Neither Putin nor Rudnova have ever confirmed their alleged family ties.\u00a0After the start of Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine, Rudnova allegedly posted \u201cNo to war\u201d on one of her Instagram accounts, whose authenticity could not be independently verified.<\/p>\n
Rudnova, who observers say bears a striking resemblance to Putin, was recently\u00a0reported<\/a>\u00a0to be living in Paris and studying art.\u00a0<\/p>\n Last week, exiled artist Nastya Rodionova said she had learned that Rudnova was interning at L Association, which is described as \u201cone of the key figures within the Russian-speaking emigre art scene.”<\/p>\n \u201cIn the context of an aggressive war waged by Russia, people organizing public events involving anti-war artists \u2014 sometimes direct victims of the regime \u2014 must be transparent and vigilant,\u201d she posted<\/a> on Facebook this month.<\/p>\n Rodionova told The Moscow Times that she felt morally compelled to go public after L Association\u2019s co-owner confirmed that Rudnova works for them.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI have no evidence of how close she is to [Putin\u2019s] family,\u201d Rodionova said. \u201cBut as a gallery worker, she has access to personal data of anti-war artists, including those being persecuted by the Russian state. I have the right to protect myself and do not work [with the galleries].\u201d<\/p>\n Gallery owners Alexander Vishnevsky and Dmitry Dolinsky defended Rudnova\u2019s presence on their staff, saying they do not investigate employees\u2019 family backgrounds for legal and ethical reasons.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDmitry Dolinsky (left) and Alexander Vishnevsky (right). \u201cThis information is shocking, of course,\u201d Dolinsky said in an interview with The Moscow Times. \u201cBut fundamentally, it doesn\u2019t change anything. We work with a real person who behaves responsibly, expresses reasonable views and helps us support artists \u2014 including anti-war artists from Russia and artists from Ukraine.\u201d<\/p>\n Rudnova, who has been working with L Association for several months, has the same responsibilities \u201cas any other assistant\u201d and there had been no signs of \u201cany inappropriate behavior,\u201d they said.\u00a0<\/p>\n According to the gallery owners, she by all appearances lives like an ordinary person \u2014 commuting by metro to work, earning an intern\u2019s salary and joining them through a placement program run by her university.<\/p>\n Sources speaking to exiled Russian media described<\/a> Rudnova as \u201ca kind and bright person, always ready to help\u201d and \u201ca great colleague.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a presumption of innocence,\u201d Dolinsky and Vishnevsky told The Moscow Times. \u201cAs for the moral aspect, we have no evidence or indication that she holds any pro-war, pro-Putin or anti-Ukrainian views.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo one has presented any evidence that she is Putin\u2019s daughter. Yet we are being criticized for not disclosing her personal data. By law, we are prohibited from doing so based solely on rumored kinship,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n Yet, according to the gallery owners, Rudnova did not deny that her mother was Svetlana Krivonogikh.\u00a0<\/p>\n Russian investigative journalists in 2020 estimated Krivonogikh\u2019s assets at around $100 million, including property she allegedly received from figures close to Putin as well as shares in Bank Rossiya. Krivonogikh was sanctioned<\/a> by the U.K. in 2023.<\/p>\n Despite the gallery\u2019s firm defense of its actions, observers\u2019 reactions have been mixed<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Some expressed concern about the possible security risks for artists in exile, whose work would be illegal under Russian law, as well as the ethical risks for Ukrainian artists, whose country is the victim of Putin\u2019s war. Others cautioned against speculation in the absence of evidence.<\/p>\n Exiled anti-war Russian artist Slava PTRK is set to open his new solo exhibition on Russia\u2019s protest movements in the 2010s next week at L Gallery, one of L Association\u2019s art spaces.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tLuiza Rozova. He told The Moscow Times that Rodionova\u2019s disclosure had had no impact on his collaboration with the space.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know her [Rudnova\u2019s] political views, but I do know that assistants at her level don\u2019t influence who or what gets exhibited,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Although he said he believes that background checks might be justified in order to work in opposition political groups or media, he questioned whether the same should apply to an art gallery in Paris.<\/p>\n “I don\u2019t think this is a sensitive issue for exiled artists,\u201d Slava PTRK said. \u201cSeveral of my friends told me they had heard the rumors and it didn\u2019t affect their communication with Liza [Rudnova].\u201d<\/p>\n Pavel Otdelnov, an exiled artist based in London, shared a similar view.<\/p>\n “It\u2019s very important to distinguish between what a person is responsible for and what they\u2019re not. No one can choose their parents\u2026it makes more sense to judge people by their personal actions, not by who they\u2019re related to. I wouldn\u2019t base a decision to collaborate, or not collaborate, on that,” he told The Moscow Times when asked whether such reports would affect his potential collaboration with the art space.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAnastasia Tenisheva \/ MT<\/p>\n No artists have publicly withdrawn from L Association’s upcoming exhibitions since the revelations, and its galleries\u2019 calendars remain fully booked for the next six months with dozens of artists from various countries, according to Dolinsky and Vishnevsky.<\/p>\n Yet those who work exclusively with anti-war art argue that any institution curating such exhibitions must take special care and responsibility when engaging with politically vulnerable artists.<\/p>\n \u201cIf this were simply a gallery showing neutral contemporary art, I don\u2019t think there would be any debate at all, since someone coming to work could be evaluated purely on their professional merits,\u201d said Vladimir Shalamov, the curator of All Rights Reversed, a Berlin-based gallery that helps artists who are threatened with reprisals in Russia for their work.<\/p>\n \u201cBut I don\u2019t see a problem here since this information is now public and artists can make decisions [on collaboration] with fuller knowledge and transparency,\u201d Shalamov told The Moscow Times.<\/p>\n The Moscow Times sent a request for comment to Rudnova but did not receive a response.<\/p>\n Rodionova, the arist who posted the revelations last week, said she stood by her decision to go public despite the backlash she said she received for doing so.<\/p>\n \u201cArtists \u2014 Russian, French and of course Ukrainian \u2014 can now make their own decisions about whether to collaborate with the gallery based on the full context,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n A Message from The Moscow Times:<\/strong><\/p>\n Dear readers,<\/p>\n We are facing unprecedented challenges. 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