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It was interesting to read the article Lobanov-Rostovsky 2002 "Our Heritage" № 62:

Sadly it is conscious, but paintings by Russian artists is not likely to be sold at prices comparable to the value of the paintings of Western artists of a similar level of fame and skill. The fact that the price is formed in demand - an axiom, and the western buyer, when temporary mode is, it prefers to acquire (at equal price and quality) of the product, say, Fernand Leger, and not Ivan Kliun. Only a significant reduction in the price of Russian avant-garde give hope to expand the circle of buyers. It is not difficult, for example, notice that the paintings of Russian artists worth over 150 thousand dollars with great difficulty finding buyers at auctions.
Painting of many masters of Russian avant-garde, such as Popova, Rodchenko, Rozanova, Stepanova, Exter, generally poorly sold at auction (this applies even more to the circle of students Malevich, ie, Cluny, Kogan, Suetin and Chashniky). Reducing demand among art dealers due to narrowing of the range of potential buyers, which are collectors and museums. Unfortunately, the "recovery" of the auction market, which began in 1992-1993, while not appreciably affected the situation with the Russian "left" painting, the price of which in 1989 fell by at least 40%. But the saddest thing that dropped the demand. International buyers have disappeared, and, most significantly, - the Japanese buyers. Apparently, they came to the conclusion that the Russian avant-garde was a bad investment. For this picture, bought at peak prices, sales are not even for half the price paid in the late 80-ies.
And why, for example, was sold to a large painting Exter, estimated by Christie's at 250-350 thousand pounds? This work 10-ies, the museum's scale, colorful and dynamic in composition, is, of course, the money. But hunters Exter little. It may be bought for 80-100 thousand customers another level, ie not millionaires, investing in Impressionist paintings, and, so to speak, "gifted" by collectors, but have a certain financial opportunities.
Remain unsold and the work of Aristarchus Lentulova "Landscape with a bridge" (Freiburg, 1913), coming from the St. Petersburg collector L. Loitsyansky. Her score (50-70 thousand pounds) was also greatly exaggerated: Lentulov little known outside Russia, and for such a boring song on pointless things were a price more than 15-20 thousand. Another unsold painting - "Trees" Malevich's early Symbolist period (1904): it is important for understanding the evolution of the artist, but not decorative. At the initial assessment of 30-70 thousand pounds and it not one candidate that would probably otherwise under more realistic assessment of 15-30 thousand. But the characteristic of the mature Malevich canvas "peasant period was sold, as already mentioned, for half a million pounds, double the expectations. For prices, close to the fabulous, and the canvases were sold Chagall 10-ies and two of his later paintings, oval track "A. Labas (1921), the work of Larionov, Filonov, Serge Polyakov. From all this we can conclude that today, with funds still possible to collect a large collection of Russian "left" art 1910-1920-ies.
And. High prices in the late 1980's and early 1990's have flooded the already complex, small and politicized market vanguard of a huge number of fakes, thus undermining confidence in the traditional buyers. As a result, the Russian market, which in all circumstances must be preserved, used the main weapon - "the price down" and "unconditional authenticity of works.
This absolutely necessary market correction deselected a certain extent, fakes, but restoring the confidence of the buyer - a more complicated and time-consuming. Time will - see, as they say. And yet any signs of a second wind there, but market conditions have changed the game.

But an analysis on the basis of which he made this prediction was correct, but an unforeseen circumstance in the form of extreme growth in oil prices has changed everything.
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