Ukraine is about to get a new contemporary art center. Victor Pinchuk is shooting to make Kiev a major art destination, so the wealthy art collector is creating a new center that will be larger than the existing PinchukArtCentre, which was the first private contemporary art center in the former Soviet Union and has had more than 830,000 visitors since its doors swung open in 2006.

Pinchuk, a steel billionaire, is an avid collector, with pieces by Jeff Koons, Damien Hirst and Andreas Gursky. His new endeavor, he tells Bloomberg News, "will make Kiev and Ukraine a fantastic place for contemporary art." Pinchuk made the proclamation at a show for 20 Ukrainian artists who were nominated for the first Pinchuk Art Center Prize, which comes with a cash component of $12,200 and a one-month internship with an artist from the international scene. Hirst himself will announce the winner on December 4, 2009.

Pinchuk has a strong relationship with the artist celebrity and owns "probably half" of the skull paintings (by the collector's own estimation) in the current Hirst show at the Wallace Collection in London. He also participated in Hirst's solo auction in September 2008 but wouldn't tell what he bought.

Last year, the Russians were buying art just as fast as they could. Now, they're doing the same thing in reverse. Sotheby's and Christie's are bringing $31 million in Russian art to market, thanks to a global recession that has left the country's many billionaires financially crippled and in desperate need of liquidity.

Christie's is hoping to rake in $21.6 million from today's Russian art auction, which includes a porcelain dinner set owned by once-heir to the throne Grand Duke Paul. Sotheby's has approximately $9 million in Russian art, which it plans to send under the gavel on November 2.

If art and economic never intersected, we could just enjoy the aesthetic and be done with it. But, reality forces its way in – especially with the Russian economy 10 percent smaller than it was a year ago. And, the number of Russian billionaires has plummeted from 110 in 2008 to 35 now. Wealthy Russians and Ukrainians, according to William MacDougall, co-director of MacDougall's in London, are responsible for more than 90 percent of the market for Russian art.

So, expect the selling prices to suck, frankly. Even with some strong lots – Alexis de Tiesenhausen, director of Russian art for Christie's calls this auction unique in terms of "quality and historical significance" – the target market is selling rather than buying. The Christie's auction consists of 550 lots. The Sotheby's auction will have 122 – including paintins by Natalia Goncharova and Konstantin Korovin.

Estimates are much lower than they were in 2008, because of supply at auction, the drop in the art market and the absence of buyers in the target market.

In addition to the military-grade missile defense system, armor plating and bullet-proof windows featured on Roman Abramovich's new 557-ft. Eclipse (above), the world's largest and most expensive privately owned yacht, the Russian oligarch has installed a high-tech anti-photo shield designed to keep the paparazzi at bay. The system relies on lasers to block any digital camera lenses nearby, the London Times reports. Infrared lasers will detect the cameras' electronic light sensors, known as charge-coupled devices (CCDs), and then fire a focused beam of light at the camera, disrupting its ability to record a digital image. The Times, which also claims the total cost of the Eclipse has now ballooned over the $1 billion mark, reports the yacht set off on a sea trial last week with 150 engineers and maritime experts aboard who will put it through its paces over 10 days. Abramovich, who just paid $89 million for a villa in St. Bart's, is due to take delivery of the yacht on December 22.

Despite the large flushing sound that's accompanied the art market this year, there are still 10 collectors worth noting. In fact, ARTnews was even able to cobble together a top 200 list this year (if they went to 300, I figure I'd wind up on the list, too, given the state of the art market right now). The names in the top 10 still represent the art collecting elite, they just happen to be in much worse shape than they were at this time last year.

Roman Abramovich, Russian billionaire and art addict, takes the #1 spot. It would be easy to zero in on any one of several purchases last year and call it "defining," but the man spent a few hundred million on art. The most expensive pickup was a Francis Bacon triptych which set him back almost $90 million.

Top 10 Art Collectors (according to ARTnews):

1. Roman Abramovich
2. Debra and Leon Black
3. Edythe L. and Eli Broad
4. Steven Cohen
5. Marie-Josee and Henry Kravis
6. Jo Carole and Ronald S. Lauder
7. Francois Pinault
8. Mitchell Rales
9. Carlos Slim Helu
10. Sheikh Saud bin Mohammed bin Ali al-Thani

Okay, so you take a quick look at this list and realize that Abramovich, who requested a bailout from the Russian government, isn't the only flawed personality it contains. Steven A. Cohen, the Connecticut-based hedge fund manager, owns a dead rotting shark. While Damien Hirst's ego is built to last, his creations are more like personal computers ... planned obsolescence. Kravis, who sits atop esteemed and powerful private equity firm KKR, was not left unscathed by the current financial crisis. The precipitous drop in oil prices over the past year must have left the sheikh in a rough spot, and Slim thought he could make money by investing in a newspaper (that's just fucking stupid ... almost as stupid as paying $90 million for a 1970s Bacon, frankly).

Maybe we'll see some changes over the next year. I wouldn't mind writing about an unknown visionary busting into the winners circle at this time next summer. Now, all we have to do is find one.

Back in April we reported that despite the economic crisis Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich planned to complete work on the 557-ft. Eclipse, the world's largest and most expensive privately owned yacht. Now the ocean-going behemoth has been launched on its maiden voyage to test operational systems before the finishing touches are applied, at a reported final cost of close to $500 million according to the London Daily Mail. As the all-white megayacht glided out of the Blohm & Voss shipyard (above) in Hamburg, Germany the other day, it dwarfed a navy destroyer it passed along the way.

The Eclipse, which features a military-grade missile defense system, armor plating and bullet-proof windows, will literally eclipse the recently-debuted $350 million, 531-ft. Dubai owned by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, the Emir of Dubai. The ship also has a submarine that can be launched underwater and dive to a depth of 160 ft. that doubles as an escape pod, as well as two helicopter pads. Abramovich already owns several other superyachts, including the 377-ft. Pelorus, the 282 ft. Ecstasea and the 160 ft. Sussurro, which cost him $25 million a year to maintain, and apparently plans to keep them all.

"Russian" and "art" together used to mean "stratospheric prices paid." Not any more. Last week's Russian art auction results at Christie's and Sotheby''s showed the difference a year can make. Last year, the two houses brought in $64 million at the New York-based annual ritual. This year, the final take was only $27 million.

At the Christie's auction, the top-selling piece was Svetoslav Roerich's "Portrait of Nicholas Roerich in a Tibetan Robe" for $2.9 million – thus accounting for more than 10 percent of both houses' sales. It set a record for works by Roerich. The next best was by Nicholas Roerich himself. "The Greatest and Holiest of Tangla," a landscape of Tibetan snowcaps, brought in $1.4 million.

Efforts to repatriate Russian art, of which I first learned from Annika Larres at the Bukowskis auction house in Helsinki, seem to have slowed, due in large part to the loss of so many Russian billionaires over the past twelve months.

Overall, Christie's moved 69 percent of the 390 lots available for $13.2 million. The father/son Roerich team accounted for a third of that. The Sotheby's auction, last Wednesday, was good for $13.8 million, compared to $46.5 million in 2008.

It seems that despite a disastrous economy in which he lost a reported $20 billion, Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich is pressing on with plans for the Eclipse (above), the $355 million megayacht which will be the world's biggest upon completion next year. The 555-ft. ship, which includes a military-grade missile defense system, armor plating and bullet-proof windows, will literally eclipse the recently-debuted $350 million, 531-ft. Dubai owned by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, the Emir of Dubai.

There has been much speculation over whether Abramovich would shelve the Eclipse and / or sell off some of his other superyachts such as the 377-ft. Pelorus, but the Moscow Times reports he plans to keep them all. In fact, Abramovich is said to have already purchased a berth for the Eclipse at Porto Montenegro, the new megayacht marina under construction in the former communist country being billed as "the Monaco of the Balkans" (which we reported on last year).

It seems that Russia's new richest man, Mikhail Prokhorov, may not have been telling the whole truth when he denied buying the world's most expensive house, the $750 million Villa Leopolda (above) on the French Riviera, last year. Back in August we reported that the metals magnate was the mysterious purchaser of the eye-popping property, but Prokhorov, who's worth $14.1 billion, protested his innocence, saying he declined to do business in France because of a mix-up with some prostitutes and the French police. Now the London Times reports that Prokhorov signed a contract on the property and paid a $55 million deposit, but wants to back out of the deal.

Prokhorov reportedly lost $7 billion in the economic crisis but has fared better than fellow oligarch Roman Abramovich. Prokhorov will likely face a legal battle over the deposit, which is non-refundable under French law, with the Villa's seller Lily Safra. "Lily is adamant that she's not handing the deposit back," a source close to the deal tells the London Daily Mail. "Mr. Prokhorov, in turn, claims that property prices have collapsed since August, and the figures originally discussed were unreasonable. He wants out, and he wants his money back." We expect Prokhorov, founder of a new magazine for snobs, will likely issue another denial this time as well.

Award-winning British architect Lord Norman Foster has been called the west's only really high-profile architect to conquer Russia, with seven megabucks projects currently in the works there. However, the Art Newspaper reports that most of them are now facing severe obstacles due to the country's economic decline, which has done damage to their rich oligarch sponsors. For starters, the $2 billion Russia Tower in Moscow, planned as the tallest building in Europe, has stalled because the billionaire developer couldn't secure financing, as my colleague Deidre Woollard reported back in November. Work has also come to a halt on redevelopment of the Hotel Rossia site on Red Square, plans for which include a concert hall, museum, five-star hotels, luxury apartments, offices and retail space.

Meanwhile, a scheme to convert New Holland, an artificial island in St. Petersburg built by Peter the Great in the early 18th century, into a commercial and cultural hub slated for 2010, is far behind schedule as costs have skyrocketed by some $200 million. On the bright side, Foster's massive $400 million expansion plan for Moscow's State Pushkin Museum of Fine Art, is on track thanks to the patronage of Russian president Dmitry Medvedev. Foster hardly lacks for work in any case; as we recently reported, he's heading up a $1.5 billion project to design a fleet of Falcon 7X jets for NetJets Europe (above).

Russian oligarch (and former Luxist mascot) Roman Abramovich, who has lost a whopping $20 billion in the global financial crisis, has reportedly canceled a lavish New Year's Eve party he'd planned to host in Aspen next month. Abramovich (above, with hot young girlfriend Dasha Zhukova) had booked the event at the resort's luxe Piñons restaurant, but it's now been called off, the Aspen Times reports. "Nobody really knew about it, and it wasn't supposed to get out," the restaurant's maitre d' told the paper. "We're fine, we've got our regular New Year's reservations." As my colleague Deirdre Woollard reported, Abramovich purchased the amazing Wildcat Ridge estate in Aspen for $36 million last spring. The modern 11 bedroom mansion is perched at an elevation of 9,200 feet with incredible mountain views.

Russian oligarch Sergei Rodionov married a notorious Moscow femme fatale named Olga and then commissioned famed French photographer Bettina Rheims to do a big bucks X-rated photo shoot. He liked it so much he talked Rheims into two more photo shoots, and the results have just been published in book form, to a decidedly mixed reaction from Moscow society.

Russian billionaires are not shy about displaying their wealth, and surely The Book of Olga (right), which is so incendiary we can only show you the cover here, is just another such exhibition of prized assets. Of course, as a limited edition of 1,000 signed and numbered copies for $500 each, it also stands to make some money. If it succeeds, perhaps other Riussian oligarchs will follow suit and such books could become the hot new status symbol.

Bad news for free-spending Russian billionaire and Luxist mascot Roman Abramovich: he lost a staggering $20 billion over the past few months as Russia's financial markets took a tumble. The figure was calculated "based on assets excluding property and cash," Bloomberg reports, and it means that Abramovich's net worth is now only $3.5 billion. He had previously been ranked as the 15th richest man in the world with a fortune of $23.5 billion.

Some other Russian oligarchs have fared pretty poorly as well. Russia's richest man - well, formerly anyway - Oleg Deripaska lost more than $16 billion, and Vladimir Lisin lost $22 billion. Overall, Russia's richest men have lost a combined total of $230 billion in five months, Bloomberg notes. No single man has suufered as much as Indian steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal, who lost $28 billion as we reported earlier this week. Still, Abramovich's loss is likely to affect him more as he so obviously enjoyed spending his immense wealth. So - anyone want to buy a $350 million megayacht?

Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich's new $355 million, 555-ft. Eclipse, designed to be the world's biggest, will have a military-grade missile defense system to keep the oligarch safe. My colleague Deidre Woollard first reported on initial plans for the Eclipse back in January. Now further details are emerging about the megayacht (rendering above), which when completed next summer will be 25 ft. longer than Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid's 530-ft. Platinum, currently ranked as the biggest yacht in the world. Secrecy surrounds the Eclipse, but sources tell the London Times that an antiballistic missile defense system is being installed by AST, a company with close ties to both the Blohm + Voss shipyard in Hamburg, where the yacht is being built, and the German defense ministry.

The Eclipse is also being equipped with armor plating surrounding the bridge and Abramovich's master suite, as well as bullet-proof windows. There's also a submarine that can be launched underwater and dive to a depth of 160 ft. that doubles as an escape pod, as well as two helicopter pads. Civilian ships are not allowed to carry weapons and so have to limit themselves to defense systems, but Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz gets around this by having his 482-ft. yacht registered as a Royal Saudi Navy vessel, said to be equipped with French-made Exocet missiles. Pirate attacks on luxury craft are on the rise of late. Abramovich owns three other megayachts already: the 377 ft. Pelorus, the 282 ft. Ecstasea and the 160 ft. Sussurro.

Ukranian billionaire Viktor Pinchuk has revealed he was a major buyer at Damien Hirst's record-breaking $200 million Sotheby's sale last month, but has declined to say exactly what he purchased. Pinchuk, who's worth an estimated $5 billion, has his own museum in Kiev, the first private institution of its kind in the former Soviet Union, which already houses works by Hirst, Jeff Koons and Vuitton collaborator Takashi Murakami. He says he plans to display his new Hirst acquisitions at the Pinchuk Center in the spring.

"Victor Pinchuk is having a great impact on the [art] market," Simon de Pury, chairman of auction house Phillips de Pury & Co., who credits him with starting the oligarch art collecting trend, tells Bloomberg. "The contemporary art market in both Ukraine and Russia has really taken off in the past two years, and I expect this growth to continue." Earlier this year Pinchuk paid a record $150 million for a house in London, the world's most expensive at the time.

An unnamed Russian billionaire has splashed out $99 million on an ultra-luxe Moscow penthouse around the corner from the Kremlin. The seven-story, 14,000-sq.-ft. oligarch's aerie features five bedrooms, five baths, an indoor pool, separate children's floor and winter garden on the roof. It's located in the chic Chistie Prudy Residence complex, which has underground parking, private security and a water purification system. "For Moscow, it's an absolute record," the townhouse's real estate firm's spokesman Ruslan Barabash tells Reuters. The interior is done in a Moorish style with marble mosaics, myriad columns and arches, Moroccan-style lighting and garish touches galore.

[pix via BallerHouse]