The police refused to open a criminal case because of the peephole attached to the painting «Three Figures» by Kazimir Malevich's student Anna Leporskaya, considering the damage to be insignificant. This was reported by the press service of the art gallery «Yeltsin Center».
Photo: The Art Newspaper Russia
On January 13, The Art Newspaper Russia magazine published a photo of the damaged painting: an unknown person painted eyes on two faceless figures with a ballpoint pen.
The director of the art gallery, Ilya Shipilovskikh, told TASS that the restoration council of the Tretyakov Gallery estimated the damage at 250,000 rubles.
The Department of Museums and Foreign Relations of the Ministry of Culture appealed to the Prosecutor General's Office because of the police's refusal to initiate a criminal case, Interfax reports.