Monument to the Heroes of the Revolution of 1905-1907, Moscow

Posted on 01/10/2024 by Michael

Monument to 1905-1907 Revolution

Monument to the Heroes of the Revolution of 1905-1907, Moscow

This monument commemorates the first attempt that the Russian workers had in making a revolution in Russia in the 20th century. Although it failed the lessons learnt from that attempt (together with the lessons learnt from the Paris Commune of 1871) meant that the successful Revolution of October (old style) 1917, under the leadership of the Bolsheviks, led by VI Lenin, was possible.

The monument

The story of the monument is basically in three parts.

Monument to 1905-1907 Revolution – 01

On the left there are two figures. A woman is standing and leaning against her legs is a dead or seriously injured male. The woman has both her arms fully extended above her head in the shape of a V (for victory?) and her fists are clenched. Even though the reaction is killing the people she remains defiant and angry, prepared to fight on, even if it means her death. Her face has the look of sadness for the injury/death of her Comrade but also one of determination. The reaction might win now but the future is of the workers.

Monument to 1905-1907 Revolution – 02

On the right there are two workers, a man and a woman, who are taking on one of the Tsarist cavalrymen. They are on the attack even against something as large and powerful as a military horse and its rider. The woman has taken hold of the horses bridle, causing it to rear up on its hind legs. This makes the seating of the soldier unsteady as he falls back and gets lower to the ground. This gives the opportunity for the man to drag the soldier from his saddle and take away his advantage. Once on the ground he will be vulnerable to attack from the rest of the (unseen) crowd. The look of panic on the face of the cavalryman is clear. He is losing this particular battle and it could mean he will also lose his life.

Monument to 1905-1907 Revolution – 02

In the centre is a symbolic grouping of Revolution. Here there are three men, one younger than the other two. The fact that there are three men and no image of a woman is a little bit unusual. I haven’t seen as many Soviet monuments of this sort as I have seen in Albania, but there, in such a circumstance, there is always a female representative to illustrate that this battle for revolution and a change in the life of the working class and peasantry is a fight of both men and women.

Two of the men are standing and one is kneeling. The oldest man in the middle is holding the pole of a huge (red) flag that flutters in the wind behind the group. The red flag is the workers’ flag and as long as that is flying the workers will never be defeated. On his left is a young man, standing with his rifle in his right hand, held high out in front of him – a sign of victory (but here not of 1905-1907 but of the victory to come in 1917). He is in the dress of a Russian peasant at the time – all such monuments stressing the unity of the workers and peasants against Tsarism. The kneeling revolutionary is on the viewers left of the group. He is dressed as an industrial worker and is holding his rifle in his right hand, with its butt resting on the ground. They are all looking ahead, into the future.

The inscription on the podium;

in Russian;

Революции 1905-1907 годов посвящается

in English;

Dedicated to the revolutionary years 1905-1907

Across the road, in Dekabrskaya Park, at the far end, there’s a fine statue of a seated Lenin.

Reading list;

VI Lenin – Pages from his life, Volume 2, the first Russian Revolution 1905-1907

VI Lenin – Lecture on the 1905 Revolution

Date of inauguration;

February 17, 1981, in honour of the 75 anniversary of the Moscow armed uprising in December 1905.

Artists:

OA Ikonnikov and VA Fedorov

Architects;

ME Konstantinov, AM Polovnikov and VM Fursov

Location;

In front of Ulitsa 1905 Goda Metro station, on Line 7, north west of the city centre.

GPS;

55.76362º N

37.56241º 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

Moscow Kievskya railway station

Posted on 02/08/2024 by Michael

Kievskaya Railway Station – Sachkv

Moscow Kievskya railway station

Kiyevskya railway terminal (Russian: Ки́евский вокза́л, Kievskiy vokzal) is one of the nine railway terminals of Moscow, Russia. It is the only railway station in Moscow to have a frontage on the Moskva River. The station is located at the Square of Europe, in the beginning of Bolshaya Dorogomilovskaya Street in Dorogomilovo District of Moscow. A hub of the Moscow Metro is located nearby.

Kievskaya railway station – 03

As the name suggests, there were regular services to Kiev and many other points in Ukraine. There used to be regular services to Belgrade, Zagreb, Varna, Bucharest, Sofia, Chișinău, Niš, Budapest, Prague, Vienna and Venice as well. 15-20 years ago, all these trains were cancelled, some were transferred to the Belorussky railway station.

The station was built between 1914 and 1918 in the Byzantine Revival style, which is especially pronounced in the 51m-high (167 ft) clock tower. Originally named the Bryansk station, it was designed by Ivan Rerberg and Vladimir Shukhov, and is considered an important landmark of architecture and engineering of the time.

Text above from Wikipedia.

The decoration of the building, both inside and outside, seems to be very much as it was designed at the beginning of the 20^th century. Soviet imagery just appears to have been superimposed on what could be considered tsarist baroque. This is apart from the main waiting room that had four large bas-reliefs added after the Great Patriotic War. In fact, this particular area contains the greatest amount of Soviet emblems, i.e., the hammer and sickle image, stars and also references to the Ukrainian Soviet Republic.

Kievskaya railway station – 04

At the time of my visit in May 2024 there was also a temporary exhibition of Soviet posters (reproductions) from the time of the Great Patriotic War to coincide with the celebration of Victory Day on the 9^th.

Kievskaya railway station – 05

The exterior façade of the building includes two images of Saint George – one of him killing the dragon and the other on his stay in heaven. These appear to be coloured mosaics but I have no idea whether these were covered in the past or just allowed to be there as they were part of the original decoration. Also of interest from the original design are the four art deco statues which flank the image of George, allegories for early 20^th industry and transport.

Kievskaya railway station – 01

Also, on the left hand side of what is now the main entrance to the building is a large grey marble plaque to VI Lenin.

Kievskaya railway station – 02

So far the building has avoided the same sort of ‘modernisation’ that has been inflicted upon other railway stations. Whether that is a sign of its now limited use or the fact that the modernisation is about to come is unknown.