POST-SOVIET ART

Alexey Afanasyev, art expert: For centuries, Russia has been the point of intersection of cultures of East and West. After the collapse of the Soviet Union and the regaining of national identity by the republics that were its members, Russia, having qualitatively transformed, could again become a meeting place for them, but in a new format. Today, the former Soviet republics, such as Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, choose the United Arab Emirates as a model for development. Dubai has become a canvas on which all shades of world culture are represented. And it is here that hosts the largest contemporary art fair in the Middle East.

Today, the international art community has accepted Ukraine into its ranks, where young artists on behalf of the well-known entrepreneur Viktor Pinchuk are regularly awarded the Future Generation Award. Azerbaijan was actively represented at the Venice Biennale last year. The exhibition attracted the attention of curators and collectors, and again thanks to Mehriban Aliyeva, the wife of the president of the republic. In other words, art in the post-Soviet space somehow lives and develops due to the personal contribution of businessmen and political figures.