Nicolas Iljine (born September 10, 1944, Paris)[2] is a German, French and Russian author, editor, curator, art consultant and best known as the advisor to the General Director of the State Hermitage Museum.

[4] Many of his books and exhibitions have involved the Russian and Western art of the 1920s-2010s, including the Soviet sale of Hermitage paintings.

His parents had fled Russia for their anti-Communist sentiments, and his father at one point had authored a book titled Communism: The Death of Culture.

[5] While working at Lufthansa Iljine began to study modern art, as his job acquainted him with artists, gallery owners, and museums.

He has taken active part in organizing numerous other Russian art exhibitions, including Kazimir Malevich - Suprematism,[12] Amazons of the Avant-Garde (opened in New York by President V.V.

[5] He worked jointly with French architect Jean Nouvel on the design for a project of a Museum of Contemporary Art in Baku.

[17] In 2000, Iljine was an editor for the Russian-language anthology of essays titled Prodannye Sokrovishcha Rossii (Sold Treasures of Russia), a publication detailing of the sale of Russian art confiscated from the Tsarist royal family, the church, private individuals and museums in the Soviet Union.

According to The Daily Telegraph in 2000, Russia's culture minister, Mikhail Shvydkoi, used the book's launch as a platform to accuse modern communists of hypocrisy, stating "Those politicians who see themselves as descendants of the party which sold these treasures abroad are especially jealous of the title of defenders of the national inheritance.

[21] The anthology is composed primarily of translated essays first published in Sold Treasures of Russia, with the addition of material such as archival photos.

Published by the University of Washington Press,[3] it has contributions by writers such as Iljine, German novelist Bel Kaufman, author Oleg Gubar, and American historian Patricia Herlihy.

"[3] In early 2013, Iljine collected songs and lyrics for the album Odessa Memories, which has stair imagery from Battleship Potemkin on the cover.

[8] Iljine had first started the project after obtaining a postcard collection from Baku, and his interest had turned into a "passion for discovering local impressions from further afield in Azerbaijan.

[25] He collected hundreds of old postcards from local people and stores, and found authors familiar with the old city's architecture and music to contribute.

[4] "Memories of Baku represents a true and vivid illustration of Azerbaijan and its evolution over a critical time in our country's history.

[27] He is also a member of the Paris Council of Emperor Alexander III for developing cultural and political ties between Russia and France.