Izvestia: "Thirty-five Stolypins for Moscow to Choose From"
Izvestia has visited the exhibition, where each of the 35 exhibits is unsigned and identified only by a number. Anonymity is needed to rule out bias in the judging process. The competition participants had to carefully consider both how the monument would look and where it would stand.
"The workmanship is fine here, but as far as I understand it, the medals weren't worn like that, they're the wrong way round," Semyonov says in reference to one work. The jury will take into account even the smallest details, he adds.
Some of the sculptures portray Stolypin wearing a full dress uniform, others – a single-breasted military jacket. The majority of the entries depict a full-length standing figure, but there are other postures too.
One participant confirmed that he had been confronted with a series of challenges.
"First, the location is difficult. The problem is that many sculptors follow the same principle. I mean the upright figure. The difficult part is that you have to look for fine nuances to convey a sense of energy. An upright figure may look sluggish. But you also can make it brim over with too much energy," says sculptor Salavat Shcherbakov (whose creative team prepared several versions).
Each of the sculptors had to find an architectural solution, and several of them suggested putting the monument in a different place.
Apart from Shcherbakov, others taking part in the competition include Leonid Tazba, Andrei Klykov, Georgy Frangulyan, and others.
The jury, including Alexander Rukavishnikov and Ilya Glazunov, among others, will initially shortlist three works before selecting one of them as the overall winner.
To get visitors involved, the organisers will introduce an Audience Choice Award: everyone will be able to vote for their favourite entry.
"We will prepare special voting papers, on which people can write the number of their favourite design. The tickets will be collected inside a sealed box. The winner of this vote will receive 400,000 rubles, along with the top three chosen by the jury, who will also each receive a prize of 400,000 rubles" said Pavel Pozhigailo, President of the Pyotr Stolypin Heritage Studies Foundation and chairman of the jury.
The exhibition will run until November 30 and the winner will be chosen by December 15. But, as Pozhigailo says, there is no rush to make the decision: "We could put off making the decision until the end of the year."
Vladimir Putin has been personally following the fate of the monument. Last summer he recommended that members of the cabinet make a contribution towards meeting the cost of the statue. At a meeting with the rural intelligentsia in Graivoron, Belgorod Region, on November 15, he explained why the anniversary of the birth of Stolypin should be celebrated. His role in Russian history was not so unequivocal, some intellectuals observed.
"You know, he said that 'blood on the hands of doctors is better than blood on the hands of executioners,' " Putin replied.
He then explained the context from which he took this quote: After the Russian-Japanese War, 2,500 members of the intelligentsia were executed for sending congratulatory telegrams to the Japanese Emperor.
"I don't think all the executions were justified, but the only word to describe this kind of behaviour is treason; and traitors have to be dealt with accordingly," Vladimir Putin said.
"Stolypin's peasant reforms, which involved the voluntary resettlement of thousands of peasant families beyond the Urals, resulted in Russia being ranked number one in the world in terms of economic growth...
"That is the main indicator of national economic prosperity. We don't want to idealise Stolypin, but history must know every aspect of the process and record the greatest achievements. That's how we will avoid making mistakes," he said in conclusion.
Pyotr Kozlov, Anastasia Novikova
