An opening ceremony of a memorial by Ernst Neizvestny called "Masks of Sorrow" took place today in the Ural capital. It commemorates the victims of political repressions. The sculptor planned to set up the statues in three cities: Yekaterinburg, Vorkuta, and Magadan. In Kolyma, the memorial was erected in 1996, but in the Urals, the sculptor managed to put his idea into life only now. Kirill Bortnikov reports.
People waited for this moment for 27 years. Ernst Neizvestny's memorial "Masks of Sorrow" was finally set up in the Urals, which hold the memory of the tragic events of the 1930s — 1950s.
Roman Romanov, resident of Yekaterinburg: "It's a historical event, it's an act of historical justice and it's happening before our eyes. "The wall of Sorrow" has recently been opened in Moscow, and before that, a similar national memorial, the first of its kind, was opened in Magadan".
The basis of the composition are two masks, one of them is turned to the East and the other — to the West, symbolizing Europe and Asia.
Ernst Neizvestny planned to set up the "Masks of Sorrow" in three GULAG capitals: in Sverdlovsk, present Yekaterinburg, Vorkuta, and Magadan. In Kolyma the memorial was erected in 1996, setting up such a memorial in the Urals was a matter of discussion as far back as the 1990s, but the plan was put to life only today.
Jeff Blumis, sculptor, Ernst Neizvestny's student: "I am very happy this happened, I regret that Ernst isn't here with us today. He would've been very happy to be here".
The initial plan was a composition 15 meters high, 5 times as big, but the Ural smelters decided to leave it at 3 meters. This way they managed to keep the proportions and the project authenticity.
Ivan Dubrovin, head of the smelteries: "We had to keep to the geometry designed by Ernst, each stroke, each movement of his finger, each fingerprint, and we succeeded".
The work on the memorial began two years ago. 15 people were engaged in the sculptor's project. It was supervised by the great sculptor's wife Anna Neizvestnaya. The photos of each stage were sent to New York where she is residing. As a result, the sculpture made of silicone bronze was done just as the author had imagined it.
The long-awaited opening of the monument will boost the development of a memorial complex. The next step will be setting up new pylons with the names of the victims of repressions. A reconstruction of the museum will conclude the works.
Kirill Bortnikov, Nikolay Starostin, Dmitriy Komov, Elena Galeeva, Vesti, Yekaterinburg
