The People's Feat: Monuments of the Great Patriotic War

Discussion in 'Soviet' started by Zoya, Apr 4, 2008.

  1. tovarisch

    tovarisch Discharged

    'Motherland's restoration would be a suitable cause for an international appeal fund.

    Definitely. Financial and bureaucratic issues in Russia will be a huge pain when tackling the problem of "Rodina-Mat"s restoration. An international appeal will work much better and will gather more money in less time.

    Is the sculpture in the UNESCO heritage list thingy? I mean, if tequila fields in Mexico (where they grow the agava or whatsitcalled to make the drink) are guarded by international law (the UNESCO organisation), then 'the Motherland' should surely qualify for the UNESCO list.

    They're taking St. Petersburg off the list, by the way :)
     
  2. Capt.Sensible

    Capt.Sensible Well-Known Member

  3. tovarisch

    tovarisch Discharged

    Gazprom is about to build a huge futuristic business centre right in the middle of the city. It's apparently going to change the whole skyline and it won't fit in with the historical background, like the Hermitage, Peterhof, St. Isaac's Cathedral etc. I see the logic with them taking it off the list, I mean, the reason for it, but I don't reckon it's worth it. The city won't be pulling down any of the famous architectural buildings, and the project might not even be confirmed by the government, as nearly the whole population of St. Petersburg is against Gazprom's plan.

    But Gazprom have got money and various political levers, and that weighs more than the desires of the people, and their rights. That's how capitalism works in Russia, anyhow. The whole spiel has stagnated recently, nobody knows how it's working out right now, nothing's for certain. All I can do is sit back and watch it unfold, really.
     
  4. tovarisch

    tovarisch Discharged

    Here's a little overview of the 'Ohta' business centre, as it will be called.

    http://www.gazprom-neft.ru/img/?24_1

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
  5. tovarisch

    tovarisch Discharged

    The second picture was made by Photoshop by some blokes, just to see how the skyline would change with the construction of that skyscraper.
     
  6. Gerard

    Gerard Seelow/Prora

    Talk about being somewhat out of character with the skyline!! Dont like it.
     
  7. Capt.Sensible

    Capt.Sensible Well-Known Member

    The second picture was made by Photoshop by some blokes, just to see how the skyline would change with the construction of that skyscraper.
    Yes, there are clearly some settings 'issues'......:rolleyes:
    It is only a set of proposals at the moment and there is no guarantee it will be built...I hope.....
     
  8. tovarisch

    tovarisch Discharged

    Talk about being somewhat out of character with the skyline!! Dont like it.

    Neither do the people of St. Petersburg. :) I've heard that they (the government) already gave the go-ahead for the project, and that buildings are already being demolished to make way for that ugly spire to be put up. :( Oh well, it's Gazprom, what can we do. :( Then again, those all could have been rumours. I googled it, and 4 or 5 pics of buildings being demolished came up. So I have no idea.
     
  9. Capt.Sensible

    Capt.Sensible Well-Known Member

    Neither do the people of St. Petersburg. :) I've heard that they (the government) already gave the go-ahead for the project, and that buildings are already being demolished to make way for that ugly spire to be put up. :( Oh well, it's Gazprom, what can we do. :( Then again, those all could have been rumours. I googled it, and 4 or 5 pics of buildings being demolished came up. So I have no idea.

    This report is most recent and apparently reasonably reliable that I could find:
    Gazprom Skyscraper Debate Sees Rare Rift In Russian Elite - Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty © 2010

    All very murky and political......
     
  10. tovarisch

    tovarisch Discharged

    would destroy the integrity of the city's famed neoclassical architecture.

    That's what I was talking about. It perverts the whole architectural composition.

    Dmitry Medvedev served as Gazprom chairman before becoming Russian president; he has since been replaced by First Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov.


    Gazprom's like a political officials factory or something... It's pretty freaky, all the power in Russia is in the hands of one (or maybe even two *shock-horror*) corporations or parties or whatnot.

    I think it won't cost them anything to build that skyscraper, independent of the people's will, just like it's been done for centuries. Stuff isn't discussed here, it's just done, and that's all there is to it. No questions asked, none answered. Maybe that's a good thing, maybe that's a bad thing, I don't know. It's just a national oddity that we have. :) And if there's money and power involved in the situation, stuff gets really murky, like you mentioned.
     
  11. civvie

    civvie Member

    I must say the St Petersburg scheme would look quite ordinary in Dubai but in the midst of neo-classical splendours...!?

    We have similar problems with insensitive property developers here in the UK. A lot of European Union money has gone into regenerating our former northern industrial cities. Each city has sought a prestige architectural showpiece but the results have been pretty mixed - and a lot of good older buildings have been demolished to make way for these grandiose schemes.

    Liverpool has a huge new city centre retail/commercial facility which obstructs some of the celebrated views of the beautiful 'Three Graces' buildings and is lamented by architects. Salford (adjacent to Manchester) on the other hand, has the wonderful Imperial War Museum North on the bank the Manchester Ship Canal.

    The Salford architects took as their theme the Eour Elements - earth, fire, air and water and interpreted their idea very freely. I understand they were seeking to express a universal dimension to the basic experience of warfare. The result is almost as sculptural as architectural and I love it. I've put a link to Google Images search results below and there's a link to the museum too (look for the Imperial War Museum North button) - you might find it interesting.



    salford imperial war museum - Google Search

    Welcome to the Imperial War Museum
     
  12. tovarisch

    tovarisch Discharged

    Whoa.... I thought that was a Guggenheim or something o_O Massive engineering job. Looks fabulous. I love it. You wouldn't say that was an Imperial War Museum at first glance. Absolutely stunning. They really tried to make it fit with the city's architectural feel, and they succeeded, and it looks brilliant.

    Since we've wavered off to a theme of modern architecture, I'll give you a little insight on the projects planned in Russia in the near future. Moscow's already building a huge business centre, designed by none other that Sir Norman Foster, author of the London Gherkin :p

    http://www.ww2talk.com/forum/picture.php?albumid=201&pictureid=1701

    That's how the Moskva-City skyscraper complex stands as of February 2010. Photo taken by yours truly :)

    [​IMG]
    (above) - the 'Apelsin' (Orange) building in Moscow.

    [​IMG]

    The 'Russia' tower in Moscow. (they've got no money to build it, it's been transformed into a multi-storey parking lot for the time being :D)

    [​IMG]

    The Russia tower.

    [​IMG]

    The Yugra building in Khanty-Mansisysk.

    [​IMG]

    And there's Lord Norman Foster, with a rather sneaky look on his face :)
     
  13. civvie

    civvie Member

    I guess as with all buildings to get the best feel for it by walking around, seeing changing backdrops, different light and knowing a little of the area's history. The Manchester Ship Canal, into which the museum seems to dip, is a wonderfully evocative setting. when the Museum was being constructed HMS Belfast was moored alongside and that added a lot to the richness of the spectacle.

    I want the 'Apelsin' :)

    I'm nuts about Fosters work and had the big treat of doing photoshoots at the 'Gherkin' and Gateshead's 'The Sage' - see link below. We have a Foster building - the University of East Anglia's Sainsbury Centre - here in Norfolk.

    the sage gateshead - Google Search

    and I can't resist a link to Will Alsop's work:

    will alsop architect - Google Search


    Are we about to get zapped by the moderators?
     
  14. civvie

    civvie Member

    Zoya - sorry to divert your thread. If you have any more photos of war memorials I'll be very keen to see them!
     
  15. Owen

    Owen -- --- -.. MOD

    Unfortunately Zoya hasn't been here for nearly a year.
    :(
    Last Activity: 01-03-2009 03:52 PM
     
  16. tovarisch

    tovarisch Discharged

    Yeah.. she was one of the only people that actually was into all the Soviet stuff apart from the fighting :) Memorials etc...

    She mentioned Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya and made her picture her avatar :) Now that's what I call special (in a good way) :D WE WANT ZOYA BACK!
     
  17. civvie

    civvie Member

    I'm sorry to hear she's gone - i had hoped at some point to ask for sources on other things that interest me - wartime posters, Bolshevik mural newspapers and Soviet enamel badges - I have a small number of badges and some are of a high artistic standard.

    Anyway, I'll do a few pics of war memorials where I live - there's a huge contrast between UK and Soviet remembrance motifs and the difference might interest you.
     
  18. tovarisch

    tovarisch Discharged

  19. tovarisch

    tovarisch Discharged

    Damn, I should've added captions with translations and stuff! I must've forgot. I'll do 'em tomorrow :( As always, it's getting late over here in the East.
     
  20. civvie

    civvie Member

    tovarisch - there are some great images on that link. Here's another to El Lissitski's revolutionary 'With the Red Wedge Smash The White circle' - the image which first turned me on to Russian propaganda images.

    http://www.crestock.com/uploads/blog/2008/propagandaposters/02.jpg

    And, while I'm at it, do you know John Heartfield's photomantages? A German communist, he changed his name from Helmut Herzfeld as an affront to militarism and produced scathing satires of National Socialism until Hitler's rise obliged him to become a refugee first in Czechoslovakia and then London. (I wonder how many Heartfields we've turned away in recent years).

    john heartfield photomontage - Google Search

    you might enjoy them!
     
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