Paintings from the St Petersburg Museum of Erotica have been removed by the police according to the museum’s page on www.vkontakte.ru. 

The message posted on the museum’s page says the police have seized a painting of Putin and Obama. The lawyer Anton Shalkov, who was present during the police operation, has surmised that “the investigation was triggered by a painting showing two naked men, one white and one African-American. Their facial features may have vaguely resembled those of certain persons in authority".

According to information on Zaks.ru, the Museum of Erotica belongs to Aleksandr Donskoi, whose other brainchild – the Museum of Power – has previously attracted the attention of the municipal authorities and law enforcement agencies with its exhibition of works by Konstantin Altunin entitled "Rulers". On 26 August the police removed four of the artist’s works from the exhibition: a portrait of the MP Milonov against a rainbow background, a work entitled "Erotic dreams of Mizulina", a depiction of Patriarch Kirill and a portrait of Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev in women’s lingerie.

The Museum of Power has been temporarily shut down, but Donskoi has announced his intention to resume business on 5 September and to keep the "Rulers" exhibition open for an extra day, explaining that, "no one has told us anything". It should be noted that the G20 Summit will be held in St Petersburg on 5 and 6 September, and Vladimir Putin and Barack Obama will be among the leaders of the "top 20" countries taking part.