Obelisk of Glory – Aktobe – Kazakhstan

Of all the post-Soviet countries in Western Asia Kazakhstan appears to be the one that still maintains a real connection to the Soviet past. This is reflected in the maintenance – and even existence – of those public statues and monuments that celebrated and commemorated Soviet achievements. Statues of VI Lenin might have been removed from certain locations but other monuments that remain are still treated with an element of respect. This respect reaches its peak, if you like, when it comes to commemoration of the Great Patriotic War.

One such monument is the Obelisk of Glory in Aktobe. This was inaugurated in August 1970 in honour of the people from the region who died for their homeland during the Great Patriotic War (what the ‘West’ calls the Second World War). The monument is now located in the central part of the new city of Aktobe on Aliya Moldagulova Avenue.

Obelisk of Glory – Aktobe – original location

However, this is not its original location. It once stood in front of the House of the Soviets on Oktyabrsky Boulevard (now renamed Abai Avenue) but was moved to its present location in 1984 when a statue of VI Lenin (since removed) was erected on its site.

Major changes were made to the monument – not to the principal column but the surrounds – in its present location but I’m not exactly sure when. From the information I’ve been able to gather it was more likely in 2015 in preparation for the celebration of the 70th anniversary of the victory over fascism. Something like 160 tons of granite, from the Kurdai deposit in the Almaty region, were brought to Aktobe to construct the wall and the curbs in the area you can see now.

The principal element of the monument is a tall, 18 metre, obelisk into which is incorporated an image of a Red Armyman. He is depicted wearing an overcoat that was more appropriate to the Civil War/War Intervention in the immediate years following the October Revolution as many of important battles against foreign supported reaction took place in western Asia. On a monument that is ostensibly to commemorate the war of 1941 to 1945 the inclusion of an anachronistic element such as the overcoat could be to draw a parallel between the two conflicts – both of which were existential to the Soviet Union.

He wears a Budenovka hat with the clear outline of a star and his right hand is raised high above his head in which he holds a sword; his left hand is clenched into a fist. (This is very reminiscent of the soldier on the top of the pillar at the Monument to the Fallen of the NKVD in Stalingrad.) There’s an Eternal Flame burning to the right of the monument. This is unusual as in many locations, were there’s evidence of the presence of an Eternal Flame, the fire has long been allowed to go out. It is reported that the torch for the lighting of this flame came from the Field of Mars in Leningrad – I assume in 1970 when the monument was in its original location.

The architect was T. Dzhanibekov and the sculptor N. Sobolev. However, I’m not sure how much involvement either of them had in the remodelling that took place since its original inauguration.

Obelisk of Glory – Aktobe – 02

The monument is the centre of commemorations annually on May 9th (Victory Day in the Soviet Union and has become more important in recent years in the Russian Federation) and, as in many locations in the post-Soviet Union where the fire still burns at an Eternal Flame, brides and bridegrooms visit the monument on their wedding day.

The modern monument to Aliya Moldagulova is along the same avenue, about a kilometre to the south west, and the museum in her honour is across the road, on the left, just before the memorial complex

The daughter of Soviet Kirghizia – SA Chukov

Socialist Realist Art in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan

Introduction

It’s not just the manner in which public statues and monuments are treated that tells you a lot about a particular post-Soviet, post-Socialist society but how they choose to tell the story of the past in their art galleries. Art galleries were constructed in all towns and cities in Socialist societies, showcasing the work of local and national artists. Although all art from the past tells a political story (although then and now such a connection to politics is denied – ‘art for art’s sake’) in Socialist societies the importance of art (in all its forms) in the construction of Socialism was stated explicitly.

In all the countries that started along the road of the construction of Socialism in the 20th century the vast majority of the people would never have had the opportunity to view any of the art works that had been accumulated by the aristocracy and the wealthy – even in those ‘public’ art galleries that did exist. Even though the Hermitage Museum was open to the ‘public’ in 1852 few workers from the steel mills, sailors from the Imperial Fleet or any peasant who had reason to be in Saint Petersburg pre-1917 would have walked along such ‘hallowed’ corridors.

But as statues and monuments from the early 1990s started to disappear from the streets of those once Socialist countries so did paintings and sculptures (gradually in some places more rapidly in others) from the art galleries. Sometimes cloaked as a normal reorganisation of the collection what happened was that paintings which made an overt reference to leaders from the Socialist past or sculptures of those leaders were removed to be replaced with … what? The problem was that if the curators didn’t want to have bare walls they had to have some of those images from the Socialist period – or the galleries would just have to shut down.

It was ‘easier’ to replace public statues with something new but it also became problematic. Lenin and Stalin were deposed in Tirana to be replaced by the fascist, collaborator and self-proclaimed monarch, Zog – as well as some other ‘monuments’ . In Moscow the statues of Soviet leaders were placed in a museum park across the river from what must be one of the greatest monstrosities to be placed in the open air, that is the huge mess which is the monument to Peter the ‘Great’. In Tbilisi VI Lenin was replaced by a character from mythology, Saint George slaying a dragon. In Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan gaudy statues of feudal lords now ‘adorn’ squares and public spaces once occupied by Soviet leaders.

What all these replacements have in common is a separation from the working class. They bear no relationship to their daily struggles and these images only reaffirm their subservience to the capitalist ruling order.

When it comes to art galleries it’s not too easy to fill the empty places and many locations in post-Socialist societies still display (often the less ‘controversial’) examples from the period on their walls.

Below are details about the galleries and examples of the art on show at three art galleries in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.

Regional Art Museum – Atyrau – Kazakhstan

Atyrau Art gallery

This is a small art gallery, of just two storeys, with the collection of Soviet era paintings and sculptures on the first floor. It doesn’t seem to get many visitors and was very quiet on my visit. For those interested in other aspects of Kazakh culture the Regional Museum is just across the road.

Amongst the collection are still some overtly political paintings and prints. However, I am unable to include these in the slide show as I was prevented from taking pictures half way through my visit. I had only been in the country a short time and wasn’t aware that trying to take pictures with anything other than a mobile phone will get you jumped on.

Location;

11 Azattyk Avenue, which is a side street off the main road close to the Central Bridge over the ural River, on the ‘Asian’ side.

GPS;

47.10632 N

51.92281 E

Opening Hours;

Monday – Friday; 09.00 – 19.00

Saturday and Sunday; 10.00 – 19.00

Closed between 13.00 and 14.00

Entrance;

1000 Tenge (£1.40)

Kasteyev State Arts Museum – Almaty – Kazakhstan

Museum of Art – Almaty

This is a large art gallery in the city that used to be the country’s capital before that ‘honour’ being claimed by the monstrosity which is Astana. The collection covers many aspects of Kazakh art other than paintings and sculptures from the Socialist era with displays of what are normally classified as folk art. However, the slide show only includes work produced pre-1990. Of particular note, and somewhat unusual in such collections of Socialist Realist art, is the two paintings that depict a) the ‘tradition’ of bride kidnapping, which was fought against under Socialism but which has seemingly managed to be revived in the last 35 years and is still a scourge of Kazakh society, especially in the rural areas and b) the sad image of a young woman who is the victim of an arranged marriage.

Location;

Koktem-3 microdistrict, 22/1

GPS;

43.23603 N

76.91931 E

Opening times;

Tuesday – Sunday; 10.00 – 18.00

Closed Monday

Entrance;

500 Tenge (£0.70)

Kyrgyz National Museum of Fine Arts – Bishkek – Kyrgyzstan

The Kyrgyz National Museum of Fine Arts in Bishkek

This is another art gallery that displays much more than the art from the Socialist period. One picture to look out for (and which will be recognised by any readers who have an interest in Soviet Socialist Realist Art) is ‘The daughter of Soviet Kirghizia’ by SA Chuykov. This is the artist’s reproduction of the original which is in the New Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow.