Russian Man Ruins Ivan the Terrible Painting 'to Save Tsar’s Reputation'

Journalists attend a news conference about the damaged painting, ‘Ivan the Terrible and His Son Ivan on November 16, 1581.’ (Reuters)
Journalists attend a news conference about the damaged painting, ‘Ivan the Terrible and His Son Ivan on November 16, 1581.’ (Reuters)
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Russian Man Ruins Ivan the Terrible Painting 'to Save Tsar’s Reputation'

Journalists attend a news conference about the damaged painting, ‘Ivan the Terrible and His Son Ivan on November 16, 1581.’ (Reuters)
Journalists attend a news conference about the damaged painting, ‘Ivan the Terrible and His Son Ivan on November 16, 1581.’ (Reuters)

A man who attacked and damaged a masterpiece of Russian painting with a metal pole said he had acted for ideological reasons to rescue the reputation of a tsar, recanting an earlier confession that the vandalism was fueled by vodka.

According to Reuters, his statement is likely to add to liberal concern about the influence of religious conservatives and politicians who have turned Russia’s history into an ideological battleground to boost patriotism.

Igor Podporin, 37, has confessed to attacking one of the country’s most treasured 19th century art works, which depicts Tsar Ivan the Terrible cradling his dying son.

In an initial confession, Podporin said he became overwhelmed after drinking vodka in the cafe of the State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow’s most important art museum. The gallery said that the man had somehow gotten past a group of gallery employees, picked up one of the metal security poles used to keep the public back from the painting and struck its protective glass.

The gallery said in a statement: “As a result of the blows the thick glass was smashed. Serious damage was done to the painting. The canvas was pierced in three places in the central part of the work which depicts the figure of the Tsarevich (the tsar’s son).”

The frame was also badly damaged, the gallery said, but it said that “by a happy coincidence” the most precious elements of the painting, the depiction of the faces and hands of the tsar and his son, were not damaged. But in a Moscow court appearance on Tuesday, Podporin denied he had drunk vodka before the attack, and said he had acted because he objected to the painting.

“The painting is a lie,” Podporin told the court, Russian news agencies reported. “Tsar Ivan the Terrible is ranked among the community of saints.”

The damaged painting was completed by Ilya Repin in 1885 and portrays a grief-stricken tsar holding his own son in his arms after dealing him a mortal blow. But some Russian historians dispute the idea that Ivan murdered his son, and President Vladimir Putin said last year it was unclear if the tsar was guilty or not.

Ivan Melnikov, a human rights official who visited Podporin in custody, told the Komsomolskaya Pravda tabloid newspaper on Tuesday that Podporin had been thinking about what he regarded as the incorrect portrayal of Ivan the Terrible for two years.

“I’d heard about this painting a long time ago. Even Putin said on TV that what it depicts is not true. When I got to the Tretyakov I couldn’t stop myself. Foreigners go there and look at it. What will they think about our Russian tsar? About us? It’s a provocation against the Russian people so that people view us badly,” Podporin was quoted as telling him.



Trump Says Coca-Cola to Switch to Cane Sugar in US

Partial view of the Coca-Cola Company's world headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia on June 29, 2025. JUAN MABROMATA / AFP/File
Partial view of the Coca-Cola Company's world headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia on June 29, 2025. JUAN MABROMATA / AFP/File
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Trump Says Coca-Cola to Switch to Cane Sugar in US

Partial view of the Coca-Cola Company's world headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia on June 29, 2025. JUAN MABROMATA / AFP/File
Partial view of the Coca-Cola Company's world headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia on June 29, 2025. JUAN MABROMATA / AFP/File

Beverage giant Coca-Cola has agreed to use real cane sugar in its US production, President Donald Trump announced Wednesday on social media.

The company currently uses high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) in its domestic beverages -- a sweetener that has long drawn criticism from Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his Make America Healthy Again movement, AFP said.

"I have been speaking to Coca-Cola about using REAL Cane Sugar in Coke in the United States, and they have agreed to do so," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

"I'd like to thank all of those in authority at Coca-Cola. This will be a very good move by them -- You'll see. It's just better!"

The US president did not explain what motivated his push for the change, which would not impact his well-known favorite beverage, Diet Coke.

Since his return to the White House, Trump has re-installed a special button in the Oval Office which summons a helping of the sugar-free carbonated drink.

Coca-Cola did not immediately confirm the ingredient shift.

"We appreciate President Trump's enthusiasm for our iconic Coca‑Cola brand. More details on new innovative offerings within our Coca‑Cola product range will be shared soon," the company said in a short statement.

HFCS became popular in the 1970s, with its use skyrocketing thanks to government subsidies for corn growers and high import tariffs on cane sugar.

Any shift away from corn is likely to draw backlash in the Corn Belt, a Midwestern region that has been a stronghold of support for Trump.

Both HFCS and sucrose (cane sugar) are composed of fructose and glucose. However, they differ structurally: HFCS contains free (unbonded) fructose and glucose in varying ratios -- 55/45 in soft drinks -- while sucrose consists of the two sugars chemically bonded together.

These structural differences, however, don't appear to significantly affect health outcomes.

A 2022 review of clinical studies found no meaningful differences between HFCS and sucrose in terms of weight gain or heart health.

The only notable distinction was an increase in a marker of inflammation in people consuming HFCS. Overall, both sweeteners appear similarly impactful when consumed at equal calorie levels.

Despite this, Mexican Coke -- which is made with cane sugar -- is often sold at a premium in US stores and prized for its more "natural" flavor.

Trump's prized Diet Coke is sweetened with aspartame -- a compound classified as a "possible carcinogen" by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).