The St. Petersburg based neo-academism flourished at the beginning of the 90s under the spiritual guidance of the nonconformist Russian philosopher, artist and theoretician, Timur Novikov. While in the eighties Novikov and "new artists" were active in alternative rock, film and theatre "the new fine arts academy," established in 1989 the beauty concept rehabilitated classicism and historicist aesthetic values, historical forms existed under the spell of sensuality and hedonism.