Putin's 'art critic' bequeaths him his million-dollar collection of paintings
Nina Moleva, widely recognized as “Putin’s esteemed art critic,” has passed away at the age of 98. Throughout her career, she gained immense admiration for her profound understanding and interpretation of the works of renowned artists such as Rembrandt, Da Vinci, and Michelangelo.
Moleva was a highly regarded figure in the literary and artistic circles of Russia. With an extensive repertoire of 120 books about Russian painters and a doctorate in History, she held memberships in both the Union of Writers and the Union of Russian Artists.
Her expertise and contributions as an art historian and critic played a pivotal role in the preservation and promotion of Russian art. However, her recent passing has garnered attention due to the mysterious collection of artworks she leaves behind, estimated to be worth approximately 1.8 billion euros, presenting a unique conundrum for President Vladimir Putin.
In an official statement, the Russian Ministry of Culture announced the passing of “Nina Mikhailovna Moleva, a distinguished writer, prominent historian and art scholar, renowned journalist, and war veteran.” Moleva’s legacy has received widespread recognition, even beyond the borders of Russia. Notably, art historian Éric Turquin, who had the privilege of viewing her collection in the early 1990s, describes it as an “exceptionally remarkable assembly of religious paintings from the 16th and 17th centuries,” although he doubts the collection’s estimated value.
The source of these remarkable artworks sparks curiosity. According to her family, Moleva inherited them from her late husband’s grandfather, Ivan Grinyov, a performer during the Tsarist era in Moscow. Allegedly, Grinyov concealed his wealth in a counterfeit attic when the Bolshevik revolution transpired. Moleva and her husband, Ilya Belyutin, recognized as the progenitor of the avant-garde New Reality art movement in the 20th century, discovered the hidden treasures decades after Grinyov’s demise.
However, researchers have cast doubt on this narrative. No evidence of Ivan Grinyov’s presence in any theater archives has surfaced, and extensive records on major collectors from that era exist, as published in ArtreView. An alternate theory proposed by a 2015 Moscow Times investigation suggests that the artworks were procured from Europe during World War II and commissioned by Belyutin himself, who supposedly had ties with intelligence services. Hence, the art enthusiast may have been more adept at acquiring spoils of war from dissidents rather than solely hunting artworks.
During the Stalin era, this amateur collector amassed an expansive trove comprising approximately 1,000 paintings, sculptures, and other artistic creations. Noteworthy contributions included works by eminent masters such as Titian, Diego Velázquez, Bernardino di Contino, and Antonio Rossellino. In 2013, Moleva made the decision to donate her entire collection to Putin, resulting in a police patrol stationed outside her three-room apartment located in the heart of Moscow—Fidel Castro himself once dined there.
Notably, Putin is not widely known for his affinity for art. His palaces predominantly exhibit postmodern architectural styles with occasional classical influences. However, it is feasible that he perused some of Moleva’s literary works during her lifetime, including her monographs on Bogdan Saltanov, the Armenian painter of Persian descent who served in the Kremlin Armory painting workshop during the reign of Alexis I of Russia. Most significantly, her treatise on the cultural significance of the presidential palace, an enclosed fortress where Putin increasingly veers away from conducting his work, may have caught his attention.