In memory of Lenin. Competition projects of Soviet citizens for the construction of a monument

Abstract

The article raises an issue of the participation of Soviet citizens in the construction of the monuments dedicated to V.I. Lenin. Using the example of the All-Union competition for the construction of monuments, the author considers the projects of ordinary Soviet citizens, abundant in images and symbols, and explains their meaning. It is emphasized that the emergence of such images is due to the influence of the ideological clichés on the designers’ consciousness. In addition, the paper presents the examples of the erected monuments created by workers: those structures were made on their initiative, their artistic projects and with the funds collected from their income. Despite the fact that the foundations of the cult were laid during the life of V.I. Lenin, it actively developed only after his death. The monuments dedicated to Lenin began to spontaneously appear in the country – they were created by self-taught workers. Often unpretentious, made of improvised materials, they demonstrated sincere public involvement in the ongoing mourning event. However, the authorities soon banned the creation of images of Vladimir Ilyich without their prior approval. Thus, the monument construction which started as a free creative impulse of the masses turned into the manufacture of the same type figures. The monument production was industrialized. However, despite such restrictions, the citizens found an outlet for their creative imagination – the construction of pedestals. The Soviet citizens created original pedestals for the sculptures ordered from the official suppliers. Thus, in Novosibirsk, the bust by V.V. Kozlov was placed on a small architectural structure that served as a library and a tribune for holding rallies and marches. The monument was named the “Monument-Mausoleum”, which refers to another trend in architectural construction in the first years of Leniniana – the desire of the people to build in a city, if not a real one, but still their own mausoleum.