There will be 1748 lots of Russian art and works of art auctioned in London this week. Bloomberg‘s John Varoli quotes William MacDougall to explain why:

London auction houses form the center of global Russian art sales. Most works are sourced from private American and European collections, while most buyers are from Russia and Ukraine. […]  “Russia was a net exporter of art for about 90 years — 1910 to 2000,” said MacDougall. “There is a lot abroad, and this is now being reversed.” […]

“Ukrainian buyers have been important to us from our first auction five years ago,” MacDougall said, “typically 20-30 percent of the market, sometimes more.” In June, MacDougall’s top buyer was Alina Aivazova, wife of the mayor of Kiev.

Kelly Crow adds to the argument:

Sotheby’s says at least 38% of the buyers at its June round of London art sales were new to its Russian department. Nearly a quarter of the buyers were newcomers to the auction house altogether—a signal that Eastern Europeans may be investing more cash in hard assets like art.

Russian Billionaires May Spend $81 Million at London Auctions (Bloomberg)

Russians Are Collecting Used Czars (Wall Street Journal)