With financial crisis in Russia in full swing, we thought it would be fun to check on Sergey Rodionov, the eccentric Russian oligarch who financed a Taschen book in which his wife is photographed naked with other men, women, and, as we recall, animals.

The album, "Book of Olga" was sold out almost immediately (we still can't imagine who would buy this book besides Mrs. Rodionov's immediate family in desperate attempt to ensure that her children don't see it until they are old enough to be admitted into Freudism 101.) However, if someone did buy the book for $850, they probably saw its value decline from "I have a book with the Russian oligarch's wife's nude photos" to "I have a book with some woman's nude photos." There is at least an $800 difference.

Well, just as we suspected: Sergey Rodionov, 48, who made his fortune in banking, later ventured into media. He owns a publishing house which publishes (or, to be specific, published) several glossy magazines and business weeklies, including Business Week Russian Edition. Long story shot -- Business Week-Russia and some other high-profile titles ceased publication, the company has been put up for sale; Rodionov was downgraded from oligarch to minigarch to mini-minigarch.

Moral: You will probably be able to buy "The Book of Olga" at a bargain price soon. But you won't.

UPDATE: Dirk Sauer, former head of Independent Media, Russia's most successful publishing house, says in a comment to this post (below) that Mr Rodionov's publishing house is not for sale after all, because it'a a hobby. And what oligarch sells a hobby? Thank you, Dirk. Now, lets write a post together on Dazed and Confused - Russian Edition!

Photos from Book of Olga [Taschen]