Izvestia: "Putin’s bust to be presented to Arnold Schwarzenegger"
California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger will soon receive a parcel from Russia. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s bust for his collection is almost ready in a workroom on Vassiliyevsky Island in St Petersburg.
The Terminator collects statues of leaders, and Alexander Chernoshchekov, a sculptor from St Petersburg, has long supplied him with exhibits for his collection. Schwarzenegger’s own muscular figure was the first gift, which the sculptor sent to America in 1991. It was followed by statues of Lenin and Stalin.
As for Putin, the sculptor did not dare make his bust for a long time, he told Izvestia. “Apart from formal resemblance, an artist has to depict a person’s character. I have never met Mr. Putin and photos did not suit me. Besides, Putin has a wealth of byplay and it was difficult to find his photo with a calm face.” It was even harder to get a photo of his profile. “For some reason, our photographers prefer not to take profile pictures of our leaders,” the sculptor went on. It was only when his friend, a photographer, showed a multitude of his pictures of Putin that Chernoshchekov got down to work.
Well-known musician and conductor Yury Temirkanov was to judge whether Putin’s sculpture was similar to the original. “Temirkanov met Putin more than once and he approved of my work,” the sculptor said.
Then Chernoshchekov wrote a letter to Putin inviting the Prime Minister to visit his art shop. “I don’t know whether he received the invitation personally. His press secretary told me that Mr. Putin does not like such things because they are reminiscent of the personality cult,” he said.
Chernoshchekov does not agree. “After all, this is a sculpture of the leader, and I did not make it flattering in any way,” he said.
Irina Tumakova
