The Victory Monument in Moscow: the greatness of the idea and the problems of implementation. From Ernst Neizvestny to Zurab Tsereteli

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to substantiate the main stages in the creation of the Victory Monument on Poklonnaya Gora in Moscow, to summarize documentary sources that draw attention to the perceptual comprehension of this topic and its artistic embodiment in chronological order. The article analyzes materials related to the history of the monument, from early discussions and competitive projects in the early 1960s to its final implementation in the mid-1990s. The selected discourse focuses on the work of two outstanding sculptors who participated in this process over the years. Ernst Neizvestny is one of the creators of a relatively early draft of the monument, which caused controversial reviews at the time, and Zurab Tsereteli is the author and supervisor of the completion of the construction and decoration of the memorial complex. The period of the mid-1970s – 1980s is also highlighted, when the construction of the memorial ensemble became a controversial issue, which pointed to common contradictions in the monumental genre of the late Soviet period. The scientific novelty of the study is related to the fact that for the first time an analytical perspective of the evolution of the figurative and metaphorical solution of the Victory Monument was built in connection with the sequence of changes in factors of socio-cultural relevance. As a result of the study, it was determined that the monument and its architectural environment created as a result, firstly, indicate a public consensus on the forms of monumentalization, and secondly, they draw attention to the phenomenality (or pattern) of their rapid and successful completion during the difficult stage of building a new state for the country. The monument also confirms the importance of the concept of Victory in the genesis of a newfound and reinterpreted national history. Thus, the central Victory Monument in Moscow, its artistic and historically significant qualities accumulate a wide range of characteristics that represent potential opportunities for the study of modern monumentalism.

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About this article

Publication history

• Received: May 23, 2025.
• Published: June 25, 2025.

Keywords

• Монумент Победы в Москве
• Эрнст Неизвестный
• Зураб Церетели
• советская скульптура
• российская скульптура
• монументальное искусство
• монументальная скульптура
• Victory Monument in Moscow
• Ernst Neizvestny
• Zurab Tsereteli
• Soviet sculpture
• Russian sculpture
• monumental art
• monumental sculpture

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