Fake Neizvestny Works at Tretyakov Linked to Russian Naval Officer

A major exhibition at Moscow’s Tretyakov Gallery last year celebrating Neizvestny’s centenary is now embroiled in a criminal investigation, with Russian authorities claiming that 30 of the works shown were fake. 

Investigators believe they entered the market through a years-long forgery scheme led by Captain 2nd rank Maxim Koshkarev, deputy chief of staff of Russia's Northern Fleet. (His rank is the equivalent of a commander in English-speaking navies.)

Military investigators have accused Koshkarev of organising the production and sale of unauthorised sculptures and paintings attributed to Neizvestny, who died in 2016, between 2020 and 2026. Collectors reportedly paid at least 90 million rubles (roughly £935,000) for the works, some of which later appeared at the Tretyakov show, titled The Age of the Unknown. For the Artist's 100th Anniversary. 

The exhibition ran from 16 December 2025 through May 12 this year. The museum described it as a culmination of celebrations surrounding the 80th anniversary of Victory Day, a holiday commemorating the triumph of the Soviet Union over Nazi Germany in 1945. Neizvestny, who emigrated to the US in 1976 and lived in New York, was a decorated Red Army veteran. 

According to the Russian newspaper Kommersant, the alleged forgeries only came to light after collectors loaned works to the exhibition. Investigators now believe that Koshkarev, working with what authorities describe as a criminal group of unidentified accomplices, oversaw the creation of at least 30 unauthorised works attributed to Neizvestny. The pieces were allegedly sold to private collectors in Moscow, St. Petersburg, the Murmansk region and outside of Russia.

On May 29, Svetlana Petrenko, a spokesperson for Russia's Investigative Committee, announced that Koshkarev had been charged with copyright infringement and large-scale fraud. Kommersant reported that military investigators detained him on April 28 before then placing him under house arrest for two months. The investigation remains ongoing and his alleged accomplices have yet to be identified publicly.

In addition to serving as deputy chief of staff of Russia’s Northern Fleet, Koshkarev previously served aboard a nuclear-powered missile cruiser. He’s also published books and scholarly articles focused on Russia’s Northern Sea Route.

Neizvestny was one of the most internationally recognised Soviet-born sculptors of the postwar era. Since his death, disputes surrounding his estate have complicated questions of ownership and authority. According to a source cited by Kommersant, the artist's widow, Anna Graham, claims to be his sole heir based on a copy of his will, the original of which was reportedly destroyed in a fire at the couple's New York apartment in 1998. His daughter, Olga Neizvestnaya, who lives in Moscow, also claims she is his sole heir. 

One anonymous source told Kommersant that Graham may have been involved in making new casts from the artist's moulds and authenticating them. No evidence supporting that allegation has been presented publicly, and no charges have been announced against members of the artist's family.

Concerns about counterfeit Neizvestny works appear to predate the current criminal investigation. Art historian and collector Lyubov Agafonova, founder of Moscow's Vellum Gallery, told Kommersant that she publicly questioned the authenticity of certain Neizvestny works during Moscow’s Cosmoscow art fair two years ago.

"I approached one of the booths and said that it was forbidden to exhibit works that were copies of works that had long been in private and museum collections," she told the newspaper.

Agafonova also claimed that Koshkarev later contacted her and said she would "reap the consequences" for confronting the dealers.

The gallerist criticised the Tretyakov for hiring Elena Gribonosova-Grebneva, a researcher in the Department of Russian Art History at Moscow State University, to curate Neizvestny’s century show, instead of using a staffer.

Gribonosova-Grebneva told Kommersant that her responsibilities focused on assembling works from Russian museums and private collections and organising the exhibition's chronology and thematic sections. She said she was not asked to authenticate the works included in the exhibition and said no experts examined them before the show opened. She added that she was not acquainted with Koshkarev and learned of the investigation through media reports.

Representatives of the Tretyakov Gallery told Kommersant that they were aware of the investigation and declined further comment. The museum did not respond to a request for comment from The Art Journal. 

According to Russia’s Investigative Committee, the authorities have seized property worth more than 128 million rubles (£1.3 million) from Koshkarev to cover potential damages. The case is ongoing.