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

More on the USSR

Statue of VI Lenin – Main Post Office – Stalingrad

Posted on 07/11/2024 by Michael

Stalingrad Post Office – 01

More on the USSR

Statue of VI Lenin – Main Post Office – Stalingrad

There are still many statues of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin throughout what used to be the Soviet Union. Perhaps they’ve disappeared from some of the principal squares but they are still to be found in many towns and cities if you look for them. It’s true that many have been taken down (possibly destroyed in some places) but many of them, I’m sure, have just been placed into some sort of storage – although if you have the money and the space you find versions of Lenin for sale on the internet auction sites. These tend to be mainly from those virulent anti-Communist parts of the erstwhile Soviet Union, such as the Ukraine.

Stalingrad Post Office – 02

One of those which is out of the way is in Stalingrad, standing inside the service hall of the city’s main Post Office building, just a short walk down from the main railway station.

Stalingrad Post Office – 03

I came across this one purely by chance after deciding to walk into the post office just to see what was there. As with many post offices throughout the world it would have been very busy in the past but now is relatively quiet.

Stalingrad Post Office – 04

Literally in the centre of the circular service hall is a standing, white stone statue of Comrade Lenin. He’s on quite a high plinth so he’s looking over the heads of all who visit the building. It’s a more than life-size statue of him and he’s dressed in a suit. His stance is of someone who is making a speech or giving a presentation with his right arm outstretched and in his hand he holds a scrunched-up bunch of papers, presumably the notes for the speech.

(Note; the Hammer and Sickle on the ventilation grill.)

Stalingrad Post Office – 05

This statue appears to be in a good condition and is kept clean, so it is still being treated with respect by the staff who work in the post office.

Stalingrad Post Office – 06

As with most of the statues produced during the Soviet period there is rarely any indication of the actual sculptor. Nor was I able to tell exactly of what it was made, whether it was of sculptured stone or, more likely, of plaster.

Related;

Lenin Square, Stalingrad

Location;

Stalingrad Main Post Office, Ulitsa Mira, 9

GPS;

48.709544º N

44.514978º E

More on the USSR

Paintings, murals and sculptures of Socialist Albania

Posted on 16/09/2024 by Michael

‘Death to Fascism’

Paintings, murals and sculptures of Socialist Albania

As with the mosaics and bas reliefs there are still many other examples of Socialist Realist art which it is possible to appreciate throughout the country. Sometimes they are on permanent show as they are out in the open air, others are in museums and art galleries. Many of these public areas of exhibition were vandalised post 1990 but there seems to be a trend, slow and often partial, to renovate some of these old exhibition spaces and to show what had been shown in pride of place in the past.

There are also a few reprints of articles published during the Socialist period. These have been reproduced in an attempt to give a wider view of the role of art in a Socialist society.

The Revolutionary Spirit in Albanian Painting and Sculpture.

This article first appeared in issue No 6, 1969 of the bi-monthly magazine New Albania which reported on the biennial exhibition of Figurative Art that was held in the National Art Gallery in Tirana earlier in the year.

1971 National Exhibition of Figurative Arts – Tirana

This article was first published in New Albania, No 6, 1971. It discusses the general idea of art in a socialist society, how the Albanians saw ‘Socialist Realism’ with mention of a handful of works (out of 180) that were displayed at the National Exhibition of Figurative Arts in Tirana in the autumn of 1971.

A Reflection of the Progress of our Figurative Arts

This article first appeared in New Albania, No 6, 1976. The bi-annual Figurative Arts Competition and Exhibition seemed to have been postponed from 1975 and instead took place in 1976 to coincide with the 35th Anniversary of the Founding of the Party of Labour of Albania.

Traditional Wedding Mural in Peshkopia

There’s a perception by some (normally the ignorant and anti-socialist) that any work of art created during the construction of Socialism is necessarily ‘Socialist Realist’ art. They don’t understand, or refuse to accept, that the construction of Socialism is a long task. When it comes to art this involves asking the people to challenge their view of what is going around them and to look at artistic works in a critical and thoughtful manner and that this involves the unmasking of the hidden messages in a painting, sculpture, film or any other creative endeavour. One such work that needs to be seen in this light is the Wedding Mural which covers one of the walls of the Korabi restaurant in the hotel of that name in the town of Peshkopia.

‘Death to Fascism’ Mural in the National Historical Museum, Tirana

The mural that covers the whole of one wall in the room of the National Historical Museum in Tirana that’s devoted to the War of Liberation against the invading fascists of 1939 to 1944 is one of the few which can still be appreciated at leisure by any visitor.

National Art Gallery ‘Sculpture Park’ – Tirana

Each time I’ve been to Tirana I’ve made it a point to visit the impromptu ‘sculpture park’ that has been created behind the National Art Gallery, just down from the main Skanderbreu Square in the centre of Tirana.

No, Vladimir Ilyich and Uncle Joe, you shall not go to the ball

No, Vladimir Ilyich and Uncle Joe, you shall not go to the ball seems to be the message given out by the pro-Western government in Albania. Vladimir Ilyich Lenin and Joseph Stalin are covered up by the Albanian reactionaries in an attempt to prevent them from spoiling their Independence party at the end of the month.

A new look, and a new resident, to the National Art Gallery ‘Sculpture Park’, Tirana

The ‘Sculpture Park’ behind the National Art Gallery in Tirana, has a new resident. Well, not so much a new resident but one who has been there for a few years but it is only recently that the authorities at the Art Gallery have decided to, literally, take off the wraps and reveal his presence to the world. The new resident is none other than Enver Hoxha, up to his death in 1985, First Secretary of the Party of Labour of Albania, Chairman of the Democratic Front of Albania and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.

Socialist Realist Paintings and Sculptures in the National Art Gallery, Tirana

This post will consist of images of the paintings (and a few sculptures) from the Socialist period of Albania’s past. The first floor of the National Art Gallery is almost now solely (with one notable exception, which I’ll come to later) devoted to the period before 1990 when things fell apart.

The ‘Archive’ Exhibition at the Tirana Art Gallery

This exhibition (that took place during the latter part of 2021) at the National Art Gallery in Tirana seemed to include virtually everything that had been in storage over the last 30 years. But calling it an exhibition was a bit of a misnomer. The word exhibition gives the impression that a bit of thought and consideration had been put into the mounting and display of a collection of art. That is supposed to be the art of a curator – although that was totally neglected in this case with all items placed in the room with consideration of context. This included works of art that had been damaged for whatever reason in the past.

Mother Albania Expelling The Priest and The Military

There are fine examples of Socialist Realism in the Armaments Museum in the Castle in Gjirokastra, but you might have to ask to go upstairs to enter this older part of the museum – especially out of the summer season. ‘Mother Albania Expelling The Priest and The Military’ is one such sculpture.

Emblem over Party HQ, Peshkopia

Originally my project to describe, in detail, the magnificent examples of Socialist Realist Art that are embodied in some of the lapidars throughout the country has now expanded as I’ve encountered other incidences of the unique manner used in Albania in its attempt to impart the message of Socialism. Whereas some of these are truly monumental in all senses of the word, such as the Drashovice Arch, many others are, if not actually hidden, difficult to find unless you are looking for them or, as in this case, are directed towards it by a knowledgeable local. The emblem over what used to be the Headquarters of the Party of Labour of Albania, in the mountain town of Peshkopia in the north-east of the country, is one such example.

Liri Gero and the 68 Girls of Fier

Many monuments, statues and lapidars from Albania’s Socialist period have suffered over the years, through outright political vandalism or just neglect. However, there has been a bit of a sea change in recent years but this has not come without its own problems. Here I want to develop the ideas of Albanian Socialist Realist art by looking at two works produced to commemorate the life of a young partisan woman, Liri Gero, and also a work in commemoration of 68 young women who also left their home town of Fier to join the partisans fighting the Fascist invaders.

The ‘Hanged Women’ of Gjirokastra

Tucked away at the top end of Sheshi Çerçiz Topulli (Square) in the old part of Gjirokastra is a small statue which you could easily miss. Next to the potted plants in front of the Tourist Information Office is a white stone statue, of the upper body, of two women. This is a representation of Bule Naipi and Persefoni Kokëdhima who were executed by the German Nazis in 1944. From that time they became known as the Hanged Women of Gjirokastra.

Traditional Musicians and Dancers

Although there are many monuments and statues that are overtly political, in that they commemorate events or people involved in national liberation struggles (whether that be against the Ottoman Empire or the Italian and German Fascists of World War Two) other aspects of Albanian life are also represented in various locations throughout the country. As Gjirokastra, in the Socialist period, had become the centre for periodic folklore festivals it’s not surprising to find a frieze depicting traditional musicians and dancers located there.

Enver Hoxha returns to Tepelene

…. although he probably never left, just ‘hiding’ for a while.

Almost thirty five years after his death and thirty years since the reaction was able to gain control in Albania it is very difficult to come across public images of Enver Hoxha, the leader of the country for just over forty years. In the 1990s the reactionaries needed to personalise any difficulties in the country and someone who had been dead for five years was an ideal candidate – even to the extent that Comrade Hoxha was considered responsible for events that had happened after his death. So he had to disappear from view.