Art historian Leonid Bazhanov died at the age of 79

Leonid Bazhanov, art historian and member of the Russian Academy of Arts, passed away at the 80th year of life. About this on Saturday, January 11, reports his acquaintance, the artist Diana Machulina.

"I think that a great man died. And I believe that thanks to him modern art in Russia took place. He developed regional centers and thought that art was needed in the whole country, not just in the capitals. This is a huge loss. He was doing a lot until the very last moment, following the agenda," she told TASS.

The circumstances and reasons for his passing did not tell the artist.

Bazhanov was born in 1945. In 1973, he graduated from the Faculty of History at Lomonosov Moscow State University, specializing in art history. Since the late 1960s, he has been actively involved in organizing unofficial exhibitions. In 1986 he founded the Hermitage Creative Association, and in 1990 he founded the Center for Contemporary Art. From 1992 to 1997 Bazhanov headed the Fine Arts Department of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation.

In 1992 Bazhanov initiated the creation of the State Center for Contemporary Art (SCAC) and was its artistic director until 2016. Later, he became academic director of the Contemporary Art program at the National Research University Higher School of Economics, Gazeta.Ru notes