In Moscow, on the “Alley of Rulers”, which is located in the courtyard of the military uniform museum of the Russian Military Historical Society (RVIO), a bust of Joseph Stalin and other leaders of the Soviet Union was installed.
In total, seven busts appeared on the “Alley of Rulers” today. Among them are monuments to Vladimir Lenin, Joseph Stalin, Nikita Khrushchev, Leonid Brezhnev, Yuri Andropov, Konstantin Chernenko, Mikhail Gorbachev. The authorship of all monuments belongs to Zurab Tsereteli.
— You just mentioned your repressed relatives. When you were working on the monument to Stalin, did this knowledge interfere?
Tsereteli: You know what, I'm moving away from the monuments. That's what it is for me now - the weather, your smile and love for the earth, that's it. A lot depends on what eyes you look at... What happened happened. I am for a healthy body and a healthy mind.
- What about personal?
- So what? I did my job. I put up his sculpture, and the grandmothers cried with joy that they ( country leaders — Ed.) have not left life, but they stand.
— Grandmothers who came to look at the monuments?
- Well, what about grandfather? It's 37 years old - and here he stands, he hasn't passed away...
— When you sculpted Stalin, what were you thinking about?
- To make it look like it. What should you think about? I took ethnography, I know the historical archive, all the facts. Therefore, what was scolded yesterday, will be hugged tomorrow.
Zurab Tsereteli. Photo: Vlad Dokshin / Novaya Gazeta 
Vladimir Zhirinovsky:
- For God's sake, let everyone bet. We must give it to everyone! Who occupied leading positions is the history of the country. So that schoolchildren come here. There should be no censorship. Let them talk, let artists create, let Serebrennikov not sit at home, but go to the theater, drive him to the Gogol Center, let him not get out of there. The Mongols put Genghis Khan behind him with 40 million people killed. Let the Germans decide for themselves about Hitler. And we give to everyone. Give it to everyone! Put Stepashin, Medvedev, Zyuganov - let him calm down. My sculpture is already ready.
— You literally said in August that you were against the installation of monuments to political figures.
- This is my personal opinion, but the people want it. Everyone has their own idol. After all, we don’t force you to go there. Well, don't go, don't look. It happened, and people want it. Let this be their way of life. He will come, put flowers, remember something.
—You don’t give up your opinion?
— It is dangerous to erect, but monuments cannot be demolished or destroyed. We are not saying that this was the best person, but it was. Let everyone come to their bust.
- What kind of “yours” will you have?
- I already have mine.
- And of these?
— The Brezhnev era was the best. I have two apartments and two cars.
Stanislav Govorukhin. Photo: Vlad Dokshin / Novaya Gazeta Stanislav Govorukhin, director:
— I have the most disgusting attitude towards Stalin, including a personal one, but this does not mean that he should be erased from history. I didn't see my father. So I have my own feelings about these characters, but that doesn't mean we have to rewrite history.
Photo: Vlad Dokshin / Novaya Gazeta Evgeny Tupitsyn, retired colonel:
- You should definitely bring your children here. Children, cadets, schoolchildren. This should be a sacred place for raising the younger generation. I am for the fact that the Soviet Union existed, it was a good era in the development of our country, and I hope that everything good that was there will be in Russia in the future.<…>The fact is that our country is a place of holy places and holy people. God himself even woke up today and said: the mood and weather will be good for you, and I will probably say I love you. But we must be tolerant of bad things, grieve, maybe even visit churches.
Cadet Corps at the opening ceremony. Photo: Vlad Dokshin / Novaya Gazeta Deputy Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation Alexander Zhuravsky:
“We are now witnessing a very important historical event, we are opening the second stage of our state rulers. This is a symbol of continuity and continuity of our history. Stories without crossed out names and forgotten historical events and periods.
Picket against the monument to Stalin. Photo: Vlad Dokshin / Novaya Gazeta Fan creativity of Tsereteli:
— Your asceticism and art are admired! And Gorbachev looks just like he’s alive! Look, it looks like he has tears in his eyes!
As Tsereteli told the Moscow agency, it was also planned to install a bust of the first president of Russia, Boris Yeltsin, on the “Alley of Rulers”. As Tsereteli explained, the monument is already ready, but its installation was postponed to February 1 - the birthday of the former president.
Let us recall that in May, 33 busts of Russian rulers since the time of Rurik, including Tsar Ivan the Terrible, were unveiled on the “Alley of Rulers.”
Leaders of the USSR era will stand in a row in the center of the capital
Stalin! A monument to Stalin will appear in Moscow! All the very emotional conversations in recent years about even the theoretical possibility of a new sculptural image of the leader fade away before the fact: on September 22, a bust of Stalin will be unveiled on the Alley of Rulers, organized by the Russian Military Historical Society in the capital's Petroverigsky Lane in May of this year. However, he will not be there alone. Busts of other leaders of the Soviet and post-Soviet eras will be unveiled along with him: Lenin, Khrushchev, Brezhnev, Andropov, Chernenko, Gorbachev, Yeltsin. They will join the already existing images of princes and tsars of the Russian state (among them, we recall, there is the equally controversial Ivan the Terrible). On the eve of the opening of the new busts, an MK correspondent visited the alley and was convinced that ideological disputes did not cause much excitement among its ordinary visitors.
In September 2017, another monument to the leader will be opened in Moscow.
“Tut-tu-tu-doo-tu...” - a march plays over the avenue of rulers. Kings and emperors stand solemnly in one line, as if at a parade. Boys in white jackets are torturing trumpets, flutes, drums... There is something festive in the air: Rurik and Nicholas II are waiting for Stalin.
Pedestals for the new busts are already ready, exactly opposite the princes and autocrats. Who will Lenin stand before? It would be logical if before the last one Romanov... But he seemed to turn away towards the exit. In general, none of the kings (as if on purpose!) looks forward. Catherine I frowned and lowered her eyes, Pavel was looking somewhere in the sky... Unless Alexander III would clearly fix his gaze on one of his Soviet colleagues.
So, what is this? Between Rurik and Olga there is an empty pedestal. Another one is between Olga and Vladimir Svyatoslavovich...
These were sent in for repairs,” says one visitor of retirement age to another with knowledge. - Look, Rurik’s head is glued together, they probably did it too...
“No, no,” the waitress of a local cafe objects, wiping the tables. - There will be new busts, they are there, behind the stage... And the children are rehearsing just in time for the opening.
The concert continues in front of the wooden stage - the cadets are torturing the pipes. For rare guests, looking at them is much more interesting than looking at the Tsar’s heads.
Look how he looks at you,” one guy with a pipe pokes another.
Who? This one, without a hat? He's the one looking at you!
The children did not remember the name of the one without the hat. If it weren’t for the signatures, then the sovereigns would definitely be “all equal, as if by choice”...
Dressy women, walking by, carefully photographed each bust.
Well, grandmothers go and walk... The place is good, quiet... - says the alley guard. - There is no bench, but a cafe has opened, with a summer veranda. You can sit there. Who else is coming? Foreigners, but rarely.
The alley - despite being deserted - looks quite majestic. Nicholas II glitters in the sun like a cobweb (just from his head to his epaulettes and for some reason, excuse me, under his nose). Thickets and Alexander III, Rurik, Yaroslav the Wise...
A-ah-ah... - there was a sob. An elderly bearded man pressed himself against the last of the Nikolaevs. He closed his eyes and cried. Gently running his hand along the pedestal, the man barely pulled away from the king. The Emperor was adamantly silent and squinted towards the exit.
Well, well,” his companion took him aside. - Let's go to. “Don’t pay any attention to him,” he told the visitors.
The strange admirer of Romanov, who had wet his uniform with tears, now slowly walked past the tsars. Mikhail Fedorovich, Boris Godunov, Fyodor Ioannovich... Near the next bust he stops again. He carefully touches the pedestal, tenderly, like a loved one, strokes the nameplate with his hand... Then he hugs the king and for a second leans his head against him. Like, so we met, dear... The object of tenderness turned out to be Ivan the Terrible.
“He’s not dangerous,” the guard reassured. - There are no psychos here, there is no one to pray to, not a church. Sometimes they come in with flowers. They don’t favor Nikolai, although he is now in favor... It seems to me that everyone has forgotten who is standing here. Previously, flowers were left for Ivan the Terrible. The women are like that, wearing headscarves. Although why would he?
Meanwhile, the number of people on the alley increased: men in suits, smart girls. The orchestra died down. Will they really open two days earlier?! Medinsky is not visible in the crowd, but the presenter explains from a small podium: now an exhibition will open here for the anniversary of the Battle of Stalingrad. And then new people come, speeches begin about the exploits of our soldiers, trenches and so on... And neither Nikolai, nor Catherine, nor, especially, the kissed Ivan the Terrible, have anything to do with what is happening... The boys, bored during the officialdom, they begin to play and even sing - but no longer for the kings. They become some kind of background, a random frame, a photograph that no one will ever look at. And even a peasant fan films the marching cadets on camera.
EXPERT OPINIONS
Lev Ponomarev, human rights activist:
Of course, in the history of every state there are dark, tragic pages. Personally, I am against installing a bust of Stalin there. Too many people died in those years, and too many of their relatives are still alive. This is offensive. Yes, you can ask the question: “Really hide it?” There have been monstrous rulers in our history, like Ivan the Terrible. But when centuries pass, one can evaluate rulers simply as historical figures. For Stalin, too little time has now passed. I wouldn’t be surprised if this monument is covered with brilliant green more than once, as is now customary.
Yan Rachinsky, board member of the Memorial Society:
In my opinion, the figure of Stalin is quite clear, and the attitude towards her should be the same. Suffice it to say that in history there was no ruler more bloody towards his own people. But few people here truly understand what it was - repression, the victims of which were ordinary citizens. From there, the support for Stalin both among the older generation and among young people is ignorance. Of course, no one is going to erase Stalin from history, like any other figure. But it’s one thing to be a museum, where all eras should be represented, and another thing to be a public space where people will walk.
Andrey Klychkov, head of the Communist Party faction in the Moscow City Duma:
In our society there are different people and different opinions. Recent polls show that more than half of Muscovites assess Stalin's role in the Great Patriotic War and the formation of the state positively. If a decision is made to install a bust of Stalin, then we must respect those who decided it. Recently, the Moscow City Duma discussed the idea of installing a monument to Solzhenitsyn, and I fear that this figure will cause no less controversy in society.
Alexey Simonov, President of the Glasnost Defense Foundation:
The idea of the Alley of Rulers itself seems strange to me. Only in Tsarist Russia could one say that the state was ruled by one person. But if we think about it this way, then it was Stalin who led the country himself - and he himself bears responsibility for all the crimes of his time. And if you want to put up busts of all the rulers of the USSR, then why not a bust of Malenkov? Briefly directed? But Andropov also briefly led, and there is a bust of him. All this is evidence that the idea is stupid.
From Vladimir Lenin to Mikhail Gorbachev have replenished the Moscow “Alley of Rulers” in Petroverigsky Lane near the Museum of Military Uniforms. It was decided to open the bust of the first Russian President Boris Yeltsin later - on his birthday on February 1, 2018, said Deputy Minister of Culture Alexander Zhuravsky.
A single picket was held to protest against the opening of the monument to Stalin. A girl who introduced herself as a member of the “Decommunization” movement held a poster with lines from Anna Akhmatova’s poem “To the Defenders of Stalin”: “These are the ones who shouted: Barrabas / Let us go for the holiday, those / Who told Socrates to poison / Drink in the prison’s deaf close quarters. They should pour the same drink / into their innocently slandering mouths, / these dear lovers of torture, / experts in the production of orphans.”
As Natalya Zotova, a correspondent for the BBC Russian Service, writes on her Twitter, the guard tore out the poster several times, but the girl took out a new one.
The bust of Stalin was picketed by a girl with a quote from Akhmatova. The security guard snatched the poster from her, but every time she took out a new one pic.twitter.com/joIph5qzqm — Natasha Zotova (@natashazotova) September 22, 2017
“At the opening, invited politicians and historians tried their best to explain why erecting a monument to Stalin was the right decision,” Zotova writes in her report. Director Stanislav Govorukhin, who heads the State Duma Committee on Culture, noted that the French “do not erase either Marat or Robespierre from their history, and these were pure murderers.” He also stated that he would not be against a bust of Adolf Hitler in Germany's imaginary "Rulers' Alley".
The author of the sculptures, Zurab Tsereteli, noted that when working on monuments, he treated all leaders with equal respect. “History on paper is one thing, and I wanted people to know history and show it through the language of art,” he said. At the same time, the sculptor noted that his grandfather was a victim of Stalinist repressions. “My grandfather was also shot - how do I know whether my grandfather was right or wrong,” Tsereteli said.
The Russian Military Historical Society (RVIO), on whose initiative the “Alley of Rulers” was created, previously did not rule out that the installation of busts of Lenin and Joseph Stalin would cause discontent among liberals, while conservatives would be criticized for the installation of busts of Gorbachev and Yeltsin. RVIO executive director Vladislav Kononov stated that the organization does not seek to please anyone and works “for the sake of preserving history.”
Deputy Minister of Culture Alexander Zhuravsky, commenting on the installation of busts of Lenin and Stalin, emphasized that these figures are an integral part of history. “Of course, these leaders are assessed differently, but this is our history, which should not be forgotten. Fighting monuments is absolutely futile; history must be known in all its diversity,” TASS quotes Zhuravsky.
Press Secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov, whom journalists asked to comment on the feasibility of installing a bust of Stalin, said that this was the first time he had heard about the opening of the “Alley of Rulers” and did not know where it was located. At the same time, he did not agree with the opinion that the figure of Stalin causes too significant disagreements in society and therefore, perhaps, should not be represented in the general exhibition. “We are talking about everyone who led the state. Well, didn’t Stalin lead the state? Therefore, in this case the question is inappropriate,” Peskov said.
In addition to the busts of Lenin and Stalin, busts of Nikita Khrushchev, Leonid Brezhnev, Yuri Andropov, Konstantin Chernenko and Mikhail Gorbachev were installed on the “Alley of Rulers”. The Deputy Minister of Culture called the alley “a symbol of continuity... history without crossed out names, without forgotten historical events and periods.” According to Zhuravsky, the history of the alley does not end with the installation of busts of 20th-century rulers. “The alley goes into eternity, and I want to believe that it will be replenished for many centuries. As long as there is national history, there will be statesmen who will take their rightful place on this alley,” Zhuravsky said.
LDPR leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky at the opening of new busts called “not to offend anyone, because this is our past.” In his opinion, the “Alley of Rulers” could be supplemented with busts of Georgy Malenkov, who actually led the USSR for several months after Stalin’s death, and Vyacheslav Molotov.
Let us remind you that the “Alley of Rulers” opened in May 2017. Before the opening of the second stage, 33 busts of statesmen were installed on it - from Rurik to the head of the Provisional Government, Alexander Kerensky. At the same time, for some reason, a number of Russian rulers are not represented on the alley. Among them are the Kyiv princes Oleg, Igor and Svyatoslav, the first appanage prince of Moscow Daniil Alexandrovich, False Dmitry I, Vasily Shuisky, Catherine I.
Users of social networks, having carefully examined Tsereteli’s sculptures, noticed that many busts not only do not correspond to the surviving historical images, but also duplicate each other. And in the signatures on the pedestals there are negligence and errors. At the end of July, the alley accepted for temporary storage a monument to Ivan the Terrible, which was supposed to stand in the city of Alexandrov, Vladimir region, but was never opened for a number of reasons. The Commission on Monumental Art under the Moscow City Duma demanded that the monument be dismantled, calling it illegal: even temporary storage requires approval. The RVIO stated that the monument to Grozny was not erected in the “traditional sense”, but that the museum exhibit was only taken out onto the street.
Busts of Vladimir Lenin, Joseph Stalin, Nikita Khrushchev and other leaders of the Soviet state were unveiled on Friday in Moscow at “Alley of Rulers” 20th century, the opening of a bust of Boris Yeltsin is scheduled for February.
“Today we are opening the second stage (of the Alley). This is a symbol of the continuity of our history, a history without crossed out names.”, - said Deputy Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation Alexander Zhuravsky at the opening ceremony of the monuments.
He noted that “this story is not over, this Alley goes into eternity, and I want to believe that it will be replenished for many centuries”. "As long as there is national history, there will be statesmen who will occupy a worthy place on this Alley", - said Zhuravsky.
He said that the bust of the first President of the Russian Federation, Boris Yeltsin, will be erected on his birthday: “There is hope that on February 1 next year the bust of Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin will be inaugurated”.
“Alley of Rulers”
was created by the Russian Military Historical Society (RVIO) in a Moscow square, ennobled during the restoration of the building in Petroverigsky Lane, where the "Museum of Military Uniforms" RVIO is located.Previously, busts of 33 people who exercised supreme leadership of the country were installed here: from Rurik to Alexander Kerensky.
Since September 22, the Alley has been supplemented with busts of V. Lenin, I. Stalin, N. Khrushchev, Leonid Brezhnev, Yuri Andropov, Konstantin Chernenko, Mikhail Gorbachev.
Earlier, RVIO executive director Vladislav Kononov suggested in this regard that Russian liberals would criticize RVIO "for busts of Lenin and Stalin - they have not been opened anywhere in the last decade, and conservative forces may be criticized for busts of Gorbachev and Yeltsin". “And we,” Kononov noted, “work to preserve history and do not strive to please anyone.”.
In turn, scientific director of the RVIO Mikhail Myagkov said: “We work, we do not strive to please some momentary situation. We do our job and believe that it is useful for our generation and the younger generation who are just entering life.”.
/ Friday, September 22, 2017 /
In the capital on “Alley of Rulers”
On the eve of the twentieth century, busts of Soviet leaders Vladimir Lenin, Joseph Stalin, Nikita Khrushchev, Leonid Brezhnev, Yuri Andropov, Konstantin Chernenko and Mikhail Gorbachev appeared.
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The opening of the bust of Boris Yeltsin is scheduled for February, reports “ Interfax". . . . . .
The appearance of the monument to Stalin in Moscow was commented on by the press secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov. “Well, didn’t Stalin lead the state?”- he told reporters, adding that in general the question about the reasonableness of the appearance of this bust is inappropriate.
All monuments on “Alley of Rulers” created by sculptor Joseph Tsereteli.
Seven new busts by Zurab Tsereteli appeared on “Alley of Rulers” on Petroverigsky Lane in the center of Moscow. Now the number of monuments is “ Alley" increased to forty.
RBC reports this.
In particular, busts of Vladimir Lenin, Joseph Stalin, Nikita Khrushchev, Leonid Brezhnev, Yuri Andropov, Konstantin Chernenko and Mikhail Gorbachev were solemnly unveiled today. Previously, a gallery of sculptural portraits of people, "at one time or another, exercised supreme leadership of the country", ended with Alexander Kerensky, who headed the Provisional Government in 1917.
Deputy Minister of Culture Alexander Zhuravsky, who also participated in the opening of the busts, said that “Alley of Rulers” - This "a symbol of the continuity and continuity of our history, a history without crossed out names, without forgotten historical events and periods". He also noted that Lenin and Stalin can be assessed differently, but both of them are part of Russian history that should not be forgotten.
It is noted that immediately after the opening of the bust of Stalin, a woman appeared next to it with a poster quoting a poem by Anna Akhmatova, where “Stalin’s defenders” were called “dear lovers of torture” and “experts in the production of orphans.”
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Zhuravsky also said that the bust of Boris Yeltsin is planned to be unveiled at “Alley of Rulers”
on the birthday of the first president of Russia - February 1.
“Alley of Rulers”
was created by the Russian Military Historical Society (RVIO) in the park near the "Museum of Military Uniforms" RVIO. Until today, 33 busts of Russian rulers from Prince Rurik to Alexander Kerensky have been installed on the alley.
“Alley of Rulers” in Moscow has been replenished with new sculptures. Busts of Russian leaders of the 20th century were installed on it. .
On “Alley of Rulers”
Busts of Lenin, Stalin, Khrushchev and Brezhnev, as well as Andropov, Chernenko and Gorbachev were installed.
Before this, the alley already had sculptures of 33 rulers of the pre-Soviet period - from Rurik to Alexander Kerensky. And the bust of the country's next leader after Gorbachev, Boris Yeltsin, is expected to be unveiled in February, on his birthday.
Project “Alleys of rulers”
developed by the Russian Military Historical Society.
Busts of Soviet leaders from Vladimir Lenin to Mikhail Gorbachev filled the Moscow “Alley of Rulers” in Petroverigsky Lane near the Museum of Military Uniforms. It was decided to open the bust of the first Russian President Boris Yeltsin later - on his birthday, February 1, 2018.
In the Russian Military Historical Society (RVIO), on whose initiative it was created “Alley of Rulers” , previously did not rule out that the installation of busts of Lenin and Joseph Stalin would cause discontent among liberals, while conservatives would criticize for the installation of busts of Gorbachev and Yeltsin. RVIO executive director Vladislav Kononov stated that the organization does not seek to please anyone and works “for the sake of preserving history.”
“Today we are opening the second line: this is a symbol of the continuity of our history, a history without crossed out names. This history has not ended, this alley goes into eternity, and I want to believe that it will be replenished for many centuries, as long as there is a national history, there will be statesmen who will take their rightful place on this avenue", - said Deputy Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation Alexander Zhuravsky.
Let us remind you that “Alley of Rulers” opened in May 2017. Before the opening of the second stage, 33 busts of statesmen were installed on it - from Rurik to the head of the Provisional Government, Alexander Kerensky. At the same time, for some reason, a number of Russian rulers are not represented on the alley. Among them are the Kyiv princes Oleg, Igor and Svyatoslav, the first appanage prince of Moscow Daniil Alexandrovich, False Dmitry I, Vasily Shuisky, Catherine I.
Busts of USSR leaders were solemnly unveiled at “Alley of Rulers”
in the park near the Museum of Military Uniforms of the Russian Military Historical Society, reports the Agency “ Moscow ".
The ceremony was attended by Deputy Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation Alexander Zhuravsky, Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Culture, director Stanislav Govorukhin, President of the Russian Academy of Arts Zurab Tsereteli and LDPR leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky.
As Zhuravsky said, “Alley of Rulers”
will allow the names of historical leaders to be preserved in people's memory. He expressed hope that the collection will be replenished with new monuments to statesmen.
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It has already featured busts of 33 Russian leaders. In addition, the family tree of the Rurik family and branches of the Romanov dynasty was imprinted in granite.
In the summer of 2017, a monument to Ivan the Terrible was added to the collection. The sculpture was sent to the capital from Aleksandrov. It was supposed to be installed in the Vladimir region, but was dismantled due to heated public debate.
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"Indeed, now we are witnessing an important historical event. We are opening the second part “Alleys of rulers” , without erasing any names from history. The story is not over. This alley goes into eternity, and, I hope, will be replenished with new monuments to worthy statesmen.", - said A. Zhuravsky.
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Previously, busts of 33 figures were installed who, at one time or another, exercised the supreme leadership of the country - from the grand dukes of the period of formation of the centralized state to members of the Provisional Government of 1917. . . . . .
“Alley of Rulers” , located in the center of Moscow, was replenished with busts of state leaders - from Vladimir Lenin to Mikhail Gorbachev. The bust of the first President of the Russian Federation, Boris Yeltsin, will be installed in February.
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These people made responsible decisions on a strategic and tactical scale; the fate of the country largely depended on their position and will.The event was attended by the Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Culture, director Stanislav Govorukhin and the President of the Russian Academy of Arts Zurab Tsereteli, who embodied the images in bronze. Representatives of political parties represented in the State Duma also took part in the opening of the Alley.
Zurab Tsereteli said that a bust of Boris Yeltsin will also be installed on the Alley. The sculptor shared that the bust is already ready, the pedestal is prepared, but the installation has been postponed to February next year, the event will be timed to coincide with the birthday of the first President of the Russian Federation.
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The first part was opened in May 2017 “Alley of Rulers” , where 33 busts of rulers are installed - from the times of the ancient Russian state until 1917, including monuments to Rurik, Ivan the Terrible, Peter I and many others.
The scientific director of the Russian Military Education Society, Mikhail Myagkov, said that the idea of creating the Alley does not have any political component: it has an educational function, open school lessons can be held here. The installed monuments, according to specialists of the Russian Military Historical Society, indicate the linearity of history, this is a reminder of who ruled the country and when, making not only negative, but also positive decisions.
The bust of the first Russian President Boris Yeltsin will be installed on his birthday, February 1, on “Alley of Rulers” in the park near the Museum of Military Uniforms of the Russian Military Historical Society (RVIO). The author of the busts, President of the Russian Academy of Arts Zurab Tsereteli, announced this at the grand opening of the “Alley of Rulers of the 20th Century”.
"We decided that the bust of Boris Yeltsin will appear on “Alla of Rulers” on the president's birthday in February. He's already ready", - said Z. Tsereteli., - TASS quotes Zhuravsky.
Press Secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov, whom journalists asked to comment on the feasibility of installing a bust of Stalin, said that this was the first time he had heard about the opening “Alleys of rulers”
and doesn't know where she is. At the same time, he did not agree with the opinion that the figure of Stalin causes too significant disagreements in society and therefore, perhaps, should not be represented in the general exhibition. “We are talking about everyone who led the state. Well, didn’t Stalin lead the state? Therefore, in this case the question is inappropriate.”, - said Peskov.
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The Deputy Minister of Culture named the alley "a symbol of continuity... history without crossed out names, without forgotten historical events and periods". According to Zhuravsky, the history of the alley does not end with the installation of busts of 20th-century rulers. .
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The author of all the sculptures was the President of the Russian Academy of Arts, Zurab Tsereteli. He noted that when working on monuments, he treated all leaders with equal respect. “History on paper is one thing, and I wanted people to know history and show it through the language of art.”, - said Tsereteli. LDPR leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky at the opening of new busts called "don't offend anyone, because this is our past". In his opinion, “Alley of Rulers”
could be supplemented with busts of Georgy Malenkov, who actually led the USSR for several months after the death of Stalin, and Vyacheslav Molotov.
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Users of social networks, having carefully examined Tsereteli’s sculptures, noticed that many busts not only do not correspond to the surviving historical images, but simply duplicate each other. And in the signatures on the pedestals there are negligence and errors.
President of the Russian Academy of Arts, sculptor Zurab . . . . . stated that he is ready to create a bust of Russian President Vladimir Putin to be placed on “Alley of Rulers” in Moscow. He told reporters about this at the unveiling ceremony of busts of Soviet leaders.
“I have already made a monument to V. Putin, you don’t go to museums and don’t look. And to install his bust in “Alley of Rulers” - if they (the authorities - note by the Moscow Agency ") they will want to, yes. It doesn't depend on me", - said Z. . . . . .
At the same time, the sculptor noted that it is too early to make a bust, since the president is in “good health.”
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A bust of Stalin was installed in the center of MoscowBusts of Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Stalin appeared on the "Alley of Rulers" in central Moscow - a string of sculptural images of Russian princes, tsars and Soviet leaders - on Friday. At the opening, invited politicians and historians struggled to explain why erecting a monument to Stalin was the right decision.
Monuments to Stalin have begun to appear in many Russian cities in recent years. Most often, these are small busts that were installed by local residents - on the territory of schools, local museums, and regional branches of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation. However, until this day, the monument to Stalin had not been opened with such pomp - with the participation of an orchestra, high-ranking cultural officials, politicians and artists.
The creation of the “Alley of Rulers” was invented by the Russian Military Historical Society, which is headed by the Minister of Culture Vladimir Medinsky. He himself did not come to unveil the monument to Stalin on Friday.
Now there are 40 busts on the alley - from Rurik to Kerensky, and now Lenin and Gorbachev.
The creators of the alley insisted that all this is Russian history - as it is, without embellishment. As part of this approach, a brand new, golden monument to Lenin stood almost opposite Nicholas II, who was shot by the Bolsheviks on Friday.
Illustration copyright Korotayev Artem/TASS“We must treat our leaders in such a way that they were truly ours,” Mikhail Myagkov, scientific director of the Military Historical Society, tried to reconcile everyone.
“The French do not erase either Marat or Robespierre from their history, and these were pure murderers,” shrugged the director and chairman of the Duma Committee on Culture Stanislav Govorukhin. He even assured that he would not be offended by the bust of Adolf Hitler on the imaginary “Alley of Rulers” in Germany. Questions about perpetuating the memory of the tyrant took, perhaps, only the creator of this and other busts, Zurab Tsereteli, by surprise.
“I was little when they were in charge, I played football, no one bothered me... I do art. My grandfather was also shot - how do I know whether my grandfather was right or wrong,” he explained.
The speakers continued to make excuses even when the official part of the opening began and questions about Stalin ceased. “History is always connected with blood. Will the Ukrainians erect a monument to Poroshenko? Probably, after all, yes,” LDPR leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky reasoned into the microphone. “The history textbook should contain facts about what happened when, and everyone should give their own assessments.”
Representatives of the Russian Military Historical Society called the alley an “open-air museum,” and Elena Drapeko, a deputy from A Just Russia, suggested treating the monuments as an invitation to the people’s court: “Each of the rulers must remember that he will end up on this pillar, and whether it is a pillar of shame or glory, depending on how he rules."
Illustration copyright Korotayev Artem/TASS Image caption Already during the opening of the monuments, protesters appeared near the bust of Stalin“The story here is presented with embellishments: such a grand opening, a place among the legitimate rulers - this is unacceptable,” the girl with the poster objected to the officials.
She came to picket the opening of the bust of Stalin, holding in her hands a portrait of Anna Akhmatova with a quote from her poem “To the Defenders of Stalin”: “These are those who shouted: Barrabas // Release us for the holiday, those // Who ordered Socrates poison // To drink in prison desolate cramped space."
Olga from the “Decommunization” movement, as the girl introduced herself, said that her grandfather was repressed, after which her grandmother was left alone with eight children in her arms. So she has personal scores to settle with Stalin.
Every now and then a local security guard approached the picketer, tore out and carried away the poster. The girl smiled and took another one out of her bag. There were no police visible on the site.
Orthodox activist Dmitry Enteo stood nearby. “When the Ministry of Culture solemnly unveils monuments to those who drowned Russia in blood, we could not pass by,” he said. “This is a clear sign that the authorities send us: by justifying repressions against our ancestors, they thereby justify repressions against us today. And our children will live in a society in which all this will be justified."
The last pedestal on the alley remains empty for now: in February next year, a bust of the first Russian President Boris Yeltsin should appear there. According to Tsereteli, the sculpture is already ready and will be installed closer to Yeltsin’s birthday.
“Would you be ready to sculpt Putin?” - journalists pressed the sculptor.
“It’s you who don’t go to exhibitions! It’s been a long time!” - Tsereteli reassured them.
“And me!” Vladimir Zhirinovsky, who was standing next to him, perked up. “And Zyuganov - maybe he will finally calm down. And Mironov!”
