Christie's International, the world's largest auction house, plans to open its first office in Russia as the country's wealthy buyers play an increasingly important role in the booming global art market. The Moscow Times' Katya Kazakina reports that the new branch, scheduled to open by the end of the year, will be in Moscow, though the auction house has not made a final decision on the location, according to Ellen Berkeley, Christie's director of business development in Europe. Rival auction house Sotheby's opened a Moscow office in May. Forbes reports that Russia has more billionaires than any other country except the United States and Germany. Russian collectors "are connoisseurs now," Berkeley said. "They know exactly what they want."