A Marc Chagall tapestry and Picasso ceramics are among 6,000 works expected to lure Moscow’s burgeoning number of millionaires to the Russian capital’s biggest art fair, which opened to the public Wednesday.

International and Russian dealers have $1.6 billion of art on offer at the Moscow World Fine Art Fair as they hope to profit from the new elite’s growing appetite for art.

The Russian economy has grown every year since 1999, in large part driven by the export of natural resources such as oil and natural gas. A class of wealthy people has appeared, many of whom grew up in the deprivation of the Soviet Union, and they are eager to acquire fine art and luxury items.

“More Russian buyers are getting into the art market, and the wealthiest among them want the top end, especially European art,” Alexander Lachmann, a Russian émigré dealer and collector from Cologne, Germany, said. “They tend to buy art for decorative purposes, and also seek brand-name recognition to score status points.”