Moscow opens its first dinosaur skeleton exhibition, where visitors can buy the exhibits
An exhibition of dinosaur skeletons, prehistoric animal skulls, and meteorite fragments — all offered for sale — opened in Moscow on August 25.
The exhibition “Relictum: Traces of Time” is being held at the Stargift gallery space on Bolshaya Yakimanka Street. Among its centerpieces is a complete psittacosaurus skeleton more than 125 million years old, measuring 168 centimeters (66 inches) and listed in the catalog at 12.5 million rubles.
Another highlight is a complete cave bear skeleton, more than 12,000 years old, which the catalog prices at 10 million rubles. The exhibition also features a pair of mammoth tusks weighing a combined 74 kilograms (163 pounds), along with fossils containing dinosaur eggs and other artifacts.
According to the exhibition’s organizers, this kind of sale is already familiar to the international clientele of Sotheby’s and Christie’s auctions. The tyrannosaurus skeleton “Gus,” for instance, sold at Sotheby’s for a record $50 million in July 2026.
Under Russian law, paleontological finds are treated as part of the subsoil, which belongs to the state. Handling them is governed by the subsoil law and requires state approval.
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