Russian Billionaire Buys Late Cellist’s Art Collection

An art collection belonging to the late cellist Mstislav Rostropovich has been sold to a Russian billionaire for substantially more than $40 million, Sotheby’s auction house said Monday.

Alisher Usmanov, one of Russia’s richest men, said he bought the trove of Russian artworks in order to return them to their homeland.

“When I knew that this collection would be sold at auction, I felt the need to try to preserve the collection in its entirety,” Usmanov told Russian state-run television.

Usmanov, who recently bought a nearly 15 percent stake in London’s Arsenal soccer team for $150 million, said he intends to hand the collection over to the state.

Rostropovich, who died in April at age 80, was considered one of the finest cellists of the 20th century and was a staunch opponent of Soviet-era repression.

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