One of Russia's most famous paintings, which depicts Czar Ivan the Terrible cradling his dying son, has been badly damaged after a man attacked it with a metal pole after drinking vodka.
The canvas, "Ivan the Terrible and His Son Ivan on November 16, 1581," was completed by renowned Russian realist Ilya Repin in 1885 and portrays a grief-stricken czar holding his own son in his arms after dealing him a mortal blow, a historical incident whose veracity some Russian nationalists dispute.
The gallery in central Moscow where the painting was displayed, the State Tretyakov Gallery, said a man had attacked the canvas just before closing time on Friday evening.