Nikas Safronov was born on 8 April, 1956, in the town of Ulianovsk. Upon graduating from the secondary school he went to Odessa to naval college. After one year he moved to Rostov-on-the-Don, where he studied art at Grekov’s Art College from 1973 to 1975. Meanwhile, he worked in the Children Theatre of Rostov-on-the-Don as a props-artist, watchman, janitor, and a mover. Shortly, he was drafted and served in Estonia.
    After the service he moved to his mother’s hometown, Panevezhis in Lithuania, where for some time he worked as a stage designer at the famous Donatas Banionis’ Theatre. From 1978 to 1982 he was studying at the Art Institute (nowadays known as Art Academy) in Vilnius. 
   The first personal Nikas Safronov’s exhibition was held in Panevezhis in 1978. During the same year one of his paintings was selected for the international exhibition in Pompidou Center of Paris. In 1980 another personal exhibition of the artist was organized in Vilnius.
    Nikas Safronov moved to Moscow in 1983. In 1984 he participated at the international exhibition of erotic panting in Tokyo, in 1986 in Milan, in 1987 in France and in 1988 at the exhibition in Canada. In 1990 with thirteen other artists the paintings of Nicas Safronov were included in the book published in France titled “Erotic imagination”.
    In 1992–1994 he worked as an art-director, and from 2000, as a chief artist of the Russian edition of “Penthouse” magazine, and as a consultant and a designer for the science magazine “Aura-Z”, “Diplomat” and “The world of stars” magazines.
    In 1995 he had a successful exhibition in Istanbul. In 1996 his personal exhibitions were held in the Art Academy of Moscow, Museum of Mark Shagal in Vitebsk and in Bergamo.
    In 1998 he exhibited his paintings in the State Museum of Baku. From that time on Safronov’s works had been regularly shown in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Odessa, Vitebsk, Saratov, Yekaterinburg, Vyborg, Gelendgik, Sochi, Krasnodar, Barcelona, Zurich, New-York, London, Riga, and Antwerp.
    Nowadays most of his works belong to private and museum collections in Russia and Europe. More than 800 of his paintings were sold to western collectors. Among the present owners are such personalities as Sophie Loren, Alaine Delon, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Diana Ross, Pierre Cardin, Gerard Depardieu, Diana Ross, Montserrat Kaballe, Madonna, Mikhail Gorbachev and Nikita Mikhalkov.
    He portrayed the President of Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, ex-President of USSR Mikhail Gorbachev, President of Turkey Suleyman Demirel, President of Azerbaijan Geydar Aliev, President of Turkmen Saparmurat Niyazov, King of Spain Juan Carlos, Mayor of Moscow Yuri Lujhkov, as well as prominent personalities: Nikita Mikhalkov, Muslim Magomaev, Roland BulBul-Ogli, Alla Pugacheva, Mstislav Rostropovich, Sophie Loren, Julio Iglesias, Diana Ross, Montserrat Kaballe, Jack Nicolson, Sting, Elton John, Mick Jagger, Steven Sigal, Richard Gere, Pierre Richard, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Annie Girardo, Mike Tyson, Clint Eastwood, David Bowie, Robert De Niro, Chris De Burgh, Elizabeth Taylor, Stephen Spielberg, Tina Turner, Madonna and many others.
    The creativity of Nikas Safronov ranges from the iconography to cubism, symbolism and psychological portraiture. Many of his paintings are based on metaphors and his own system of symbols.
    Nikas Safronov is currently a professor of the Ulianovsk University (branch of the University of Moscow), an academician of International Art Academy and an honorable doctor of Azerbaijan State University of Culture and Arts, corresponding member of Russian Art Academy, current member of Russian Academy of Natural Sciences.
    Since 2006 Nikas Safronov is a member of The International Royal Academy of Culture, Education and Arts of the United Nations.
    Nikas Safronov was awarded a Gold Medal by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the International Order of St. Constantine The Great, the Order of St. Stanislaus and the Order of St. Anne II degree. He also received the Order of the Russian Orthodox Church of St. Seraphim Sarovskiy III degree by Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia, and the Order “Serving to Art” I degree («Gold Star») as well as the honorable title of “Knight of Science and Art” by the Russian Science Academy. He is an honorable citizen of the towns of Ulianovsk and Saratov and of the city of Baku. In October 1996 American astronomers discovered a new star in constellation of Andromeda and named it after Nikas Safronov.
    In 2001 The President of Russian Federation Vladimir Putin expressed gratitude and presented the gold watch to Nikas Safronov “for the significant contribution to the strengthening of the Russian economy, creative approach to carrying out the tasks of the government of the Russian Federation and the achievements for the benefit of the Motherland”. In 2003 Nikas Safronov became the laureate of the Mikhail Lomonosov award in the field of science, education, culture and arts. In 2004 his name was included into “The chronicle of outstanding names and acts for the glory of Russia”, and he was awarded the respective order and presented with the personal gold weapon.
    The Cambridge International Biography Center named Nikas Safronov “The best international artist of the year 2004” and awarded him the honorable title of “The Living Legend”. The American Biography Institute awarded him the title of “The person of the year 2004” as well, subsequently including his name in “The Leading Intellectuals of the World” encyclopedia. In 2005 Nikas Safronov’s name appeared in the World Book of Knowledge, then Nikas was also awarded the “Diamond of Da Vinci” for his outstanding contribution to the contemporary art.
    Nikita Michalkov:
    “… When a spectator, after being satiated with the fantastic images, the sophisticated forms and the violent paints of Nikas Safronov, pauses in front of his canvases, such as “Nostalgia” or “Good-bye, Russia”, he clearly sees that besides the talent and the craftsmanship the artist has a tender soul filled with the most contradicting emotions”.
    Ilya Glasunov:
    “...He possesses an enormous fantasy and creative energy beyond this world. I believe that his soul, deeply affected by the material being of the XX century, combines the search of God with the blasphemy, the Faith with the lack of will and the romanticism with the rigid views of the fashion”.
    
    Retrospective of the exhibitions:

    Participation in the exhibitions (the most important):

    • 1976–1983 – Panevezis and Vilnius (Litvania)
    • 1978 – international exhibition at the Pompidou Centre, Paris (France)
    • 1983 – international Europe exhibition, Rome (Italy)
    • 1990–1991 – several exhibitions of Soviet-Canada joint venture «Book-print», Moscow and Samara (Russia)
    • 1991 – exhibition at the Fund for People Diplomacy, Moscow (Russia)
    • 1998 – Euro-98, Barcelona (Spain)

    Personal exhibitions (the most important):

    • 1977, 1978 – Museum of modern art, Panevezhis (Lithuania)
    • 1980 – Vilnius (Lithuania) • 1985 – Rome (Italy)
    • 1988 – Toronto (Canada) • 1989 – Zurich (Switzerland)
    • 1991 – Central Artists’ House, Moscow (Russia)
    • 1995 – Istanbul (Turkey)
    • 1996 – Art Academy, Moscow; Museum of Mark Shagal, Vitebsk (Russia); Bergamo (Italy)
    • 1998 – State art museum, Ulianovsk; Central Artists’ House, Moscow; Radishev art museum, Saratov (Russia); National museum, Baku (Azerbaijan); Art museum, Odessa (Ukraine)
    • 1999 – MOMA, New-York (USA)
    • 2000 – State Kremlin Palace and House of freedom of nations, Moscow; Art gallery, Vyborg; Modern art gallery, Sochi; Library of foreign literature, Moscow; British cultural centre, Moscow (Russia)
    • 2001 – State art museum, Ulianovsk (Russia); Russian cultural centre, Riga (Latvia); «Human museum», Moscow (Russia)
    • 2002 – Russian Cultural Fund, Moscow (Russia)
    • 2003 – Russian Embassy in Great Britain, London
    • 2004 – Modern art gallery, Antwerp (Belgium); State art museum, Krasnodar (Russia)
    • 2005 – Russian portrait gallery, St. Petersburg (Russia)
    • 2006 – Exhibition in the framework of the international art festival «Slav’s fair», Vitebsk (Russia); Modern art museum, Kharkov (Ukraine)
    • 2007 – Presidential Administration HQ, the Kremlin, Moscow (Russia)
    • 2008 – Exhibition in Mordovian Erzya Museum of Visual Arts, town of Saransk (Russia); exhibition in Cheboksary (Russia); exhibition in Consulate General of Russian Federation in Munich (Germany); Sochi Art Museum (Russia); town of Vladimir (Russia); Moscow “Manege” exhibition and presentation of the new joint album “Nikas – Estet Jewelry House” (Russia)
    • 2009 – Exhibition in Izhevsk (Russia); Lenin memorial center of Ulianovsk (Russia)