FSB closed access to information about Bryullov’s picture

The Ministry of Culture of Russia closed access to information about the picture of Karl Bryullov "Christ in the coffin" in the state catalog of the Museum Fund on the recommendation of the Federal Security Service. This picture has been arrested in Russia for 16 years, despite the fact that the court decided to return it to the owners, collectors from Germany Irina and Alexander Pevznere. This was written by Kommersant, at the disposal of which were the documents of the Ministry of Culture, Prosecutor General and the Vyborg Court, blocking the execution of court decisions on the cancellation of the confiscation of the picture.

Alexander Pevzner bought a picture in 2002 in Belgium. The canvas was not signed by the author. In 2003, the collector brought him for examination to Russia. As soon as the experts of the Russian Museum confirmed the authenticity of the picture, the FSB imposed an arrest on it, and a criminal case of smuggling was instituted against Pevzner itself. Later, the matter was terminated, but the owner was never returned to the owner - the Russian Supreme Court confiscated it in favor of the Russian Museum as a “instrument of crime”. In March 2017, the Constitutional Court ordered to revise this decision. In June, the Supreme Court decided to return the picture to the singers, and the Vyborg City Court decided to exclude the picture from the museum fund.

The Ministry of Culture previously stated that the court did not require an exclusion of the picture from the museum fund, and the proceedings on this case were not completed. Although back in April 2018, the Prosecutor General’s Office confirmed that there would be no resumption of the investigation.

Pevznerov’s lawyer appealed to the court to "suppress the intervention of the FSB." The Vyborg court rejected the petition, the defender sent a complaint to the Leningrad Regional Court.