Moscow Sculpture Park
By Dave • February 15th, 2008
Going to Moscow and hoping to see giant Soviet-style tower blocks and roundabouts dominated by Stalinesque monuments is a bit like going to England and hoping to see C&A, BHS, and hideous orange and brown shopping centres selling 14in TV sets showing re-runs of Some Mothers do ‘Ave ‘Em. Things have moved on radically.
The difference, of course, is that no-one wants to see 1980s Britain. It was crap. Soviet Russia, however, remains desperately compelling, particularly for history geeks like me. But, after the fall of communism, the giant sculptures of the USSR were plucked from their plinths and hidden away. Until, that is, some bright soul thought, “say, I bet some gullible sap would pay to see these.”
That sap is me (and by proxy, my wife), and the Moscow Sculpture Park is a hazardous 25-minute walk south of Red Square, across lane upon lane of brown traffic. It was deserted except for us and a caged, furious guard dog. Its walkways were sheeted with thick ice when we arrived, but it remained the most captivating place we visited while we were in town. All of the truly giant sculptures are long gone, presumably smashed up by an embarrassed, progressive government. The biggest thing in the park is a 15ft-tall hand, benevolently open-palmed, secured to a steel scaffold.
The rest of the park is populated by busts of former leaders and significant Soviet figures. Lenin makes several inevitable appearances, as does Stalin. There were also several Brezhnev busts but, curiously, none of Kruschchev. There are some fabulous Soviet-style steel sculptures as well, reminders of the Soviet attitude that steely resolve and collective willpower would overcome.
The sculpture park cost just 100r (£2) to get in, and those arriving via the Metro are in for the biggest treat. In the square opposite is one of the very few in-the-wild Lenin sculptures remaining in Moscow, albeit one now overlooked by adverts for Canon and Sanyo. Stalin wasn’t turning in his grave when I saw him, but perhaps he saves that one for when the doors are closed.
Tags: england, monuments, moscow, roundabouts, Russia, sculpture, soviet style, tower blocks