His family fled the Soviet Union with 1 ruble to their name. Now billionaire Igor Tulchinsky is backing the biggest European exhibition of 2026

“I was born in a country that no longer exists,” Igor Tulchinsky tells me simply at the beginning of our interview. “The Soviet Union.” Tulchinsky, who was born in what is now called the Republic of Belarus, left his home at the age of 11. It was the 1970s, when the Cold War between the communist East and the USA-led West was at its most dangerous. Many believed the third world war, and maybe even nuclear conflict, was coming as the two super-powers battled for control and influence around the world. His parents, both accomplished musicians, were allowed to leave with 1 ruble, worth anywhere between 20¢ and 50¢ according to black market rates (no Soviet citizens could gain the official rate of 1 ruble to $1.30). “My father…