture, a Russia Today report said.
Moleva, the surviving spouse of the Soviet avant-garde artist Ely Bielutin, acquired the collection through his family. It is believed to have been initiated in the 1870s by Bielutin’s grandfather, Ivan Grinyov, a notable figure in Russian nobility and a celebrated artist who was tasked with creating sets for leading national theaters.
Grinyov’s daughter wed a member of the Italian-Russian Bellucci family, Michele Bellucci, which became Mikhail Bielutin in Russian. Ely was born from the union of the Grinyov-Bellucci families in 1925.
Grinyov aspired to establish a private collection that could compete with those of the well-known Russian benefactors of his time. He constructed a home in central Moscow that doubled as a gallery, featuring seven large halls and a hidden room. Following the Bolshevik revolution, the Bielutins concealed their treasures before the new government could confiscate their property and transform it into a communal living space.
Despite the challenges, Ely managed to carve out a successful career in the USSR, enjoying privileges such as a five-room apartment in central Moscow. Starting from 1949, the Bielutins were able to access the old Grinyov gallery through their maid, who resided there, and retrieved the collection from the concealed room. Their connections within the Soviet elite and numerous donations to museums later allowed them to openly maintain ownership of the art.
The Bielutins expressed a wish for their collection to be passed on to Russia after their deaths, naming “the president of Russia” in their will as the beneficiary, owing to certain peculiarities in the national inheritance law. Ely Bielutin passed away in 2012.
However, some skeptics question the claimed value of the Bielutins’ collection, pointing out that its authenticity was never officially verified. There have been instances where museums declined their donations.
Art critic Mikhail Bode, who visited the apartment years earlier, shared with TASS that “no self-respecting arts expert” would consider the collection highly valuable.
“I recognized the paintings and the artists… and remarked it was odd, given that identical artworks are displayed in museums. Bielutin countered that the museums possess replicas and copies, while he owned the originals,” Bode recounted from his visit, noting that the Bielutins did not guarantee the authenticity of this claim.
Adding to the complexity, there are assertions that the Bielutins had intended to leave a portion of their collection to Poland instead of Russia. The Russian Belluccis were settled in Krakow, which was under the Russian Empire at that period.
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