The tallest monument to Stalin. Soviet monumental propaganda. Monuments to Stalin

Russia - 93
Ukraine - 10
Georgia - 35
South Ossetia - 3
Lithuania - 3
Estonia - 2
Azerbaijan - 2
Belarus - 5
Kazakhstan - 3
Tajikistan - 2
Uzbekistan - 2
Czech Republic - 5
China - 3
Netherlands - 3
USA - 2

Monuments to Stalin were also erected in Belgium, Hungary, India, Albania, Mongolia, Germany, Slovakia....

In the post-Soviet period, old monuments to Stalin were restored and new ones were installed, primarily in many cities and towns of Georgia (Kutaisi, Zestafoni, Zemo-Alvani, Sighnaghi, Dusheti, Khashuri, Tkibuli and other places), Dagestan (Chokh), North and South Ossetia (Vladikavkaz, Mozdok, Beslan, Chikola, Ardon, Mizur, Digora, Alagir, Zmeyskaya, Nogir, Kadgaron).

In addition to North Ossetia, monuments to Stalin in Russia are installed in public places in Moscow, Vladimir, Sochi, Novocherkassk, Nizhny Novgorod, Atkarsk, Mirny, Chelyabinsk (school-gymnasium No. 2), in the village of Taiginka (Kyshtym Chelyabinsk region), now the monument from Taiginka has been moved to the city of Satka, Orenburg, Tambov, Chita, Penza, on Oktyabrskaya Square in the city of Ishim, in Vyritsa (Leningrad Region), in the Tyumen Region, in the museum of the Skuratovo railway station in Tula region and other places.

Most of the modern monuments to Stalin are in North Ossetia, as well as newly discovered monuments in Orenburg, Penza, pp. Sadovoe and Tambov, are typical busts cast from concrete according to the model of the Ossetian sculptor M. N. Dzboev.

IN Central Museum Great Patriotic War on Poklonnaya Hill In Moscow there is a bust of Stalin as one of the commanders of the Red Army. The issue of installing a monument to Stalin on Poklonnaya Hill in Moscow was discussed. In 2009, according to the chief architect of Moscow Alexander Kuzmin, it was planned to return the monument to Stalin to the lobby of the Moscow metro station "Kurskaya", but the former mayor of Moscow Yu. M. Luzhkov denied this statement.

In Kaliningrad in 2005, on the stele of the memorial to 1,200 guardsmen of the 11th Guards Army who died during the storming of Koenigsberg, the Medal “For the Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945” was engraved. with Stalin's profile.

In the village of Starye Burasy, Saratov region, there are two monuments to Lenin and Stalin standing next to each other. full height. It is unknown whether these are new monuments or those preserved from Soviet times.

In the village of Konevo Arkhangelsk region near the local substation there is a life-size monument to Stalin. Most likely, this is not a new monument, but an old one, preserved since the 1950s.

In the early 2000s (in 2001 and 2003) there were several attempts to install a bust of Stalin on the central square of Makhachkala, for which permission was received from the city administration, but it subsequently revoked it. In 2005, a memorial plaque with a bas-relief of Stalin was installed on one of the buildings located on the Station Square of Makhachkala, in memory of the stay of I.V. Stalin at the Port-Petrovsky Station in 1920.

In the village of Lashmanka, Cheremshansky district of Tatarstan, there is a full-length monument to Stalin (model from the 1930s).

In the village of Dolina, Ussuri District, Primorsky Territory, busts of Lenin and Stalin were installed in a private courtyard called the “Alley of Communism”.

On May 9, 2012, a bust of J.V. Stalin was installed in the center of the village of Novokayakent, Kayakent region of Dagestan.

Outside of Georgia, Russia, South Ossetia, monuments to Stalin have been installed or restored in some places in Belarus (in the cities of Slutsk, Svisloch), Lithuania (in the city of Druskininkai), Azerbaijan (in the villages of Alibeyli, Gakh district and Astrokhanovka, Oguz region), Ukraine, as well as Albania , the Netherlands (in the cities of Amsterdam, The Hague) and in many cities and towns of China (in the cities of Harbin, Shenyang, Changchun, etc.).

On May 5, 2010, in the Ukrainian Zaporozhye, communists erected a bust of Stalin on the territory of the headquarters of the regional party committee. This caused a mixed reaction both among the citizens of Zaporozhye and in Ukraine as a whole. The bust was blown up by unknown assailants on December 31, 2010. The communists restored the monument to Stalin for the next anniversary October revolution. On November 7, 2011, the monument to Stalin was unveiled in its original location. Along with him, a monument to Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya was erected.

In June 2012, a monument to Stalin was erected in Bratislava (Slovakia) on Stura Square

Near Odessa under open air The Museum of Monuments of the USSR was opened, in which monuments to Lenin and Stalin are located.. On the eve of Victory Day over Germany, on May 8, 2013, a monument was opened - a bust of Stalin in Yakutsk, on the territory of one of the diamond mining enterprises of the republic. It is the third in Yakutia. The first was opened in 2005 in the city of Mirny, and the second in 2009 in the village of Amga, Amginsky district of Yakutia. The opening of the monument caused protests from human rights activists and the local Yakut and Lena diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church.

On September 1, 2013, in a solemn ceremony on the initiative of public organization“Stallineli” unveiled a monument to Stalin in Telavi (Georgia). However, on September 7, city authorities demanded that the monument be dismantled within five days. The monument was dismantled on December 31, 2014.

In Volgograd, a new monument was erected on the territory of the Prichal Recreation Center.

On February 4, 2015, in Crimea, in Yalta, on the territory of the Livadia sanatorium, on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the Yalta Conference, a monument to the “Great Three” Stalin, Churchill and Roosevelt was erected.

Monuments to Stalin. Part 1.

Stalin's personality today is extraordinary and ambiguous. A personality whose role in the history of the twentieth century is quite difficult to overestimate.

Some consider him a tyrant who destroyed many lives (mass repressions, great terror 1937, etc.). Some people associate Stalin's death with the end of terror and mass repressions and the release of millions of innocent people from prison.

Others consider him a hero, a great leader (he created a powerful state capable of competing on equal terms with the United States, made him a nuclear power, won the Great Patriotic War etc.)

The first monument to J.V. Stalin was made by sculptor M.Ya. Kharlamov in 1929, on the eve of the celebration of Stalin’s 50th birthday. Monuments to Stalin of significant size, as a rule, were installed in the center of the city, village, town on the main street, square, often bearing the name of Stalin himself, near administrative buildings.

In Moscow, a monument to the leader was even installed in the altar of an Orthodox church

In 1935, on Bolshaya Ordynka in the Intercession Cathedral of the Marfo-Mariinsky Convent, the House of Sanitary Education was opened. They set up a stage in the altar, placing a statue of Stalin in the High Place.

Stalin was often depicted next to Lenin. The monument was called "Lenin and Stalin in Gorki". Such monuments with minor modifications were in many cities Soviet Union.

After the 20th Congress of the CPSU, Stalin began to be removed from the twin monuments, leaving Lenin alone. In some places such monuments have survived to this day.

After the XXII Congress of the CPSU in October 1961, at which it was decided to remove Stalin’s body from the Mausoleum (burial took place on October 31, 1961) and rename the city of Stalingrad to Volgograd, almost all of the numerous monuments to Stalin that stood throughout the USSR were destroyed and dismantled as part of the final de-Stalinization.

The most famous monuments Stalin

MOSCOW, RUSSIA

Monument to Stalin at the All-Russian Agricultural Exhibition in Moscow

The monument was erected in 1939 for the opening of the All-Union Agricultural Exhibition (VSKhV) in front of the Mechanization and Electrification of Agriculture pavilion (now Pavilion No. 32, better known as the Space Pavilion).

The height of the sculpture is 15 meters, the height of the pedestal is 10 meters

The monument was dismantled in 1951 in accordance with the post-war plan for the reconstruction of the All-Russian Agricultural Exhibition.

After the opening of the exhibition, a fountain appeared on the site of the old monument.

A new monument was supposed to appear on Kolkhoz Square, but in 1953 its place was taken by the ground floor of the Stone Flower fountain.

Monument to Stalin in the Muzeon Art Park in Moscow

At the 1939 World Exhibition in New York, monuments to V.I. Lenin and I.V. Stalin, made in 1938 from pink granite, were exhibited. After the exhibition, the monument to V. I. Lenin was erected in Kyiv on Bessarabskaya Square, and the monument to I. V. Stalin was first in Moscow in Izmailovsky Park(then PKiO named after Stalin), during the “cult of personality” it was removed, and then, by decision of the Moscow City Council of People's Deputies of October 24, 1991, it was moved to the Park of Arts.

The monument to Stalin was a small copy of the monument in Stalingrad on the Volga-Don canal. Later, such copies appeared in many cities of the USSR.

LENINGRAD, RUSSIA

Monuments to Stalin at the Baltic Station and on Poklonnaya Hill

Monuments to Stalin on Obukhov Defense Avenue and Srednyaya Rogatka

All of them were installed for the leader’s 70th anniversary in 1949 and dismantled after the 20th Congress of the CPSU

VOLGOGRAD (STALINGRAD), RUSSIA

Monument to Stalin in Stalingrad on the Volgo-Don Canal

The height of the sculpture is 24 meters, the height of the pedestal is 30 meters.

In 1961, Stalingrad was renamed Volgograd; 10 days later, the monument was dismantled during one night. Further fate sculpture of the leader of the peoples is unknown. After that, for 12 years there was an empty pedestal on the embankment.

In 1969, a decision was made to install a monument to Vladimir Ilyich Lenin on the pedestal.

The height of the sculpture is 27 meters, the height of the pedestal is 30 meters.

TRANS-SIBERIAN HIGHWAY, RUSSIA

Bust of Stalin at 7031 (now 6999) km of the Trans-Siberian Railway west of the village. Amazar, Trans-Baikal Territory

The bas-relief was built during the construction of the second tracks of the Trans-Siberian Railway by unknown prisoners in 1936. The base of the bust was a stone outlier ~6 m high, located on the top of a ridge at the bend of the railway. The materials used were stone, brick, iron reinforcement and concrete. The lime-covered bust, ~3 m high, was clearly visible from the line of the iron road.

Approaching the location of the monument, train drivers sounded a warning whistle so that passengers could see the monument to the leader.
For Stalin’s 70th birthday (December 21, 1949), spotlights began to illuminate the bust at night. Excursion groups often visited here, and a ceremonial reception for pioneers took place.
On the day of Stalin's funeral, a rally of passengers from two oncoming trains took place.
In March 1956 it was announced that there was a threat of collapse of the rock mass with the bust on railway and on September 20, 1956, the bust was blown up.

YEREVAN, ARMENIA

Monument to Stalin in Yerevan, Armenia

The monument was erected in 1950

In 1967, the monument was dismantled, Stalin was removed from the pedestal, and Mother Armenia was erected

Monument "Mother Armenia" in Haghtanak (Victory) Park in Yerevan

Opened in honor of the victory of the Soviet Union in the Great Patriotic War in 1967

The height of the statue is 22 meters, the height of the paste is 32 meters

At the base of the monument there is a museum of the Ministry of Defense, which displays exhibits from the Great Patriotic and Karabakh wars: personal belongings, weapons, documents and portraits of heroes. Around the pedestal are displayed samples of weapons of that time.

MINSK, BELARUS

Monument to Stalin on Central (Oktyabrskaya) Square in Minsk, Belarus

The pedestal of the monument to Stalin on the Central Square in Minsk was surrounded by Belarusian national ornaments.
It served as a reminder that Soviet Belarus owes its creation to a decisive extent to Comrade Stalin, People's Commissar for Nationalities.

On November 3, 1961, the monument was literally “razed to the ground.” In the evening, the square was cordoned off along the entire perimeter, and about two hundred onlookers watched what was happening from the park in front of the House of Officers, a residential building on the street. Engels and nearby courtyards. The monument was hooked to the torso with a hand-thick steel cable and two tank tractors got to work. On the first attempt, although the engines were roaring at full speed, the monument did not even sway - the tank tracks helplessly scratched the paving stones with which the square was paved. The second and third attempts also did not bring success. After some time, the monument to the leader was eventually shaken and toppled, and the pedestal was blown up and taken out in pieces. The resulting pit was concreted. By morning, it was even difficult to find the place where the monument stood on the square, and on November 7, a military parade and demonstration of workers took place on the renovated square.

BUDAPEST, HUNGARY

Monument to Stalin in Budapest, Hungary

It was installed in December 1951 as a gift from the Hungarian people on Stalin's seventieth birthday (December 21, 1949).

The height of the bronze statue of Stalin is 8 meters, the height of the pedestal is 17 meters

The monument stood on Dózsa György Avenue, destroyed on October 24, 1956 by a crowd during the Hungarian Uprising of 1956.

On October 23, 1956, a crowd of rebel Hungarians destroyed the statue, leaving only his boots, in which the Hungarian flag was hoisted. Bronze inscription "Leader, teacher and best friend of the Hungarian people" was torn from its pedestal.
After the events of 1956, the empty pedestal was reconstructed and for a long time was used as a government platform during festive processions and demonstrations.
In the early 1990s, the remains of the pedestal-tribune were finally dismantled.

In 2006, in the socialist era sculpture park in Budapest (Memento Park), the brick pedestal and the lower part of the sculpture - Stalin's boots - were reproduced in a reduced form.

Stalin's chopped off boots became one of the unique symbols of the Hungarian revolution

GORI, GEORGIA

Monument to Stalin in Gori, Georgia

Installed in 1952

The height of the statue is 6 meters, the height of the 3-tier pedestal is 9 meters.

They wanted to remove the monument in 1956 and even tried to do it, but the population of Gori pitched tents and guarded the monument day and night.

On the night of June 24-25, 2010, the monument to Stalin was dismantled for subsequent relocation. In its place a monument dedicated to those killed during the August 2008 war will be erected.

The dismantling of the statue was organized at night to avoid protests from the local population, some of whom are categorically against moving the monument. At the same time, the surrounding area was cordoned off, and journalists were not allowed to film.

ULAN BATOR, MONGOLIA

Monument to Stalin in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

The monument was erected in 1949.

After the 20th Congress of the CPSU, despite the personal request of Nikita Khrushchev, the Mongolian government refused to dismantle the monument. The monument stood opposite the Mongolian National Library up to 1990.

The dismantled statue was sprinkled with milk and milk vodka. This was done so that “the spirit of Stalin, thus appeased, would never return.” The sculpture was sent for storage to the library's utility rooms, where it was kept in a specially made wooden box. The monument's pedestal was also dismantled.

In 2001, a four-meter statue of Stalin was purchased by an entrepreneur and installed in the summer cafe "Ismus".

In June 2005, in its place, a monument to Stalin was inaugurated as a monument to the Mongolian scientist B. Rinchin.

TASHKENT, UZBEKISTAN

Monument to Stalin in Revolution Square in Tashkent, Uzbekistan

(Mourning meeting in March 1953)

The monument was opened in the late 40s for the anniversary of Stalin

In 1962, the monument was dismantled, and the pedestal was used for the monument “Peace, Labor, Freedom...” This monument was popularly nicknamed the “Russian-Uzbek dictionary.” It stood until 1968. From 1968 to 1993 there was a monument to Marx on this site.

On August 31, 1994, on the eve of the third anniversary of the independence of Uzbekistan, the square was renamed “Amir Temur Square”, and a new monument was opened in its center - a bronze equestrian monument to Tamerlane.

In November 2009, the old elms and plane trees, many of which were more than 100 years old and which were a symbol of the square, were cut down by decision of the authorities and everything became bare again.

ODESSA, UKRAINE

Monument to Stalin in Odessa, Ukraine

IN post-war years in the city garden they created a giant model of the USSR on the lawn. And in the middle stood a monument to the leader. Odessa residents who lived at that time still remember the post-war years with the words: “It was hungry to live. But it was fun.” Terrible war was behind.

PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC

Monument to Stalin in Prague ("The people of Czechoslovakia - their liberator")

Nikita Khrushchev came to the opening of the monument and presented it to the creators of the Order of Lenin.

The weight of the monument is 14,000 tons, length - 22, width - 12 and height - 15 meters, consists of 32 thousand stone fragments

After the 20th Congress of the CPSU, at which the First Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee N.S. Khrushchev sharply criticized I.V. Stalin, it was decided to dismantle the monument. In 1962 sculptural composition was blown up. After the first explosion, only the granite facing blocks crumbled, exposing the reinforced concrete structure. In order to completely destroy the monument, a second and third explosion was required. The latter was held on the eve of the celebration of the 45th anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution, on November 7, 1962. The operation to eliminate the sculpture cost 4.5 million crowns, while construction cost 140 million (according to some sources, 260 million crowns).

In 1991 in Prague, during the General Czechoslovak Exhibition, on the site of the monument to Stalin, it was decided to place a giant metronome on the old pedestal. The length of the rod was 20 meters. According to the original plan, the metronome was supposed to be dismantled at the end of the exhibition, but then the city authorities decided to leave the attraction.

Club "For Old Prague" performed with unusual idea: add to list historical monuments, protected by the state, the base of the former monument to Joseph Stalin. The club's proposal stems from the fact that the magistrate is mulling over the idea of ​​opening an Oceanarium at 250 sea ​​fish, under which, in particular, the granite platform of the monument will be used.

Not everyone knows that there are quite a lot of monuments in the world Russian leaders And famous personalities, erected in Europe or the USA. Even monuments to Lenin still stand, and not just anywhere, but in the bohemian region of America. How Russian monuments ended up so far from their native lands is in our material.

The largest posthumous monument to Stalin stood over Prague for eight years, and stories about it are still alive today

The decision to install the largest monument in the world (this was precisely the task) was made back in the early fifties. The preparation was very long and serious: in the competition for best project 54 sculptors took part. The winner was the not-so-lucky Otakar Shvets with a multi-figure group: Stalin, with a book in his hand, leads a small column of workers, peasants, intellectuals and soldiers.

To build the bulk, it was necessary to cut 260 granite cubes with a side of 2 m - suitable quarry found with difficulty in Czechoslovakia. The total height of the monument is 30 meters (ten floors of pre-war construction), the figure of Stalin is 15, the length of his foot is 2 meters. It was also necessary to strengthen the high Letna nad Vltava hill so that it could support a heavy structure weighing 14,000 tons: concrete blocks were placed in the thickness of the mountain, forming underground halls. Until the end preparatory work the Generalissimo himself did not live to see it.

Construction was difficult and gave rise to many disputes. The country's leaders constantly called the sculptor to give more and more explanations. Shortly before the opening, Shvets could not withstand the pressure and committed suicide. His name was not on the monument, but at the opening it was announced that the author of the monument was the people of Czechoslovakia. On May 1, 1955, Khrushchev arrived at the celebrations; the condemnation of the personality cult was still ahead. And the creator people gave the monument the name “queue for sausage.”

In 1956, Khrushchev announced a report at the 20th Congress of the CPSU on the debunking of the cult of Stalin, and in Prague his figure towered right up until 1962. It was possible to destroy the powerful boulder only with the third explosion. In 1991, a metronome, also gigantic, 24 meters high, was installed on the preserved pedestal.

TO former monument, and now the metronome is successfully used to guide tourists - the place is very popular.

Lenin in Seattle - the journey of a monument from Europe to America

A monument to Lenin came to the center of the American city of Seattle with adventures worthy of a film adaptation. A five-meter figure of the leader of the world proletariat was installed in the Slovak city of Poprad in 1988. Sculptor Emil Venkov depicted Lenin walking through the flames. But the figure did not stand for long - a year later socialism fell in Czechoslovakia, and quite soon they decided to dismantle the monument. It was too big for the museum and ended up in a pile of scrap metal.

This is where the teacher discovered him in English from the USA Lewis Carpenter. The American bought it from the city bronze monument at a reasonable price - for 13 thousand dollars, and then transported it to his homeland. Lenin's trip across the ocean cost a considerable amount - 42 thousand dollars, Carpenter had to go into debt.

And the monument came to the square a year after the death of its savior in a car accident in 1994. Now tourists photograph the bronze Ilyich, and at Christmas he is decorated with garlands. And on cold winter days they insulate with a hat and scarf. Lenin also had to play the role of John Lennon - in makeup and with a guitar.

“Grateful Bulgaria to the Tsar Liberator”

Alexander II is held in high esteem in Sofia and a monument to him is erected on Tsar Liberator Square, in front of the building People's Assembly. An equestrian bronze figure of the emperor, 4.5 meters high, is installed on a powerful two-level pedestal made of polished granite, created by the famous Italian sculptor Arnoldo Zocchi. The total height of the monument is 12 meters. The construction work lasted more than two years - from April 1901 to September 1903, and the consecration took place in 1907. The inscription on the base reads: “Bulgaria is grateful to the Tsar the Liberator.” Funds for the creation consisted of a contribution from the municipality of Sofia, the personal funds of the Bulgarian Prince Ferdinand, and numerous public donations.

During World War II, the monument was heavily damaged by bombing. In 2013, it was completely renovated, the restoration cost 1.5 million leva (750 thousand euros). In many cities of the country there are squares and streets named in honor of the Tsar Liberator. In all guidebooks, the Sofia monument tops the list of must-see attractions.

The last Russian Tsar Nicholas II is especially revered in Serbia

At the Belgrade cemetery Novo Groblje there is a Russian pantheon, revered by local residents and the large Russian diaspora; tourists also willingly visit it. In 1935, a monument was erected here over the crypt with the remains of Russian soldiers and officers who died during the First World War on the Thessaloniki (Macedonian) front, during the siege of Belgrade by the Austrian army, who died in hospitals from 1916 to 1918. In total, the remains of 387 people are buried in the crypt-chapel.

Above the burial, on a high pedestal in the shape of a projectile, stands the figure of an angel with a sword. The inscription on the pedestal reads: “ Everlasting memory Emperor Nicholas II and 2,000,000 Russian soldiers great war" The author of the monument is sculptor Roman Verkhovsky, and funds for its creation were raised by Russian emigrants and citizens of Yugoslavia.

And in 2014, on the 100th anniversary of the First World War, a bronze monument to Nicholas II, 7.5 meters high and weighing more than 40 tons, was erected in the center of Belgrade in the Kosovo Girl’s Square. The sculpture was erected with funds from the Russian Military Historical Society with the assistance of Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic and the city authorities of Belgrade.

In the fall of 2017, the square was renamed Alexander Park - in memory of the participants of the ensemble. Alexandrov, who died in a plane crash near Sochi in 2016.

Peter I is the most respected Russian Tsar in the Netherlands

Peter I, the Tsar Carpenter, came to the Dutch town of Zaandam (formerly Saardam). late XVII century to study the craft of shipbuilding. In a small, or rather, tiny house of the blacksmith Kist, he lived while he comprehended science - with his head and hands. Are there many monarchs in world history who knew how to build a sea vessel with their own hands?

The wooden house made of ship planks has been preserved thanks to the stone foundation placed under it and the dome-pavilion. Tourists come here in droves; Russian emperors Alexander I and Alexander II, Dutch kings, and Napoleon Bonaparte visited it.

In 1912, the figure of the carpenter king, cast in bronze by the sculptor Leopold Bernstam, was installed in the central square of Damplain. The monument was donated to the city by Nicholas II and is the second casting based on the original model. The first stood on the Promenade des Anglais in St. Petersburg from 1910 to 1919; the Bolsheviks melted down the Russian original into its smaller version, which was in Summer Garden. And in 1996, the Netherlands gave St. Petersburg a copy of Transandam’s Peter the Carpenter.

The cast figure was transported from Paris by train to Amsterdam, further along the water, since the city’s bridges could not withstand such a weight, and there was no crane suitable for unloading at the railway station.

After the 20th Congress of the CPSU in 1956, the USSR began to demolish the monument to Stalin - only a few survived, from most of them only photographs remained. Read about how the leader of peoples was immortalized in sculpture in this article.

Here's what they wrote about this sculpture:

“In this sculpture, made in 1939, the artist revealed an image of high humanity, humanity, and warmth. In his left hand, Stalin holds a roll of paper, his right hand, bent at the elbow, is tucked over the side of his uniform. The hem of the overcoat covers the legs, smoothly flowing around the body. For this monument, highly appreciated Soviet people, the artist was awarded Stalin Prize first degree"
(excerpt from the book " Sculptural monuments and monuments in Moscow", N. Sobolevsky, 1947)

The same monument in the courtyard of the Tretyakov Gallery

This sculpture by S.D. Merkulova, 3.5 meters high, made in red granite, was installed in front of the State Tretyakov Gallery in 1939. It is interesting that earlier there was a sculpture of Lenin in the same place, and then a sculpture of Tretyakov appeared, which exists to this day.

“Compared to the monuments of the outport and the All-Union Agricultural Exhibition, in this sculptural image of I.V. Stalin, the artist modeled Stalin’s facial features more carefully and sharply, paid more attention to details and portrait resemblance, synthesized the image less, making it simpler and more understandable to the mass audience” (excerpt from the book “Sculptures and Monuments in Moscow”, N. Sobolevsky, 1947 G.).

Here's what they wrote about this sculpture of Stalin:

“One of the perfect works of Soviet sculpture depicting Stalin is a granite monument created by S.D. Merkulov for the outport of the Moscow-Volga canal.

The features of the leader of the socialist Motherland are conveyed in this work with great expressiveness. Comrade Stalin, dressed in an overcoat, stands with his hand over the side of his military suit in a characteristic gesture. The frontally deployed figure of the leader contains in its clear completeness enormous power realistic truth about who has the best thoughts and aspirations Soviet people and all working humanity, about the one whom poets, ashugs, storytellers glorify, about the one who leads the great socialist power from victory to victory” (excerpt from the book “Sculptures and Monuments in Moscow”, N. Sobolevsky, 1947)

Lenin and Stalin in Gorki. 1937 Work of Ukrainian sculptors Yu.I. Belostotsky, G.L. Pivovarov and E.M. Friedman. Kharkiv. The monument was located at the beginning of the central alley in the Park named after. Gorky in Kharkov,

The first copy of this monument was installed in 1937 in Moscow, in the park of the Khimki railway station.
This monument was recommended from above as a model, was cast from concrete and was installed in almost all regional centers of the USSR. It shows two leaders sitting on a bench. The fact is that this monument was a success at an art exhibition in Moscow in 1938. According to rumors, Stalin himself liked him, and in different cities they hastened to please the leader of peoples. The installation of this paired monument began en masse in the late 1930s. On this monument, Lenin was depicted sitting in a relaxed pose, crossing his legs, left hand behind Stalin's back, and Stalin was depicted bending over slightly, holding in his left hand some sheets of paper (possibly a map), going down to his feet. There were similar monuments, slightly different from the original. So, for example, in Kirovograd, at an agricultural exhibition, the leaders were depicted a little differently: Lenin’s legs were side by side, and not one on top of the other, and Stalin with a certain plan on his right knee. In the second variation of this monument, an open book appears in Lenin’s hand. In the third variation of the monument, the leaders talk to each other without any papers in front of them.

In the post-war years, a second version of the monument “Lenin and Stalin in Gorki” appeared. It was a copy of the previous one, with the only difference being that Lenin’s legs were covered with an overcoat, while Stalin’s overcoat was thrown over his left shoulder; Stalin's legs are also covered. This option was slightly less common than the previous two. Such sculptures were located, in particular, in Alchevsk, Bendery, Grodno, Kirovograd, Lutsk, Minsk, Odessa, Syzran and other cities.

Monument to Stalin on the central square. Gori, Georgia. Sculptor Shota Mikitidze, architects Archil and Zakhary Kurdiani. Installed in 1952

Survived during N.S. Khrushchev’s campaign to dismantle monuments to Stalin. As Irakli Kandareli stated: “they wanted to remove the monument in 1956 and even tried to do it, but then all of Gori rose to its feet, and nothing happened. The population pitched tents and guarded the monument day and night so that it would not be quietly demolished.” This monument was demolished on the night of June 24-25, 2010 and moved to the courtyard of the Stalin Museum in Gori.

During the occupation of Kyiv, this monument was destroyed by the Nazis.

Kazakhstan, Ikan village, monument at former building village council

This monument was not demolished under Khrushchev - a resident of the village of Ikan opposed it. It has survived to this day. They decided to move the village council building - closer to the highway, to new center sat down. Bought an old building local- together with a monument to Stalin and stands on which portraits of leading collective farmers were hung. Before his death, he looked after the monument, and now his son Alisher Akhmetov does it.

Once upon a time the name of this man - the all-powerful leader of the peoples I.V. Stalin - in some people it caused awe, and in others - fear, despair and hatred. The most surprising thing is that even today assessments of his life are contradictory. There are heated debates in society about whether this political figure a monument to himself, Stalin is a special person in Russian history. Therefore, the question of a monument to him remains open.

Let's try to consider this problem in details.

Monument Man: Stalin as understood by his contemporaries

This man himself, in the understanding of his contemporaries, was a real monument, made of the hardest materials. There were legends about him and his cruelty towards his enemies. Stalin won people over with his charm and conviction, but he was touchy and often unpredictable.

During his lifetime, monuments were already erected to Stalin, although he was not a big supporter of such glorification of his name. However, he was not an opponent of such actions of his entourage, finding some benefit for himself in this.

The first sculptures of the leader

The first monument of this kind appeared in Soviet Russia in 1929 (sculptor Kharlamov). It was created specifically for the leader’s 50th birthday. The first monument to Stalin in Moscow inspired other artists and officials.

After the first immortalization of the Soviet leader, a real boom in such monuments began. The monument to Lenin and Stalin could be seen in most cities and towns of the USSR.

Such structures were installed at train stations, squares, near significant architectural objects(one of the monuments to Stalin stood near the entrance to Tretyakov Gallery on the site where the monument to Tretyakov is now located). And this was far from the only monument to Stalin in Moscow. In the city since the 30s. About 50 sculptures of the leader were installed.

There were so many similar buildings throughout the USSR that they testified to a special attitude towards the “father of nations.”

Most popular monuments

In a row large quantity monuments, the country's authorities were forced to choose the most suitable from the point of view of the official state ideology.

But what kind of monument should we choose? Stalin did not give any orders (neither oral nor written) on this matter, so his comrades, at their own peril and risk, chose the monument created by Ukrainian sculptors. He depicted Lenin and Stalin sitting on a bench while solving important government problems. This monument was good because it showed the continuity of power: from the leader of the revolution, Lenin, to another “younger” leader, Stalin.

This sculpture immediately began to be reproduced and installed in the cities of the USSR.

A huge number of monuments were erected. Historians doubt the exact numbers, but suggest that there were several thousand of them (including busts, etc.).

Mass destruction of monuments

Afterwards, they continued to erect monuments in his honor. Every year new monuments appeared. The most popular images were of Stalin the philosopher (the leader stood in a soldier's overcoat and pressed his hand to his heart) and Stalin the Generalissimo. In the Artek pioneer camp alone, an all-Union children's health resort, four monuments to the great Stalin were erected.

However, after 1956, when Khrushchev launched the process of de-Stalinization, the monuments began to be dismantled en masse. This process was quick and merciless. Even monuments where Stalin was depicted next to Lenin were destroyed. This was often done at night so as not to cause grumbling from the townspeople. Sometimes the sculptures were simply buried in the ground or blown up.

When the countries decided to leave the coalition, they were destroyed last monuments great leader, which still remained in the fraternal countries of Eastern Europe.

In Russia, this process was virtually unnoticed. The country at this time was actively getting rid of its past ideological heritage.

However, after the 90s. sociologists have noticed an interesting fact: a kind of nostalgia for the bygone Soviet era has appeared in our country.

And it is not surprising that monuments to Stalin began to actively appear in Russia.

Today there are about 36 of them. Most of the sculptures are in North Ossetia (it is assumed that Joseph Dzhugashvili was half Georgian and half Ossetian by nationality). Often monuments are erected by members of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation. There is also private initiative of citizens.

As a rule, the installation of such a monument itself causes fierce controversy. Therefore, some citizens actively participate in this process, while others file lawsuits demanding the dismantling of these sculptural monuments.

However, most likely, the number of monuments in coming years will increase in our country.

Thus, many contradictions can be seen in the question of whether the formidable “Comrade Stalin” deserved a monument to himself from his descendants. Stalin was a strong leader who was able to preserve his country in the face of dire threats. But he went down through the centuries as a cruel, sometimes even ruthless politician, who skillfully dealt with all those who were displeasing to him.

Apparently, only History itself can make the final verdict on this person.