Support of culture is a traditional field of sponsorship and charity for major Russian companies. The specific feature of cooperation with such establishments is that of a comprehensive nature of the support, which means that it is not limited to pure sponsorship (financing new performances, exhibitions, etc.), but also includes charity. The Company’s priority is to support all kinds of classic arts.

OAO LUKOIL extends a helping hand to a number of major national museums including the Tretyakov Gallery, the Moscow Kremlin Museums, the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, the State Historical Museum, the State Russian Museum, and the V.M. and A.M. Vasnetsov Vyatka Regional Art Museum.

In particular, as part of the 150th  anniversary celebrations of the Tretyakov Gallery, OAO LUKOIL purchased and presented to the museum a bas-relief by M. Kozlovsky, a famous Russian artist and sculptor. The Company also provided significant funds for the restoration of paintings “Portrait of General V. Perovskiy” by K. Bryullov, “Court of the Sanhedrin. "Guilty of death!” by N. Ge, and K. Korovin’s panel painting from “Far North” series.  In 2008-2010, a guest exhibition of the Tretyakov Gallery was held in Helsinki with the Company’s support, which proved to be a success. In 2010, OAO LUKOIL was one of the partners of the exhibition dedicated to the 150th anniversary of I. Levitan’s birth. The Company’s funds allocated for this exhibition were used to restore the artist's famous painting "Golden Autumn” and “Deep Waters”.  In 2011, OAO LUKOIL was one of the partners of the exhibition entitled “What is the Truth? Nikolay Ge. Celebrating the 180th Anniversary of the Artist’s Birth.” 

To follow up on the educational project initiated in 2004 jointly with the Moscow Kremlin Museums, a visiting exhibition titled “Kremlin from Moscow Kingdom to the Last Coronation” was hosted in Kazan in 2011. By tradition, as part of the exhibition, lectures and excursions were organized for Tatarstan orphans by the Moscow Kremlin Museums, and a children's drawing competition was held. Over the project implementation period, such art exhibitions have been held in Perm, Nizhny Novgorod and Volgograd. In addition to that, in 2011, the Company supported the Moscow Kremlin Museum’s exhibition “Poiret, Fashion King.”

To promote Russian art and history abroad, OAO LUKOIL and the Moscow Kremlin Museums organize exhibitions in other countries.  The first one was held in 2006 in London. In 2009, The Gallery of Arts of the Smithson Institute (Washington) hosted an exhibition entitled “Tsars and the East”: gifts of Turkey and Iran from the collections of the Moscow Kremlin Museums. The exhibition was a great success and was held under the patronage of Russia’s President Dmitriy Medvedev.

The Company purchased “Evening Cafe” painting by the Spanish impressionist Hermenegildo Anglada Camarasa for the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, supported restoration of the Gallery of European and American Arts of 19-20 centuries, and prepared an exhibition entitled “Great Russian Victories on Medals and Engravings” held in 2009.  In 2010 the Company provided funds for the development of a multimedia website demonstrating masterpieces from the numismatics section of the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, for the exhibition “Familiar Unknown Things”, and for the publication of a catalogue for the exhibition “Masterpieces of European Graphics from Collection of V.N. and N.V. Basnins”.  In 2011, funds were allocated to create a multimedia site devoted to the Museum’s antique collection and publish an album titled “Masterpieces of Ancient Art from the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts Collection.”

In 2009, the Company provided assistance to the Russian Museum to hold an annual International Festival “Emperor’s Gardens of Russia”, in 2010 an exhibition entitled “Natives of Smolensk. To the 250th Anniversary of Dmitry Levitsky’s Birth”, and in 2011 an exhibition devoted to the 150th Anniversary of Konstantin Korovin.

From 2008 to 2011 the Company provided financial support to the National Central Museum of Contemporary History of Russia to host the following exhibitions: “From GOELRO to 21st Century Innovations”, “V.G. Shukhov, the First Russian Engineer”, “The Nobel Dynasty for Russia”, “N.K. Baibakov. The Path of the Creator,” “Space Era”, “P A. Stolypin: A Life for the Fatherland”, and “Golden Age of the Italian Lace”.

The Company sponsored the acquisition and installation of computer and multimedia equipment, as well as multimedia programs to create a museum educational Internet class for children and teenagers at V.M. and A.M. Vasnetsov Vyatka Regional Art Museum.

In 2008, a monument to Vladimir Shukhov, an outstanding Russian engineer, was put up in front of OAO LUKOIL central office in Moscow. The monument was created at the Company’s expense and presented to the city.

For many years OAO LUKOIL has helped sponsor the Bolshoi Philharmonic Orchestra of P.I. Tchaikovsky headed by V. Fedoseev. In 2011, as part of the festive events dedicated to the Company’s 20th anniversary, orchestra concerts were organized in Brussels, Geneva, Zagreb, Nizhny Novgorod and Kstovo.

Over a number of years the Company has been supporting P.I. Tchaikovsky Perm State Opera and Ballet Theatre, Kaliningrad Oblast Philharmonic Hall and its program titled “Families to Concert Hall!”, and the Ural Academic Philharmonic Orchestra. Funds have been allocated to restore and reconstruct the historic cultural heritage monument of federal importance, Perm State Art Gallery.    

The Company is the official partner of the “Spasskaya Tower” traditional festival of military bands in the Red Square.  

In 2011 support was provided to organize the “Great Caucasus” festival of Caucasian art in Perm Krai, “Golden Harp” II International Music Charity Project, “Crescendo” Music Festival, and preparation of M. Magomayev II International Vocal Competition, Synodical Choir. For the first time in Astrakhan, with support of the Company, a concert by pianist Denis Matsuev was held, which became a truly unforgettable event for residents of the city.