Get the picture: Medvedev photo outdoes Putin's painting

SAINT PETERSBURG - A photograph taken by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev sold on Saturday for 1.2 million euros -- even more than the amount a painting by his predecessor Vladimir Putin fetched last year.
The black-and-white photo of the Tobolsk Kremlin, or fortress, in western Siberia taken by Medvedev from a helicopter sold at auction for 51 million rubles (1.2 million euros, 1.7 million dollars).



Dmitry Medvedev's photo
Dmitry Medvedev's photo
Mikhail Zingarevich, a member of the board for wood and paper company Ilim, bought the photo at the charity auction. Medvedev worked as legal affairs director for the company in the 1990s.
Medvedev's photography "is very professional and really pleases me," Zingarevich said at the auction in Saint Petersburg.
The Russian president outshone strongman Prime Minister Putin -- the man who many say remains Russia's true leader.
A year ago, a painting by Putin sold at auction for 37 million rubles (868,000 euros, 1.2 million dollars).
Medvedev's photo was among 29 items sold for charity, bringing in 1.9 million euros.
The money would be distributed to a children's hospital, a rehabilitation centre for alcoholics and an assistance programme for World War II veterans.
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Sunday, January 17th 2010
AFP
           

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