Frederick Engels statue – Moscow

Frederick Engels

Frederick Engels

More on the USSR

Frederick Engels statue – Moscow

The Monument to Friedrich Engels (Russian: Памятник Фридриху Энгельсу) was installed in 1976 in Moscow near the metro station Kropotkinskaya. The authors of the monument are sculptor I. I. Kozlovsky, architects A. A. Zavarzin and A. A. Usachev. The monument has the status of an identified cultural heritage site.

According to the decision of the Central Committee of the CPSU and the Council of Ministers of the USSR, it was decided to erect a monument to Friedrich Engels, the German philosopher and one of the founders of Marxism, in the small square formed where Ostozhenka and Prechistenka streets met.

On November 2, 1976, on the eve of the 59th anniversary of the October Revolution, the monument was opened with a large crowd of people. The first Secretary of the CPSU MGK (Moscow Party Committee) V. V. Grishin, the Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee Mikhail V. Zimyanin, the Chairman of the Moscow City Council V. F. Promyslov, the Deputy Minister of Culture of the USSR V. V. Voronkov, the Ambassador of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) to the USSR G. Ott and other officials.

VV Grishin cut the scarlet ribbon, after which a coverlet fell from the monument and the hymn of the Soviet Union sounded. At the meeting, the director of the Institute of Marxism-Leninism of the Central Committee of the CPSU, Academician A. G. Egorov, Hero of Socialist Labour P. A. Novozhilov and a student of Moscow State University, T. Yu. Zuikova.

The bronze sculpture of Friedrich Engels is 6m high, installed on a cubic monolith-pedestal made of red granite. The monument stands in the centre of the round in terms of a platform paved with stone slabs and framed by a low granite fence, supplemented by semicircular benches. From the area of Prechistenskie Gates to the monument there is a semicircular set of steps.

Friedrich Engels is shown in full length with his arms crossed on his chest. The sculptor sought to convey the image of Engels in the 1870s, when he, together with Karl Marx, led the international working-class movement.

The monument and the playground around it completely absorbed the park, as a result of which the latter is not marked on the maps of Moscow and does not have its own name.

Text above from Wikipedia.

Related – other statues of revolutionaries in Moscow

Park of the Fallen/Muzeon Art Park

Karl Marx

Ernst Thaelmann

Ho Chi Minh monument

VI Lenin

More references to Frederick Engels;

Karl Marx and Frederick Engels Collected Works

Frederick Engels – pamphlets, books and commentaries

Frederick Engels in Manchester

Sculptor;

I. I. Kozlovsky

Architects;

A. A. Zavarzin and A. A. Usachev

Location;

In a small square where Prechistenka and Ostozhenka Streets meet, just across the road of the entrance to the Kropotkinskaya Metro station.

GPS;

55.74441º N

37.60172º E

More on the USSR

Ho Chi Minh monument – Moscow

Ho Chi Minh Monument

Ho Chi Minh Monument

More on the USSR

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.

Related – other statues of revolutionaries in Moscow

Park of the Fallen/Muzeon Art Park

Karl Marx

Ernst Thaelmann

Frederick Engels

VI Lenin

Some of the writings of Uncle Ho;

Solemn pledge of 30 million Vietnamese – 1965

Selected Writings (1920-1969)

Ho Chi Minh – Prison Diary

Location;

In the small square at the entrance to the Akademicheskaya Metro station, Line 6, the orange one.

GPS;

55°41′16.7″N

37°34′29.3″E

More on the USSR

Karl Marx monument, Moscow

Karl Marx Monument - Moscow - 01

Karl Marx Monument – Moscow – 01

More on the USSR

Karl Marx monument, Moscow

The Monument to Karl Marx in Moscow is a monument completed in 1961 by Soviet sculptor Lev Kerbel. It is located near the Bolshoi Theatre in Theatre Square.

The monument, weighing 160 tons, is made of a monolithic block of gray granite, mined near Dnepropetrovsk (now Dnipro, Ukraine) in the Kudashevsky mine quarry. Marx is depicted as a speaker standing on the podium, as if addressing the working people with a speech. The monument is decorated bearing the motto of the USSR ‘Proletarians of All Countries, Unite!’ on the front. The sculptural composition is complemented by two granite pylons on both sides of the monument. One of them is carved with the words of Friedrich Engels, said at Marx’s funeral: ‘His name and deed will outlive for centuries’; on the other – Lenin‘s phrase ‘The teaching of Marx is omnipotent because it is true’.

Karl Marx Monument - Moscow - 02

Karl Marx Monument – Moscow – 02

At the beginning of 1957, a new open all-Union competition was held for the best project for a monument to Marx; its winner was a creative team led by sculptor Lev Kerbel, and architects Ruben Begunts, Nikolai Kovalchuk, Vadim Makarevich and Vladimir Morgulis.

The monument was given protected status as an object of cultural significance by the government of the RSFSR in 1974, and has been included on the Russian cultural heritage register with a federal level of protection since 2016.

Text above from Wikipedia.

May Day 2024

May Day - 2024

May Day – 2024

The little square behind the statue is the gathering place for the annual May Day commemoration. Not as large a gathering I expected (and hoped?) but in the slide show below a few pictures from the event on 1st May 2024.

Related – other statues of revolutionaries in Moscow

Park of the Fallen/Muzeon Art Park

Ho Chi Minh monument

Ernst Thaelmann

Frederick Engels

VI Lenin

Location;

Theatre Square, Moscow, opposite the front of the Bolshoi Theatre building.

GPS;

55°45′30″N

37°37′10″E

More on the USSR