NEW YORK—Sotheby's and Christie's global Russian art sales were up 45 percent last year, to $324.9 million, from $223.6 million in 2006, reports Bloomberg. Sotheby's, which has been the market leader in Russian art for a decade, reported an increase of 18 percent to $180.9 million, while Christie's Russian sales increased 87 percent to £71.2 million ($144 million).

Bloomberg cites a nine-year expansion in the Russian economy, due largely to the increased exports of commodities such as oil, natural gas, and metals and a growing upper class eager to acquire luxury items such as art. Alexander Gertsman, a New York–based dealer of Russian contemporary art, told Bloomberg: "Every year more Russians start collecting art, which means more bidders at auction, and this competition helps push prices higher." Last year saw the highest price ever paid at a Russian art auction: £8.98 million ($17.6 million) for the Rothschild Faberge Egg at Christie's.