Monuments reveal

Book cover. Russian animalist sculptor Alexey Sotnikov (October 3, 1904 – February 18, 1989)

Russian animalist sculptor Alexey Sotnikov
Sotnikov belongs to those masters of the 20th century who in a peculiar way managed to develop the principles of great realistic and humanistic art. Sotnikov’s activity began in the 1930s of the last century, during the period of outstanding achievements of Soviet sculpture in its various forms and genres. Art of A.G. Sotnikov is whole and holistic. It can be considered in any way: as a porcelain artist who knows the material perfectly, and as an original plastic with high professionalism. Also, an interesting and unexpected constructor. He is a national artist, and at the same time, of course, an artist of high European class. And yet, the main thing in the sculptor’s work is the deepest love of nature and the greatest naturalness and immediacy of approach to the depicted phenomena.
According to the sculptor, he translates talk and thoughts of animals into his own language. In animalistics, as in all art, there is a division into easel, decorative, and monumental forms. Sotnikov works in all three genres, and even wider. In particular, he uses more approaches to nature.
Throughout his life, he carried that compassion to the small birds and to the proud bird, and to a strong beast, and to the man who is so characteristic of a folk artist.
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Central part – 500 rubles, immortalized in stone. Size 130 × 110 cm, depth 8 cm, weight 40 kg, material sculpted plaster. Russian Imperial banknote monument by Gennady Manekin

Russian Imperial banknote monument by Gennady Manekin
“I consider these banknotes the most refined in world history, and just emphasized the greatness of our History”, says Gennady Manekin. Used in Russia until 1919, these paper banknotes were very valuable. For example, for 10 rubles you could buy 2 cows, or 1 horse.
A self-taught sculptor, Manekin has been sculpting and painting since childhood. “As long as I remember myself – I painted, sculpted all the time”. About 30 years ago, for the first time, he saw old banknotes in the photograph and their beauty and grace conquered him.
Over the years, having accumulated the luggage of skills in this craft, he embodied the dream of youth and sculpted these magical paper bills, immortalized in stone. Noteworthy, he is the first who was not afraid to take up a complex painstaking project, as a keepsake for descendants about paper money.
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From a series of eight high reliefs created for the monument to a writer Ivan Krylov. Work by Russian sculptor-animalist Dmitry Gorlov (2 November 1899 – 8 August 1988)

Russian sculptor-animalist Dmitry Gorlov
Born in 1899 in St. Petersburg, Dmitry Vladimirovich Gorlov is a famous animal sculptor and graphic artist, honored Artist of Russia. Soon after birth, his family moved to Bogorodsk, where he spent his childhood and youth. There he graduated from the Bogorodsk Real College, in which he received his primary education. The young man was clearly attracted to art, but he was not going to become a professional artist. He dreamed of a “real business”, he wanted to create the material values ​​necessary for the young Soviet republic. D.V. Gorlov changed many different professions, but at the same time constantly painted.
From 1921 to 1923, he received higher education at VKHUTEMAS (Higher Art and Technical Studios). The animal artist Vasily Vatagin helped him make the final choice of the path. Indeed, he greatly influenced Gorlov and took him as an assistant to the Darwin Museum. They were brought together by a love for the profession and an interest in animals. Also, they both believed in the humanistic significance of animalistic themes, and a serious, meaningful treatment of sculptural materials.
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Red carnations for the hero dog. First launched into space dog Laika monument. sculptor Pavel Medvedev

First launched into space dog Laika monument

Installed in front of the building of the Institute of Military Medicine (Moscow), the dog Laika monument stands on the Petrovsko-Razumovskaya alley in the area of ​​the Dynamo stadium. It was here in 1957. Laika was trained to fly into space, knowing that she would not return to the Earth. The author of the monument – sculptor Pavel Medvedev, and the concept itself belongs to the famous artist Sergey Pakhomov. The monument appeared here just the day before the Day of Cosmonautics, April 11, 2008.
The two-meter-high monument is a space rocket transforming into the palm, on which Laika stands proudly (real life size). The poem on the pedestal reads:

Simple Russian mongrel,
She had a great honor.
From the heavy life of a stray dog
To crawl triumphantly into space.
But great Laika did not know.
After all, it is difficult for a dog to understand.
That life has become her feat
And no one can take away her fame.
She flew over the planet.
By sacrificing herrself honestly.
And for the sake of science burned,
Staying forever a star.
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Called ‘the queen of the Russian folk song’, the singer usually performed in peasant clothes. USSR people’s artist, Russian singer Lidiya Ruslanova monument in Saratov. Work by sculptor Andrey Shcherbakov

Russian singer Lidiya Ruslanova monument
Opened 3 April 2018 the monument decorates the square at the central entrance to the Saratov regional center of folk art named after Ruslanova. The bronze monument is a single-figure composition of the singer, which stands in a characteristic pose – at the time of performing a folk song. The author of the three-meter bronze sculpture is Honored Artist of Russia Andrei Shcherbakov. The sculptor portrayed the “Queen of Russian Song” at the time of his performance in front of the soldiers on the steps of the Reichstag shortly before the end of World War II. According to the biographers, the singer gave more than 1,100 concerts at the front. Ruslanova is famous for the songs “Steppe and Steppe around”, “Shining Month”, “Valenki” and “Katyusha”. On the monument, the inscription “Throw, throw me into the Volga-Mother, I will drown in it my sadness, my sadness.”
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Ishim of Tyumen region, Russia. Snowmaiden Praskovya Lupolova monument. Work by sculptor Vyacheslaev Mikhailovich Klykov (October 19, 1939, Marmyzhi, Kursk Region – June 2, 2006, Moscow)

Snowmaiden Praskovya Lupolova monument
In honor of the girl, who passed more than four thousand miles to save her father, writers wrote novels and composers composed operas. The fairytale character has real roots – all of Europe admired a girl from the snowy Siberia two centuries ago. And now she returned – already in bronze. In the Siberian city of Ishim, from where Parasha began her journey to St. Petersburg, a monument was erected near the temple. And the local puppet theater these days shows the New Year’s play “The Girl and the Tsar” after the tale of Yuri Kharlamov, based on the fate of a brave girl.
Imagine how much courage she needed to walk through the taiga in the cold. Wolves, robbers, hunger and cold – Parasha experienced everything to rescue her beloved father. He was a hussar officer, a nobleman, exiled to Siberia for evil libel. The wife and daughter went to Siberian Ishim after him. And then Parasha went to the capital of the empire, hoping to soften the fate of her father. In the passport issued by the girl recorded “captain’s daughter.” Later, Pushkin made her the prototype of his heroine, Masha Mironova in his novel “Captain’s Daughter”. Remember – in the story the heroine saved the groom by throwing herself at the queen’s feet …
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Dol hareubangs – Cheju Do island stone grandfathers

Dol hareubangs – Cheju Do island stone grandfathers
A pearl of South Korea, Jeju, or Cheju Do is the most beautiful island of all East Asia. Also, people know it as the island of three abundances: stones, wind and women. And what is most important here is stones, because the whole island consists of stone. The inhabitants came up with an original application for it: house fences, gravestones, coastal traps. According to the results of the international competition, held in late 2011, Jeju Island entered the seven new natural wonders. Strictly speaking, the island is an extinct volcano. Once poured from the crater lava, now, becoming a basalt, it serves material for the sculptors and artists of applied art. Carved from it stone idols, grandfathers became symbols of Jeju Island and accordingly, tourist destination.
The characteristic feature of the appearance of such statues is a common facial expression, similar to a grin, large bulging eyes without pupils, a large and flat nose, and closed smiling mouth. Also, a relaxed state of hands below the face, one above the other. The entire upper part of the Hareubang crowns the mushroom-like cap. The word “hareubang” (“Dol hareubang”) from the dialect spoken by the inhabitants of Jeju Island can be translated as “stone grandfather”.
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