Ho Chi Minh Monument

Ho Chi Minh monument – Moscow

The Ho Chi Minh monument (Russian: памятник Хо Ши Мину) is a monument located in Akademichesky District, Moscow. It memorializes North Vietnamese president Ho Chi Minh, who was the chairman and founder of the Workers’ Party of Vietnam. The monument was inaugurated on May 18, 1990, on the eve of Ho Chi Minh’s 100th birthday.

The monument is made of bronze and stone, with a portrait of Ho Chi Minh embossed on a giant disc. Below the disc is a sculpture of a Vietnamese man rising from his knees.[1] Behind the disc are images of tropical flowers and two curved bamboos. Below the monument is a quotation from Ho Chi Minh ‘Нет ничего дороже независимости, свободы‘ (‘Nothing is more precious than independence, liberty’).

The creators of the monument are the sculptor Vladimir Tsigal and architect Roman Grigoryevich Kananin. Tsigal visited Vietnam in 1985 to research Ho Chi Minh for his project. According to him, the round disc is ‘the image of Vietnam’s sun, representing the dream for a bright future for Vietnam’, and he used the image of the two curved bamboos ‘stemming from the understanding of the emblematic Vietnamese plant: the bamboo can be curved, but it’s difficult to break, similar to the will and strength of Vietnam.’

The entire project costed about 1 million ₽.

Ho Chi Minh Square was inaugurated in 1969, after the death of Ho Chi Minh. In 1985, the Central Committee and Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union decided to create a monument at the square.

For former Soviet advisors who served during the Vietnam War, the monument serves as the annual meeting location on the occasion of Ho Chi Minh’s birthday, at 10 a.m.

The monument is often visited by members of the Vietnamese community in Russia, who use it as a public gathering place, as well as a wedding venue. Functionaries from Vietnam also often visit the monument and place wreaths of flowers.

Text above from Wikipedia.

Appearing out of place, at least to me, is a much more recent board which ‘celebrates’ the commercial links between the Russian Federation and Vietnam.