VI Lenin in Tiraspol – Pridnestrovie

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VI Lenin at Transnistrian Government Building, Tiraspol

VI Lenin at Transnistrian Government Building, Tiraspol

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VI Lenin in Tiraspol, Pridnestrovie

There are two extant images of VI Lenin in Tiraspol, the capital city of Pridnestrovie (Transnistria).

At the Transnistria Parliament Building

The first Soviet leader just seems to emerge from the tall, red, granite column on which he stands. His coat resembling the workers red flag, caught by the wind streaming out behind him.

This statue is modelled on a statue, by the same artist – Nikolai Tomsky – which used to stand in what was Leninplatz in East Berlin. The original statue was erected in 1970 but the one in Tiraspol wasn’t inaugurated until 1987. The one in Berlin was on a lower plinth and had a large panel behind VI Lenin so there wasn’t the same impression of him almost flying. The one in the German location was removed in 1992.

The list of the artists involved in the project are attached to a small plaque at the back of the statues plinth.

Nikolai Tomsky was also involved in the bas reliefs that decorate the ceiling of the Novokuznetskaya Metro station in Moscow. He also created the bust over the grave of JV Stalin which was installed when the body of the second Soviet leader was removed from the Lenin Mausoleum in October 1961.

Location;

In front of the building of the Supreme Council of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (Transnistria Parliament) at 25th October Street 45

GPS;

46.83632 N

29.60651 E

VI Lenin at Tiraspol City Hall

VI Lenin at Tiraspol City Hall

At the Tiraspol City Hall

Unfortunately, there’s not a great deal of available information about this monument to VI Lenin. As far as I can learn the sculptor was G. Solominov but, so far, I have been unable to find any more information about him. There’s also no information of the year it was installed. I would guess the 1980s – as this seemed to be a time when there was a major impetus to install statues of the first Soviet leader as the revisionist leaders of that time – just before the collapse of the Soviet Union – were panicking and trying to establish their legitimacy.

It’s quite a unique representation of VI Lenin. It’s only a larger than life sized bust but he is depicted as wearing an overcoat with a huge collar – something I’ve never seen in photographs of him during his life time.

Location;

In front of the Tiraspol City Hall at 25th October Street, 101

GPS;

48.83701 N

29.62812 E

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VI Lenin, Karl Marx and Georgi Dimitrov – Chișinău – Moldova

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Karl Marx, VI Lenin and Georgi Dimitrov in Chisinau, Moldova

Karl Marx, VI Lenin and Georgi Dimitrov in Chisinau, Moldova

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VI Lenin, Karl Marx and Georgi Dimitrov – Chișinău, Moldova

The new location of the Lenin statue is much more pleasant than its original location in the centre of town (in front of the Government building, I understand), having to endure the noise and pollution from the traffic. Now he stands in the park beside quite a large lake, used for boating, to the west of the city centre. However, in his new location Vladimir Iliych isn’t alone. On his right hand side is a large bust of Georgi Dimitrov (the Bulgarian Communist leader, defiant defendant against the Nazis over the accusation of being involved in the Reichstag fire of February 27th 1933 and General Secretary of the Communist International) and on his left Karl Marx (the founder, with Frederick Engels, of the revolutionary theory of the working class).

In translation this location is described as an ‘honour board’ or ‘hall of fame’ neither of which seem appropriate but I have been unable to come up with an alternative that sounds correct in English.

I have no idea where the the busts of Dimitrov and Marx came from but the whole group has been treated with respect and not having been dumped here as some afterthought. A formal, marble back drop, together with honorific laurel scrolls, had been created for the new location demonstrating that consideration and expense had been involved in the relocation.

Although the plinth on which VI Lenin stands bears his name there’s no indication of who his two companions are. Why that’s the case remains a mystery to me. I also don’t understand why the lettering is in Cyrillic and not also in Romanian.

Apart from a slight mark on Vladimir Ilyich’s groin, there’s no damage, as far as I can see, to any of the three statues. And the area is generally clean and shows signs of regular maintenance.

If you visit Comrades Lenin, Marx and Dimitrov be sure to have a look at the bas reliefs on either side of the main entrance to the building beside the ensemble. This is now an events venue – but which must have had a more official, governmental purpose in the past.

Location;

Strada Ghioceilor 1, Chișinău,

By the Moldexpo International Exhibitions Centre and at the edge of the Valea Morilor Lake

GPS:

47.01623 N

28.80492 E

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Magazines from the Soviet Union in the Socialist Era

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Workers and Peasants Union

Workers and Peasants Union

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Magazines from the Soviet Union in the Socialist Era

Magazines published from the Soviet Union telling the story of the construction of Socialism as it happened, including bulletins released on a very regular basis during the Great Patriotic War from the first few days following the Hitlerite invasion of Soviet territory.

Problems of Economics

Monthly journal published by the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Institute of Economics.

Problems of Economics, March 1952, re-published as an E-book in 2011, 202 pages. The focus of this issue is promoting more world trade between the USSR and other countries.

Soviet Russia

Published in New York City in the early years of the Soviet state by the ‘Russian Soviet Government Bureau’. Appeared weekly starting on June 7, 1919.

1919 – Volume 1: June 7 through December, 30 issues, 668 pages.

Russian Review/Soviet Union Review

English journal published by the Soviet Union Information Bureau in Washington, D.C.

1923 – Volume 1, not yet available.

1924 – Volume 2, not yet available.

1925 – Volume 3, complete, 504 pages.

1926 – Volume 4, complete, 225 pages.

1927 – Volume 5, complete, 192 pages.

1928 – Volume 6, complete, 196 pages.

1929 – Volume 7, complete, 213 pages.

1930 – Volume 8, complete, 208 pages.

1931 – Volume 9, complete, 261 pages.

1932 – Volume 10, complete, 242 pages.

1933 – Volume 11, complete, 262 pages.

1934 – Volume 12, complete, 165 pages.

Information Bulletin of the Embassy of the USSR (in Washington, D.C.)

Published about 3 times per week during World War II (Great Patriotic War) and about twice per month in the post-war years. The issues for 1943-1946 are more like magazines than bulletins and have many photographs.

1941 – Volume 1

Issues 1-30 – July 14-August 18, 828 pages.

Issues 16-41 – August 1-August 30, 686 pages.

Issues for September-December 1941 not yet available.

1942 – Volume 2

Issues 1-50 – June 3 – April 25, 702 pages.

Issues 27-78 – March 2 – June 30, 308 pages.

Issues 79-153 – July 2 – December 31, 402 pages.

1943 – Volume 3

Issues 1-70 – January 5 – June 29, 598 pages.

Issues 71-144 – July 1 – December 30, 708 pages.

1944 – Volume 4

Issues 1-74 – January 4 – June 29, 674 pages.

Issues 75-135 – July 1 – December 30, 502 pages.

1945 – Volume 5

Issues 1-65 – January 4 – June 30, 584 pages.

Issues 66-131 – July 3 – December 27, 502 pages.

1946 – Volume 6, 956 pages.

1947 – Volume 7, 712 pages.

1948 – Volume 8, 892 pages.

1949 – Volume 9, 874 pages.

1950 – Volume 10, 924 pages.

1951 – Volume 11, 920 pages.

1952 – Volume 12, 480 pages.

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