Monument to the Soviet Red Army, Liberty Square, Budapest

Posted on 23/09/2024 by Michael

Monument to the Soviet Red Army

Monument to the Soviet Red Army, Liberty Square, Budapest

The monument to the liberating Red Army consists of a column, stepped at its lower levels, surmounted by a large, golden, three-dimensional star. On the face of the column, around half way up, is a golden representation of the State emblem of the Soviet Union.

Below the emblem, in black lettering are the words, in Cyrillic,

СЛАВА СОВЕТСКИМ ГЕРОЯМ ОСВОЂОДИТЕЛЯМ

and then in Hungarian;

DÍCSÖSÉG A FELSZABADÍTÓ SZOVJET HÖSÖKNEK

These translate as;

GLORY TO THE SOVIET HEROES, LIBERATORS

The column sits on a platform which is reached by a short series of five steps on both sides. To the left, rear and right of the column there’s a low wall. On this wall, immediately to the left and right of the column, the names of some of the Soviet fallen officers are engraved in gold lettering. This seems strange to me. Ninety-five thousand Red Armymen must have died in the battle for Budapest but why just single out the officers to be named on the memorial?

There are two, semi-circular bas reliefs – one that most people see on the ‘front’ of the monument and the other at the back.

Monument to the Soviet Red Army – 01

The one at the front depicts a common theme on such monuments, a group of eight Red Armymen advance, weapons at the ready, attacking a position held by the Nazi occupiers. The first group of four, on the left, includes a soldier – who is not shown to be armed – who holds aloft the Soviet Flag (although there’s no indication of the hammer and sickle or a star) whilst looking back, urging those behind to join in the attack. This is a common aspect of such Socialist Realist sculpture and can be seen in, for example, on some structures in Albania and Russia. Another soldier in this group is dragging along a Pulyemyot Maksima PM1910, a heavy Maxim machine gun (versions of which seem to have been used for more than a hundred years).

The second group of four are on the right and they are accompanied by a tank, the gun barrel of which looms ominously above them. Three of them are soldiers with a submachine gun (almost certainly a PPSh-41) and the fourth, at the top, is an officer with a pistol. They are all aiming and firing at the Nazis.

In the background can be seen the outline of some of the most distinctive buildings in the centre of Budapest, many of them ruins, demonstration of the fierceness of the fighting. (Something like 80% of the buildings of Budapest were either destroyed or severely damaged by the end of the final battle.)

Monument to the Soviet Red Army – 02

In many ways the back of the column is a mirror of the front. There’s the emblem of the Soviet Union and the same inscription in both Russian and Hungarian. There’s also a semi circular bas relief but although it is also an image of attacking Soviet Red Armymen it tells a sightly different story.

Here we have a group of four soldiers on the attack with an even more ruined image of Budapest in the background. They are moving from left the right and the soldier on the extreme left is standing and is about to throw a stick hand grenade with his right hand. At the same time he holds a submachine gun (probably again a PPSh-41) in his left hand. The other three of the group are advancing and firing against the Nazi enemy in the seriously damaged remains of Budapest before the final liberation on 13^th February 1945.

A combination of lack of maintenance and climate probably is the cause of the damage to the images at the back. Although providing a green and natural backdrop the large trees behind the monument create a humid environment and in the winter that area probably doesn’t get any sun at all. And there is obvious damage caused by humidity on the bas relief panel. To the left of the panel water damage has changed the colour of the bronze from green to a dirty brown. Above the panel there are signs of mould around the lettering and the Soviet emblem doesn’t shine so bright as it does at the front.

On the other hand the façade that people normally see gets the full force of the sun so there’s an element of self-maintenance here as the damp and mould don’t have an opportunity to establish themselves and grow. Also any damage here would be noticed immediately. On my visit a dozen or more big tour groups stood in front of the monument and were treated to an anti-Soviet, anti-Russian diatribe, with no reference to the fact that the Hungarians were firm supporters of the Nazis and it was a combined force of German and Hungarian fascists that were surrounded in late December 1944 before the final liberation 50 days later.

In the centre of the base of the platform, in gold lettering, is the date ‘1945’, the year of liberation. There’s a small, reasonably well tended flower bed in front of the bas relief panel, with red flowers. On my visit there was also a large bunch of red roses, left at some time in the recent past to commemorate some specific event, unknown to me.

Considering the presence of various fascist groups in Hungary and the constant harping on about the 1956 counter-revolution I’m slightly surprised the monument is in such a good condition. There is a government to government agreement that the monument will not be removed but that wouldn’t normally stop Hungarian Nazi sympathisers.

Location;

Szabadság tér (Liberty Square)

South-east of the Parliament Building.

GPS;

47.50417º N

19.05057º E

Memento Park, Budapest

Posted on 20/09/2024 by Michael

Memento Park

Memento Park, Budapest

This is a collection of statues, bas reliefs and busts that used to be located in public spaces in the city of Budapest during the period of the countries Socialist construction. This is similar (but not an exact equivalent) of the Park of the Fallen/Muzeon Art Park, Moscow, and the Museum of Socialist Art – Sofia, Bulgaria. It consists of 41 items, spread out over three sections, in the open air. The collection consists of what might be called the seminal works that were on display in the city but the curation also seems to have chosen some of the exhibits based upon the uniqueness of their design. Hungarian sculptors seemed to have followed a slightly different path in representing individuals and events from some of the other countries in Eastern Europe. Here you will see figures that are almost abstract, still ‘figurative’ but a shift away from the norm of the time.

What to look for;

a couple of good Lenins – although one of them looks slightly different from what we’re used to – and one of which Vladimir Ilyich holds his scrunched up cap in his left hand;

Memento Park – 01

an interesting, stylised, made of stone, ‘the only Cubist-style monument of Karl Marx and Frederick Engels in the world’ to the right of the main entrance;

Memento Park – 07

a truly monumental statue of a Soviet Red Army man – who used to be placed at base of the memorial to Freedom in present day Liberty Square;

Memento Park – 02

the large statue group as a monument to Bela Kun and the short-lived Hungarian Soviet Republic, a late statue (1986) its composition is quite unique and seems to be open to a whole number of interpretations;

Memento Park – 03

a couple of monuments to Georgi Dimitrov, the Bulgarian leader of the Communist (Third) International;

Memento Park – 04

the two bas relief panels that were originally planned to be part of the decoration of one of the Budapest metro system;

Memento Park – 05

the robotic forms of the three Hungarian volunteers of the International Brigades in the Spanish Civil War;

Memento Park – 06

the wall to commemorate the defeat of the Hungarian Counter-Revolution of 1956.

Memento Park – 08

More information about all the statues in the Park can be found in the official guide book, In the shadow of Stalin’s boots.

It’s a bit of a mixed message. It thinks it’s critical of the Socialist past – which the narrative puts down to be one only of Soviet occupation – but, from time to time, has to acknowledge that it was the Soviet Red Army that liberated the country from the Nazis. The only country that threw out the fascists, first the Italian and then the Germans, without the direct intervention of the Red Army, was the Albanians. The rest of Eastern Europe didn’t do it by themselves.

Perhaps one of the most telling statements made in the book is on page 4, second paragraph. Here it states ‘Hungary finished the Second World War in 1945 on the losing side’. By December 1944 the Red Army had surrounded Budapest but it took them 50 days to destroy the resistance of the German Nazis and their Hungarian collaborators. The remnants of this support for fascism obviously were not totally destroyed throughout the country and it was from this seed that the counter-revolution of 1956 grew – nurtured by the capitalist ‘West’.

Location;

To the south west of the city centre, just outside the official city limits.

1223 Budapest XXII. district, Balatoni út – Szabadkai utca corner

GPS;

47.42671015031753º N

18.999903359092098º E

How to get there by public transport;

From central Budapest take the Metro line No. 4 to Kelenfold, the end of the line. Once out of the metro system and in the passageway under the railway lines of the mainline station look for a sign pointing you to Örmezö which will take you to the bus station (blue buses) where you want to catch either the 101E, 101B or the 150. There’s an electronic information board as you come up from the underpass indicating how long before they depart. This is an express bus with few stops and Memento Park is the second of these, indicated on a screen as well as being announced. The second time the voice mentions a stop it is imminent. The entrance is just behind the bus as you get off, look for the black boots.

Memento Park website

Opening times;

Everyday from 10.00 – 18.00

Entrance;

Adults; 3,000 HUF

Students; 1,800 HUF

Children (under 14) 1,200 HUF

Guide book available at the ticket counter;

2,000 HUF

Museum of Socialist Art – Sofia, Bulgaria

Soviet Army Monument – Sofia

Posted on 01/05/2024 by Michael

Soviet Army Monument – Иван Иванов

Soviet Army Monument – Sofia

Possibly the largest existent sculptural work of Socialist Realism in Sofia, and quite possibly the whole country, is the Monument to the Soviet Army which was commissioned and erected in 1954 on the occasion of the 10 anniversary of the Liberation of Sofia by the Red Army.

The principal monument was a group sculpture of; a Red Army soldier in the centre, with his rifle held high above his head in his right hand; to his right there’s a young Bulgarian woman holding her baby; and on his left there’s a Bulgarian man. This trio was standing on a 37 metre high pedestal which is reached by a series of stepped platforms from the edge of the complex which starts near the main road.

It is ‘was’ rather than ‘is’ because this particular element of the monument was removed in December 2023. In theory this will eventually be given a place in the garden of the Museum of Socialist Art. It had not appeared there in April 2024 and the reason for the delay is unknown, possibly because it would be in need of some cleaning and restoration. It is hoped that is the only reason for the delay and that reactionaries in the Bulgarian political community are not using it as an excuse in the hope the delay will erase the sculpture from the public consciousness.

Although this trio might have been the focal point of the monument it is by no means the only element of complex.

The principal entrance is the stepped route to the pedestal which is flanked by two, low level group sculptures. Both these groups represent Red Army men and women being welcomed by the local populace. They bring food and drink for the tired soldiers and the appreciation of their efforts are being demonstrated by Bulgarians of all ages. There’s a feeling of joy and celebration as the people are freed from the dominance of the invading Nazis and the possibility of being able to build a new future.

On the sides of the platform on which the pedestal stands are three, large bas relief panels. The ones on the right and left depict war scenes from battles that would have proceeded the liberation of Bulgaria as the Red Army swept west to eventually crush the Nazi beast in its lair in Berlin the following year. The third panel, on the south side, depicts the Soviet ‘home front’ where those not in the actual fighting were making the success of the Red Army possible by their work in the factories and the fields.

All these five sculptural elements have suffered quite severe vandalism, mainly by paint, but there doesn’t seem to be any serious physical damage. At least nothing that couldn’t be rectified with careful cleaning and restoration. Whether that will be their fate or not is unknown.

Although the sculpture on the pedestal might have been recently removed access to the complex is still restricted. A 2 metre high metal fence surrounds every single element of the monument, the sculptures as well as the approach steps and platforms.

Obviously there have been efforts, some at least successful, to breach this barrier in the past but equally serious efforts have been made to repair those breaches. I walked around the whole perimeter and was unable to find any way to get inside the fence. For that reason the photographic record is not dependent upon what I would have liked to have presented rather it what was possible through gaps in the fence or standing on benches at one the edge of the barrier.

The fact that the final fate of this monument has been under discussion for 30 years indicates the uncertainty that the reactionaries in power in Bulgaria feel about the public memory of the liberation from Fascism and the role the Red Army played in that. Removing the principal trio with the ‘promise’ they would be relocated to the Museum of Socialist Art is only part of the ‘solution’. Those sculptural elements that remain are larger and more difficult to place outside of their present, and original, context.

Unfortunately, I don’t have any information about those artists and architects who were involved in the creation and installation of the monument.

How to get there:

Leave the underpass of the Sofia University Metro station by the south east exit and walk along the south side of Tsar Osvoboditel Boulevard. After about 200 metres the area of the complex is unmistakeable on the right. In April 2024 the pedestal was still surrounded by scaffolding but the shiny metal fence stands out like a sore thumb.