Putins work was valued at 37 million rubles

Vladimir Putin publicly tried painting for the first time, and his work Pattern sold at a charity auction in St. Petersburg for 37 million rubles, over seven times the starting price.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin tried his hand as a painter in public for the first time, and his painting was sold for very good money for a beginner - 37 million rubles. The canvas depicts a frost pattern on a Ukrainian window.
The head of the Russian government made his debut as an artist with resounding success - the painting that came from under his brush was valued at more than $1 million. Vladimir Putin's painting "Pattern" was sold on Saturday at a charity auction in St. Petersburg for 37 million rubles, an Interfax correspondent reports. That is more than 7 times higher than the starting price of 5 million rubles.
The "Tsarskoye Selo Carnival" foundation, which is engaged in the development of a number of cultural projects in St. Petersburg, has been organizing the "Christmas Alphabet" for the third year already - this year prominent figures painted pictures related to the plot of Gogol's "The Night Before Christmas" for a given letter of the alphabet. Vladimir Putin, who was in St. Petersburg on a working visit on December 26, got the word beginning with the letter "U".
V. Putin's painting depicts a frost pattern on a Ukrainian window. When Vladimir Vladimirovich was painting his picture, he surely did not yet know that the theme of Ukraine and frosted windows would be so popular in Russia and throughout Europe in early 2009. On Saturday, the painting was bought by the owner of the Moscow gallery "Our Artists," Natalya Kurnikova.
At the same auction, the work of St. Petersburg Governor Valentina Matviyenko, "Blizzard," went under the hammer for 11.5 million rubles, although the starting price was 1 million rubles. V. Matviyenko, who is taking part in the event for the first time, painted a blizzard in a small village. The governor's painting was purchased for a record sum by the daughter of the chairman of the board of directors of the company "Maxidom," Maria Evnevich.
"I have been taking part in the charity event for the third year in a row, and I can say that my hand is steady, and that I am improving my skills as an artist. Vladimir Vladimirovich also produced an excellent painting, despite the fact that he is a beginner artist," V. Matviyenko noted.
The proceeds from the auction from the sale of the canvases will be transferred to Children's Hospital No. 2 of Saint Mary Magdalene to open a specialized office for diagnosing cancer diseases, as well as for the restoration of the Cathedral of Saint Catherine in Tsarskoye Selo.