The world's top two auction houses, Christie's International and Sotheby's, profited from an expanding Russian economy with its growing ranks of newly rich collectors to score a record year in Russian art sales. Their combined 2007 global Russian sales totaled $324.9 million, up 45 percent from a total of $223.6 million in 2006. All figures include buyer's premium. After an economic and financial crisis in 1998, the Russian economy has expanded in each of nine consecutive years, in large part due to the export of commodities such as oil, natural gas and metals. A growing class of wealthy Russians is eager to acquire luxury goods, such as fine art. "The demand for Russian art remains very strong, especially due to the appearance of new Russian collectors," said Alexander Gertsman, a New York-based dealer of Russian contemporary art, in a telephone interview today. "Every year more Russians start collecting art, which means more bidders at auction, and this competition helps push prices higher."Sotheby's, the market leader in Russian art for the past decade, said its 2007 total grew 18% to $180.9 million. Christie's said its 2007 Russian art total increased 87% to 71.2 million pounds ($144 million). Building Relations "A focus on the top end of the market in terms of both buyers and great artworks helped make 2007 our best year ever for Russian art,'' said Jussi Pylkkanen, president of Christie's Europe. ``It also helped that we brought excellent artworks to exhibit in Russia, and worked hard to build relations with the country's top collectors." The Rothschild Faberge Egg was Christie's main Russian attraction in 2007, selling on Nov. 28 for 8.98 million pounds. This was the most expensive item ever sold at a Russian art auction. Sotheby's 2007 total didn't include the September sale of the Rostropovich Collection of 19th- and 20th-century Russian art bought by billionaire Alisher Usmanov three days before the auction was scheduled to take place. Usmanov later told Russian media that he paid about 40 million pounds for the collection. Sotheby's annual Russian results have risen more than 22- fold since 2000 when its total was $6 million. In 2006, Sotheby's total was $153.6 million. "It's been the best year we'd ever had, and had the Rostropovich Collection been included then our final results would have been much higher," said Jo Vickery, head of Sotheby's Russian art department in London. Sotheby's has three Russian art sales a year, with a winter and summer sale in London, and a spring sale in New York. Since 2006, the auction house also has an annual late-winter Russian contemporary-art sale in London. Christie's annual total has risen four-fold since 2004 when it reported Russian art sales of 13 million pounds ($23 million) on two annual auctions. Since 2006, Christie's has three annual Russian auctions: a winter and summer sale in London, and a spring sale in New York. Its 2006 Russian art total was 38 million pounds ($70 million). Christie's is owned by the French billionaire Francois Pinault. Sotheby's was at $32.64, down $1.83 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading at 1:35 p.m.