Kazakhskiy University – Almaty – Socialist bas reliefs

Posted on 06/07/2025 by Michael

Kazakhskiy University – Almaty

Kazakhskiy University – Almaty – Socialist bas reliefs

This is a (relatively) unique example of Soviet art in Kazakhstan for a number of unrelated reasons;

this was the only such example that I came across in my travels in the summer of 2025, not just in Kazakhstan but in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan;

it has obviously been looked after and any repainting and renovation has been carried out with care and consideration;

it is unusual that in the images on both sides of the entrance to the building it is the women who are playing the leading role – it’s normally shared by the genders;

the Hammer and Sickle is in a central and therefore important location but it is depicted in a form that is unusual (although not, I think, unique as I am sure I’ve seen such a representation but – unfortunately – can’t remember where). Here, in place of the shaft of the hammer crossing the blade of the sickle, the back edge of the sickle rests on the head of the hammer and its shaft touches the tip of the sickle’s blade. I cannot think of a reason for this inversion of the hammer, especially as this is at the entrance of an educational establishment. However, the laurel leaves (representing achievement and success) cradle the symbol of the agricultural and industrial workers;

both the women are striving high in their respective endeavours. The one holding the flaming torch (the flame of which is painted red) is promoting – and striving for – technology, knowledge and civilisation, but here a civilisation based on a newer and finer ethic, that of Socialism and internationalism. The woman stretching to her utmost so that her book is as high as possible represents learning, literacy (an always primary goal of any society with a Socialist aspiration) and the acquisition of knowledge in general.

These images are now at the edge of a much bigger educational complex than it would have been in the immediate pre-Great Patriotic War period but it is good to see that there are some people in a position of authority to ensure that this important aspect of Kazakh history and culture is preserved and respected.

The black plaque notes that this was the Kazakh State Institute of Foreign Languages, 1938-1940. I assume that was the period it took to build the complex as the Soviet Union always – even in its revisionist manifestation – placed great importance on the country having people with an excellent understanding of many of the world’s languages.

The gold plaque states that the building was completed and opened on 1st September 1941.

This is now quite a large complex but the learning, and teaching, of foreign languages does not seem to have the same importance in capitalist Kazakhstan as it did in the Soviet Union. Presently the building is used for a whole variety of subjects – including the ubiquitous business/management’ courses (which will lead students into debt and then into a dead end ‘start-up’, in the vast majority of circumstances).

Location;

Tole Bi Street 84, Almaty

GPS;

43.253986 N

76.936108 E

VI Lenin in Moscow

Posted on 20/05/2025 by Michael

VI Lenin in party mode

VI Lenin in Moscow

Here is a selection of the statues, busts and bas reliefs of VI Lenin to be found in Moscow. All of the below are accessible to the public (although on one or two occasions a little bit of imagination might be required to get close). There are more. Of those some are in locations which are difficult to enter, e.g. military or other government buildings or property.

To the best of out knowledge all the location details are correct. Apologies for any errors. If there are errors please let us know so they can be corrected.

You will see there is scarce information about all of those listed. If anyone can fill in the gaps or direct us to a source which will allow that to happen it would be appreciated.

It is hoped that, at some time in the future, this list will be augmented. There are supposed to be close to 100 examples in the Moscow area but many are under threat if the locations where they are found undergo demolition or development.

VI Ulyanov (Lenin) – as a student

Lenin as a student

Location; Ogarodnaya Sloboda Lane

GPS; 55.76535 N 37.64162 E

Sculptors; V.E. Tsigal, P.I. Skokan

Year; 1970

Notes; In July 2008, the monument was overturned by a strong gust of wind and broke into several pieces. In 2009 the monument was restored and installed in its original place.

VI Lenin next to war memorial

Location; Perevedenovskaya Lane 13c6

GPS; 55.78009 N 37.64162 E

Sculptor/s; Sergey Dmitriyevich Merkurov

VI Lenin near Rimskaya and Ploschad Ilyich Metro stations

Location; Rogozhskaya Zastava Square

GPS; 55.74731 N 37.68190 E

Sculptor; G.A.Iokubonis

Architects; V.A.Chekanauskas, B. Belozersky

Year; 1967

VI Lenin being carried shoulder high by workers

Location; 1st Karacharovskaya Street 8c3

GPS; 55.73610 N 37,75598 E

VI Lenin in the garden at workers’ apartments

Location; Aviamotornaya Street 28/4

GPS; 55.74570 N 37.71874 E

A bust of VI Lenin in a small pedestrian square

Location; Alexandra Lukyanova Street 7

GPS; 55.76828 N 37.66438

VI Lenin in a residential street

Location; Burakova Street 8c10

GPS; 55.76178 N 37.73039 E

VI Lenin at school

Location; Perovskaya St 44a, School Building No 796

GPS; 55.75311 N 37.78205 E

Sculptors; I.I. Kozlovsky, A.R.Markin

Year; 1983

VI Lenin in a building site (at the time of the visit)

Location; Rabochaya Street 84c7

GPS; 55.73919 N 37.69611 E

Notes; The factory is in the process of being turned in offices/apartments. VI Lenin has survived (just) so far but whether his luck will continue to run is uncertain.

A bust of VI Lenin in the garden of a residential home for veterans

Location; Entuziastov Highway 88, Yablochkina House of Veterans

GPS; 55.76544 N 37.79635

Statue of VI Lenin at the VDNKh

VI Lenin at VDNKh

Location; In front of the main pavilion at the VDNKh park

GPS; 55.83109 N 37.62981 E

Sculptor; P.P.Yatsyno

Year; 1954

Blog post; Statue of VI Lenin at the VDNKh

Lenin and October Revolution Monument in the Kaluga Square

Lenin and October Revolution Monument

Location; In Kaluga Square (formerly October Square), at the junction of Lenin Prospekt and Krymsky Val, opposite the main entrance to Oktyabrskaya Metro station

GPS; 55.729466°N 37.613176°E

Sculptors; . E. Kerbel, V. A. Fedorov

Architects; G. V. Makarevich, B. A. Samsonov.

Year; 1985

Blog post; Lenin and October Revolution Monument in the Kaluga Square

Monument to VI Lenin on Tverskaya Square

VI Lenin – Tverskaya Square

Location; Tverskaya square

GPS; 55.76233°N 37.61146°E

Sculptor; Sergey Dmitriyevich Merkurov

Architect; I.A. Frantsuz

Year; 1938

Blog post; Monument to VI Lenin on Tverskaya Square

VI Lenin statue – Dekabrskaya Vosstanya Park

Location; At the far end of Dekabrskaya Vosstanya Park from the Ulitsa 1905 Goda Metro station.

GPS; 55.759523º N 37.558902º E

Sculptors; B.I. Dyuzhev, Yu.I. Goltsev

Year; 1963

Blog post; VI Lenin statue – Dekabrskaya Vosstanya Park

VI Lenin statue and assassination attempt memorial stone

Lenin – Ulitsa Pavlovskaya – 01

Location; In a small park at the junction of Ulitsa Pavlovskaya and Ulitsa Pavla Andreyeva.

GPS; 55.72087º N 37.62862º E

Sculptors; V.B.Topuridze, K.T.Topuridze

Year; 1967

Blog post; VI Lenin statue and assassination attempt memorial stone

Marble bust of VI Lenin

Bust of VI Lenin in Muzeon Park

Location; Muzeon Park

GPS; 55.73416 N 37.60677 E

Sculptor; A.A. Bichukov

Year; 1951

Blog post; Park of the Fallen/Muzeon Art Park

Standing, sandstone VI Lenin

Standing VI Lenin at Museon Park

Location; Muzeon Park

GPS; 55.73417 N 37.60683 E

Sculptor; V.D. Chazov

Blog post; Park of the Fallen/Muzeon Art Park

Young VI Ulyanov (Lenin)

Young VI Lenin at Muzeon Park

Location; Muzeon Park

GPS; 55.73417 N 37.60677 E

Sculptor; A.I.Toropygin

Blog Post; Park of the Fallen/Muzeon Art Park

VI Lenin standing, resting hand on pillar

VI Lenin – hand on pillar – Muzeon Park

Location; Muzeon Park

GPS; 55.73422 N 37.60671 E

Sculptor; I.A. Mendelevich

Blog Post; Park of the Fallen/Muzeon Art Park

Black, granite bust of VI Lenin

Black, granite bust of VI Lenin – Muzeon Park

Location; Muzeon Park

GPS; 55.73420 N 37.60681 E

Sculptor; Sergey Dmitriyevich Merkurov

Notes; Until the early 1990s, the bust stood near the building of the Belorussky railway station.

Blog post; Park of the Fallen/Muzeon Art Park

Small, marble bust of VI Lenin

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Location; Muzeon Park

GPS; 55.73422 N 37.60680 E

Sculptor; Z.M. Vilensky

Year; 1982

Blog post; Park of the Fallen/Muzeon Art Park

VI Lenin amongst the fir trees

Location; Avtozavodskaya Street, 23

GPS; 55.70402 N 37.63534 E

Sculptors; Yu.P.Pommer, A.A.Stempkovsky

Year; 1956

Bust of VI Lenin in residential park

Location; Gruzinsky Val Street, 26

GPS; 55.77416 N 37.58310 E

VI Lenin, standing with hand in his pocket

Location; Klimashkina Street, 22

GPS; 55.76838 N 37.56725 E

Notes; On June 7, 2016, the monument was thrown down from its pedestal and broken. Probable causes are vandalism or the action of squally winds. In November 2017, it was restored in its original form.

Large bas relief of VI Lenin

VI Lenin at the CPRF Headquarters

Location: Maly Sukharevskaya Lane 7, Headquarters of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation

GPS; 55.77052 N 37.62409 E

Bust of VI Lenin in small residential square

Location; Palikha Street 7-9k6

GPS; 55.78513 N 37.59835 E

VI Lenin at the Central Armed Forces Museum

Location; Sovetskaya Armii str., 2, facing you, up the first flight of stairs, on entering the Central Armed Forces Museum

GPS; 55.78496 N 37.61721 E

Plaques and bas reliefs

There will be many more throughout the city but here are just a few in central Moscow

Moscow City Hall

Moscow City Hall – 03

Moscow City Hall – 02

Moscow City Hall – 01

Location; Moscow City Hall, Ulitsa Tverskaya 13

GPS; 55.76171 N 37.60905 E

Kievskaya Railway Station

Kievskaya Railway Station – 01

Kievskaya Railway Station – 02

Location; By the main entrance of Kievskaya mainline railway station.

GPS; 55.74366 N 37.56786 E

Museum of Architecture

Museum of Architecture – 01

Museum of Architecture – 02

Location; On the wall at the end of the building on the Museum of Architecture on Vozdvizhenka Street, 5/25

GPS; 55.75263 N 37.60724 E

Hotel Metropol

Hotel Metropol – 01

Hotel Metropol – 02

Location; On the wall to the left of upper entrance of the Hotel Metropol on Teatralnaya Proyezti 2.

GPS; 55.75914 N 37.62194 E

Tverskaya Square

Tverskaya Square – 01

Tverskaya Square – 02

Location; On the top corner of the square, close to the main road

GPS; 55.76147 N 37.60997 E

Tverskaya Square – 03

VI Lenin in the Moscow Metro

Images of VI Lenin can still be found in the Moscow Metro system, either busts or mosaics. These include in;

Baumanskaya – Line 3, mosaic at platform level

Belorusskaya, bust in the vestibule

Biblioteka Imeni Lenina, large mosaic at the top of the stairs to the platform

Dobryninskaya – Line 5, large mosaic at the top of the escalators

Kievskaya – Line 3, in various mosaics on the platform level

Kievskaya – Line 5, in various mosaics on the platform level

Komsomolskaya – Line 5, a bust at the end of the platform and in various mosaics

Novokuznetskaya – Line 2, mosaic at the end of the platform

Ploshchad Ilyicha – Line 8, bust/high relief at platform end

Socialist mosaics and bas reliefs in Albania

Posted on 16/09/2024 by Michael

Bashkia Mosaic – Ura Vajguror

Socialist mosaics and bas reliefs in Albania

In order that the Albanian Lapidar Survey didn’t become open ended many public works of art that had been created during the Socialist period (1944-1990) were not recorded. However, in my travels I have encountered many of these and have treated them in the same, hopefully, thorough manner as I have the ‘official’ lapidars.

‘The Albanians’ Mosaic, National Historical Museum, Tirana

‘The Albanians’ mosaic on National Historical Museum, Tirana, is one of the finest examples of late Albanian Socialist Realism still to be seen in the country.

Political Vandalism and ‘The Albanians’ Mosaic in Tirana

The wonderful and impressive ‘The Albanians’ Mosaic, which has looked down on Skenderbeu Square, in the centre of Tirana, from above the entrance of the National Historical Museum since 1982, is starting to show it’s age. Less it’s age, in fact, but really the signs of intentional neglect which is tantamount to an act of political vandalism.

Restoration of ‘The Albanians’ – National Historical Museum, Tirana – or not

For the second time in less than a decade the façade of the National Historical Museum in Tirana is obscured by scaffolding and sheeting. As on the previous occasion (in 2012) the reason is, supposedly, for the renovation of the ‘The Albanians’, the huge mosaic that celebrates and commemorates the struggle for independence through the ages, the victory over Fascism and the construction of Socialism.

The bas reliefs and mosaics of the Vlora Palace of Sport

Although they are being neglected, and sometimes need dedication and determination to view them, there are still a number of artistic works from the Socialist period on many of what would have been public buildings. The most impressive (and becoming one of the most neglected) is the grand mosaic on the façade of the National Historical Museum in Tirana. Another example, which can easily be missed, is the bas-relief on both the north and south sides of the Palace of Sport in the town of Vlora. Even more easily missed are the two interior mosaics on either side of what would have been, in the past, the main entrance to this sports centre.

Bashkia Mosaic – Ura Vajgurore

The more I see of them the more I like the mosaics that were created in the Socialist period of Albania’s history. In many ways they capture a feeling of optimism and hope for the future which other art forms just can’t achieve. Yes, paintings can do that but the very scale of mosaics, out in the public view all the time, just seems more immediate. Mosaics have been around for a long time but in the past representing non-existent, mythical goods or the ‘rich and famous’. Those created in Albania in the 1970s and 1980s put the working class and peasantry into the forefront, showing that their lives are important and, if they but know it and chose to take on the task, that a better future will be theirs. Such is the mosaic on the façade of the Bashkia (Town Hall) of Ura Vajguror, between Berat and Kucove, in the centre of the country.

Radio Kukesi bas-relief

Socialist Albania was a colourful place in its time. Banners would decorate cities on anniversaries of important occasions, such as the Day of Liberation from Fascism, and when conferences and congresses were taking place banners and posters would celebrate these events. Slogans, often quotes from Marxist-Leninist leaders, would call upon the people to work to build Socialism in opposition to a hostile world surrounding the small Balkan country. Many of these symbols of the building of a new society were temporary and would be replaced when another anniversary arose or a different meeting was taking place. However, there were a number of more permanent works of art transmitting this message and one of them is the bas-relief over the main entrance to the local Kukesi Radio Station in the eastern town of Kukes.

Krrabë Miners Panel

There are more than six hundred lapidars so far listed by the Albanian Lapidar Survey but they are not the only examples of Socialist Realist Art that tell the story of the country, especially after Independence in 1944. Although a considerable number of lapidars are in a sorry state, whether due to neglect or outright political vandalism, there seems to be a move, at present, to ‘preserve’ those which are still in existence. However, I’m not aware of a similar programme (whether nationally or locally organised) that pays attention to the many statues, mosaics and panels that celebrate the achievements of the people. The panel to the miners in the small village of Krrabë is one such example.

Tobacco Factory – Durres

The work of the Albanian Lapidar Survey, in documenting and quantifying the monuments throughout the country, has produced an invaluable resource for those who have an interest in the Albanian version of Socialist Realism. However, due to time, resources and the difficulty of identifying the vast amount of examples of a new form of popular expression (made even more difficult with the criminal destruction of the archives of the Albanian League of Writers and Artists) many unique pieces of art were not part of the survey. The concrete bas-relief on the façade of the (former ‘Stamles’) Tobacco Factory, close to the seafront in Durrës, was, therefore, one of those not documented and now it has gone (unless someone with foresight was able to save it) forever.

Gjirokastra College Bas Relief

This small relief, at the bottom of the stairs into a high school in the old part of Gjirokastra, commemorates an event in 1942 when the local students from the gymnasium (college), together with their teachers, demonstrated against, and clashed with, the occupying Italian fascist forces.

Durres War Memorial

The overwhelming number of Socialist Realist monuments in Albania are constructed from either concrete or bronze. However, there are occasional variations from this norm and there are a few mosaics (though not on the massive scale of ‘The Albanians’ on the National History Museum in Tirana) including those in Bestrove, Llogara National Park and at the Durrës War Memorial.

Bestrove Mosaic

Mosaics play a small part in the history of Albanian lapidars but when they do appear they do so in an impressive and memorable manner. Although not strictly a lapidar the most impressive is the huge the ‘Albanian’ mosaic on the façade of the National Historical Museum in Tirana. Also interesting and worth a visit is the mosaic in the Martyrs’ Cemetery of Durrës. Each of these have their distinctive aspects and the mosaic, near the village of Bestrovë close to Vlorë, is another unique monument in its own right.

Bas Relief and Statue at Bajram Curri Museum

The early Albanian lapidars were relatively simple affairs, uncomplicated memorials to those who had died in the National Liberation War against Fascism and for Socialism. Come the Albanian ‘Cultural Revolution’ – starting in the late 1960s – the intention was to use such monuments in a much more educational manner as well as establishing a distinctive Albanian identity. This meant that artists who had been educated and trained under the Socialist regime were encouraged to depict events and memorials in a much more figurative manner. Examples of this approach are seen in the Musqheta monument in Berzhite and in the Peze War Memorial. As the Cultural Revolution moved into the 1980s a new approach developed. This was one where the monument told a story which had developed over time, showing a continuum of the struggle. This is seen, in a truly monumental manner on the Drashovice Arch (close to Vlora) and in the Albanians Mosaic on the façade of the National History Museum in Tirana but also on the more modest, at least in size, bas-relief and statue in the north-eastern town of Bajam Curri – although it also presents some new questions of the meaning of Socialist art.