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)
TT
20

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.



Bezos-backed Methane-tracking Satellite Lost in Space

US Amazon's founder Jeff Bezos and his wife Lauren Sanchez Bezos leave the Aman Hotel for lunch a day after their wedding in Venice on June 28, 2025. (Photo by ANDREA PATTARO / AFP)
US Amazon's founder Jeff Bezos and his wife Lauren Sanchez Bezos leave the Aman Hotel for lunch a day after their wedding in Venice on June 28, 2025. (Photo by ANDREA PATTARO / AFP)
TT
20

Bezos-backed Methane-tracking Satellite Lost in Space

US Amazon's founder Jeff Bezos and his wife Lauren Sanchez Bezos leave the Aman Hotel for lunch a day after their wedding in Venice on June 28, 2025. (Photo by ANDREA PATTARO / AFP)
US Amazon's founder Jeff Bezos and his wife Lauren Sanchez Bezos leave the Aman Hotel for lunch a day after their wedding in Venice on June 28, 2025. (Photo by ANDREA PATTARO / AFP)

A satellite backed by billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has been lost in space while carrying out an important climate change mission, New Zealand officials said Wednesday.

Designed to measure greenhouse gas emissions with "unprecedented resolution", the MethaneSAT space probe was also funded by Wellington and the US-based Environmental Defense Fund.

Plagued with technical problems, the satellite recently stopped responding to its Earth-bound controllers.

"Clearly, this is a disappointing development," said Andrew Johnson, a senior official at the New Zealand Space Agency.

"As those who work in the space sector know, space is inherently challenging, and every attempt -- successful or not -- pushes the boundaries of what we know and what we're capable of."

The Environmental Defense Fund, which led the project, said it was "difficult news" but would not be the end of its methane-tracking efforts.

MethaneSAT was designed to measure emissions of the potent greenhouse gas, which fuels climate change by trapping heat in the planet's atmosphere.

It has proven notoriously difficult to get accurate estimates of the methane emissions belched out by oil and gas projects around the globe.

"It was one of the most advanced methane tracking satellites in space, measuring methane emissions in oil and gas producing regions across the world," the MethaneSAT team said.

Project lead Steven Hamburg said initial data gleaned by the satellite was "remarkable".
"Recent measurements in the Permian Basin of Texas and New Mexico revealed emissions three to five times higher than estimated by the US Environmental Protection Agency, while emissions observed in the South Caspian region are over 10 times higher than reported," Hamburg wrote on LinkedIn.

MethaneSAT was launched into space in March 2024 on the back of a SpaceX rocket fired from California.

Controllers first lost contact with the satellite on June 20, the MethaneSAT team said in a statement.

They confirmed it had lost all power on Monday this week and was "likely not recoverable".

"The engineering team is conducting a thorough investigation into the loss of communication," MethaneSAT said, according to AFP.

"This is expected to take time. We will share what we learn."

Despite its shorter-than-expected lifespan, MethaneSAT hailed the mission as a "remarkable success in terms of scientific and technological accomplishment".

Amazon founder Bezos pumped more than US$100 million into the project through his philanthropic Earth Fund.

The satellite eventually succumbed after overcoming a string of technical glitches.
It repeatedly entered a sleep, or stand-by, mode without prompting -- forcing engineers to perform a lengthy reset each time.

One of its three thrusters also failed.