The Moscow Times takes a detailed look at the spending habits of Russia’s richest residents (and non-residents.) From boats to property on the French Riviera, there’s a new emphasis on frugality. Denizens of the Russian luxury complex–dealers, mostly–say there are few distressed sales but a moratorium on new purchases:

Despite the strain on their businesses and bank accounts, art collectors are not exactly stampeding for the exits, said Maria Baibakova, a curator at the Krasny Oktabr Chocolate Factory gallery who also collects art with her father, Oleg, president of Prokhorov’s Onexim-Development.  Baibakova, who estimates that there are about 30 “serious collectors” in the country, said a recent 25 percent drop in the art market was caused by a dearth of buyers, rather than a rush to sell.

“Most collectors do not collect as a business, and art is not their primary asset, so they do not need to sell into a low market,” she said.

But while the country’s elite are not selling their toys, the lavish purchases of the last few years have been curtailed, said Ellen Verbeek, editorial director of Robb Report Russia, a lifestyle magazine for jet-setters. “Nobody’s selling, and nobody’s buying,” she said. “Everyone is just trying to spend less. [Thriftiness] is even becoming fashionable, although nobody would ever have imagined that six months ago.”

Billionaires Reluctant to Give Up Their Toys (The Moscow Times)

NPR Says Russians May Save the Art Market

We’ve mentioned in the past the semi-serious concept of the magazine cover indicator. The thinking goes that once a trend or idea reaches the level of interest that makes it worthy of a magazine cover, it is already over, out-dated or obsolete. In investment terms this can mean that it is simply too late to get into a trend or it can be a bright flashing sign that there’s nowhere to go but down.

Today, NPR offers a report on the role of Russians in the art market. It trots out the Hirst sale, Abramovich, Zhukova and the Malevich coming up at Sotheby’s in New York. It quotes one auction house expert saying that Russians who got out of the market may still be interested in investing in high-quality art. It’s a nice thought but few of the wealthiest Russians have been like Mikhail Prokhorov: in cash.

A better thought may be that even though many of the wealthiest Russians have lost huge amounts nominal wealth that they still have enough free cash to buy the kind of art that will continue to place them within the forefront of global culture. Russian wealth may have been damaged by the collapse of credit–but their nationalistic pride and ambitions have not.

Russians Turning to Art Market as Recessions (NPR)