Ivan Aivazovsky's painting Lunar Night has been auctioned in Russia, fetching 92 million rubles (around $1 million).

At the start of the Russian occupation of Crimea in 2014, it was transferred to the Simferopol Art Museum alongside over fifty other paintings.

The Russians' plans to auction Aivazovsky's painting were announced by Gunduz Mammadov, ex-deputy of the Prosecutor General and former prosecutor of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, on Twitter (X), Ukrayinska Pravda reports.

The Russian media reported that Lunar Night was the main lot in the auction, which took place at the Moscow Auction House on 18 February. They noted that the painting was estimated to be worth RUB 100 million (about US$1.09 million) prior to sale.