Russian-Armenian Friendship Monument. ‘Uniform cross’ Monument in Moscow (left, 1997) and in Yerevan (right, 2013). Granite. Authors FM Soghoyan, VF Soghoyan

Uniform Cross – Russian-Armenian Friendship Monument

This white stone sculpture of two female figures united by the large cross is a monument to friendship between Russian and Armenian peoples. Between the two monuments – twenty years and almost two thousand kilometers. The first one was set in Moscow as a gift of Armenia to the 850th anniversary of Moscow (1997), the second, its copy, – in Yerevan in 2013. The authors of the ‘Uniform Cross’ Monument talented Armenian sculptors Frid and Vahe Soghoyan. Female figures represent Armenia and Russia, and the cross – a symbol of the common Christian faith, cementing their friendship. Relations between the two countries and cultures are quite immense, and numerous Armenian cultural sites and monuments in Moscow – a testament to this fact. In 1711 Peter the Great issued a decree, which said: “To care for Armenians as much as possible, and to facilitate what is needed, in order to get more arrivals and the desire to live in Russia”. Due to the fact that many Armenians settled in Stolpov Lane, in the XVIII century it was renamed in Armenian Lane.
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Iowa miracle Grotto of the Redemption

Iowa miracle Grotto of the Redemption

Wonderful Grotto decorated with religious sculptures, monuments and statues, filled with spirituality in the state of Iowa is like the eighth wonder of the world. Anyway, the ads say so, and who would argue with them? The Grotto of Redemption is next to the small US town of West Bend (Iowa), where the landscape rarely disturbed by anything larger than granaries. And if anywhere else in the world there are grottoes, than this one is certainly the King of grottoes. The author of the miracle – German American priest and architect Paul Dobberstein. He began construction in 1912, and finished in 1954.
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Four wise monkeys Buddhist principle – hear, speak, see, do no evil

Four wise monkeys Buddhist principle
Many of us are familiar with Three wise monkeys representing Buddhist religion principle of non-doing three evils. In particular, “see no evil”, “hear no evil”, and “do not speak of evil”. Monkeys Mi-zaru, Cica-zaru and Yves-zaru “hide” from evil, closing the mouth, eyes and ears. And we often meet their images in sculptures and figurines, as well as copied and parodied ones. However, they also have a fourth friend, whose image we meet much rarer. Meanwhile, forgotten Sedzaru embodies the principle of “do not commit evil,” and the arms cover belly or crotch area. Since the Japanese consider the number 4 unlucky, fourth, though the most important monkey, is mentioned very rarely. Undoubtedly, the four wise monkeys have become the real inspiration for artists and craftsmen all over the world.
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Jesus Christ the King monument in Poland – the world’s largest statue of Jesus Christ

Jesus Christ the King monument is the world’s largest statue of Jesus Christ, established in the south-eastern outskirts of the city of Swiebodzin in Poland. The official opening and consecration took place on 21 November 2010. The total height of the monument about 52 m, which is higher than the monument of Cristo de la Concordia in Cochabamba (40.44 m with the pedestal) and the statue of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro (39.6 m with the pedestal). The height of the statue with a crown is 36 m, and 16 m – height of stone-earthen hill. The height of the two other statues without pedestals of 34.2 m and 30 m. Thus, the statue of Christ is the highest in the world. The maximum width of the statue is about 25 m. The initiator of the construction of the monument was Canon Sylvester Zawadzki, the priest of the Temple of the Divine Mercy in Swiebodzin.
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Altai Mountain Carved Icon

Altai Mountain Carved Icon of Virgin with a Child was made by a nun of Barnaul Znamensky Monastery Felofeya. The rock carved icon is next to St. John the Theologian monastery of Chemal region, on the Patmos island of Altai Republic, Russia. Once, in one of the rocks of the abbess of the female monastery nun Nadezhda saw the image of the Virgin, which later was carved by nun of Barnaul Znamensky monastery – sculptor Felofeya. Currently, St. John the Evangelist church on the island of Patmos is the current women’s hermitage, where services are held regularly. It is opened to all comers.
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Pilgrims family sculptural composition

Pilgrims family sculptural composition – a man with a knapsack, a woman, and a child – made in the style of street sculptures – you can go to it to get close up, take a picture. Behind pilgrims rises symbolic image of Ivan the Great Bell in the Kremlin, in front of them – the bell tower of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. The composition is crowned by the figure of an angel. The frame group includes Bell, and among them – real ones, you can come and ring. The main connecting link of the composition is the Gates that open to every man on the path to God and shaped domes of an Orthodox church, topped with a figure of the Archangel Michael. In the center of the composition – the family of the Moscow city dweller, beginning the pilgrimage route from Moscow.
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Perm Gods Wooden Sculpture. John the Evangelist. Detail of ‘Crucifixion’. The village of Ust-Kachka. Wood, gesso, tempera. XVIII century

Perm Gods Wooden Sculpture
Komi-Permian treated sculptures with a touching love and awe. They dressed their wooden gods as living – in clothes and wooden shoes, brought them treats and gifts. Permians believed that the wooden gods came to life at night and went to the temple, so they regularly changed shoes of their gods. A rich selection of “Perm Gods” has been collected by Nikolay Serebrennikov. In the 1920s he organized several expeditions to the old villages in the north of the Perm Region for the collection of unique sculptures. Expeditions were not simple. Serebrennikov recalled, “For all the trips I had to travel 5083 miles, of which 2059 kilometers by horses, 2105 by steamer and 919 miles by rail.” Total 195 sculptures have been collected in six expeditions! And that’s not counting the various vintage items.
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