Russian super-rich pour cash into art

MOSCOW, May 30 (Reuters) They've bought the penthouses, country homes and yachts and secured their future, and now Russia's super-rich have found a new outlet for their seemingly limitless funds -- Russian art.

For decades associated with timeworn icons or stern socialist realism, Russian artworks are now being snapped up by the elite who made their fortunes in the post-Soviet boom.

Sinking a few million dollars into a Russian painting may be a patriotic gesture or a smart investment move, but art traders say there is no denying the enthusiasm with which Russians have hurled themselves into the art world.

''They collect with gusto and I think that's specifically Russian. There is a certain passion that is unique and a kind of fearlessness,'' said Sonya Bekkerman, head of Russian art at auction house Sotheby's in New York.

''They may see something great and if they could fit it into their collection, they will go for it,'' she told Reuters at a glass-and-steel cafe on the top floor of a luxury Moscow hotel.

A Sotheby's New York auction of Russian art in April surpassed expectations and broke several records, with total sales of almost 51 million dollars.

Aware of the Russians' growing presence in the market, Sotheby's has opened an office in Moscow this month.

HISTORICALLY SIGNIFICANT ''Since the late 90s we've been seeing a change in this market, and certainly the economy has played a major role in it. We are constantly seeing new interest and new collectors in Russia,'' Bekkerman said.

Bekkerman's counterpart in Sotheby's London office, Jo Vickery, agreed: ''Going back five years, it was different people that were driving the market. It was more emigres or people that perhaps had family connections with Russia,'' she said. ''These clients were pretty much in the West.'' Now Russian collectors account for around 80 per cent of Sotheby's Russian art sales in London. Sotheby's biggest ever auction of Russian art in London will take place on June 12 and is expected to fetch around 40 million dollars.

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