October 30, 2017 in Moscow will open a monument dedicated to the victims of repression. Author of the project - George Frangulyan. The monument is located on Sakharov Avenue. "Wall of Grief" - name of the monument.
Prehistory
В 1961 году, на очередном съезде партии, Никита Khrushchev raised the question of debunking the personality cult of Stalin. Then they first considered the idea of creating a monument to the victims of repression. But the conversation did not go further than talking. Moreover, Khrushchev offered to pay tribute to the memory "loyal to Leninists" - the party members shot in the years of Stalinism. When the epoch of the so-called thaw was over, the idea of creating a monument was completely forgotten. They remembered it in the late eighties.
"Solovetsky stone" and other monuments
In the perestroika years the theme of the victims of repression became content with the subject. To install the monument, the most appropriate times have come. The monument opened on Lubyanka is called "The Solovki Stone". It is made of granite, brought from the territory of the former camp. The grand opening was held on October 30 in 1990. Where there were mass executions in the 1930s, subsequently sculptural compositions, walls of memory, chapels, memorial plaques were installed. One of them - "Mask of Sorrow" - is located in Magadan. Memorial tablet with inscription "Last address" is installed in many cities of Russia.
Preparation for the creation of the "Wall of Sorrow"
Since the beginning of the nineties, many monuments have been opened in the country. What is the need to create yet one? The fact is that in many countries that were part of the USSR, there have been monuments for several decades already, dedicated victims of Stalinist repression. In Moscow, only a mortgage stone. In terms of size and composition, this monument does not convey the tragedy and grief that had to be experienced thousands of Soviet families.
The question of installing "Walls of Sorrow" not just raised Vladimir Fedotov - Chairman Council for the Development of Society and Human Rights. In October 2014, the President of Russia was presented with a draft of the monument. At the end of December, agreement concerning the place of installation of the monument.
Competition
When it comes to creating such a monument,the author of the future project is chosen for several months. In February 2015, the competition started. Only one of its participants was to become the author of the monument. It was supposed that some projects could be used in other cities of Russia.
In total, the jury considered more than three hundred options. To select a suitable project, an exhibition was organized, which lasted about a month. The winner was George Frangulyan. The monument to the victims of repression could be called otherwise. "Wall of Grief" - The name of the monument created by Frangulyan. The second place in the competition was taken by Sergei Muratov with the project "Prism". The third is Elena Bocharova ("Broken Fates").
The memorial will be installed at the intersection of Sadovo-Spasskaya Street and Sakharov Avenue. "Wall of Grief", according to the jury, is most responsible spirit of the gloomy Stalin era, in addition, it has a very capacious, the spoken name. The erection of the monument is carried out not only at the expense of the state, and at the expense of people's donations.
Description of the monument "Wall of Sorrow" in Moscow
This monument is quite impressive size. Prior to the opening, it will be stored in the park next to Sakharov Avenue. The height of the monument is 6 meters. Length of 35 meters. In building "Walls of Sorrow" used 80 tons of bronze. The monument is a two-sided bas-relief, which depicts human figures. Images are both flat and voluminous.
On the picture "Walls of Sorrow"presented above, you can see the human figures. There are about six hundred of them here. On a ponderous wall, the composition of which is based on a game with volumes, there are quite large gaps madein the shape of a human silhouette. Through them you can go. This is a kind of artistic design of the sculptor: modern people have the opportunity to feel in the place of the victims of the all-powerful and merciless system.
Wall of Grief in Moscow - this not so easy monument.This is a warning that will allow descendants to realize the sad consequences of authoritarianism, the fragility of human life. Perhaps such a sculptural composition will protect representatives of the future generation from repeating the mistakes of the past. On "Grief wall" only one single word has been knocked out. But this word is present in 22 languages. Along the edges of the wall repeatedly engraved "Pomni".
"Wall of Grief" located in a square that is framed by granitestones. In front of the relief there are several searchlights mounted on granite pillars. The road to the monument is paved with stones. This is an unusual building material. Road to "Grief wall" paved with stones brought from camps, places of mass executions, and inhabited points whose residents were subjected to forced deportation: Irkutsk, Ukhta, Vorkuta, Khabarovsk Territory, Bashkortostan and other regions of Russia.
Next to the monument is the building Sogaz. According to the sculptor, this buildingsymbolizes power and slowness. In some ways, it is part of the monument. It creates a suitable, gloomy background for the wall, symbolizing tens of thousands of human victims.
Historical reference
About how many people died in the years of repression, even today there is no exact information. Mass arrests began in the late 1920s and ended only after the death of Stalin. The most terrible was the period of 1937-1938 Then about 30 thousand people were sentenced to death.
The victims of repression include not only those who were convicted under a political article and sentenced to death. In the camps were sent wives, husbands, relatives of those arrested. Children under 15 were subject to placement in cities away from Moscow, Leningrad, Minsk, Kiev, and Tiflis.
