Peter the Great is a badass. A naval badass to be precise. He single-handedly turned Russia into a world power by harnessing Russia's energy and directed it to the sea. He even studied how to build a ship in Holland, and worked with his hand! Afterward, He built the first Russian navy, the city of St-Petersburg, etc. Heck, he is so badass that even the communists had to admit that he is a great czar!
Then came this travesty ...
The Beginning
Moscow mayor, Yuri Luzhkov, thinks big. He was revitalizing Moscow at that time, and he thought that a big symbol would be a good idea. Then he met a famous artist Zurab Tsereteli. Same like Luzhkov, Tsereteli thinks big. Very big. EXCESSIVELY BIG! I laughed so hard that I fell from my chair after I read his wikipedia page, especially after I read these paragraphs:
"As a reflection of his controversial reputation, a satiric short story describing Tsereteli as an alien installing a beacon through his various sculptures was published by Boris Akunin in his anthology Fairy Tales for Idiots (Russian: Сказки для идиотов, Skazki dlja idiotov). The alien's name is given as Yagkfi Yeyukuyeudsh (Russian: Ягкфи Еыукуеудш), a seemingly gibberish-like combination which actually spells out "Zurab Tsereteli" when typed on a Latin QWERTY keyboard by hitting the keys where the corresponding Russian characters would be located."
"Tsereteli's works, though often welcomed by the authorities, tend to become objects of strong public criticism. His sculptures are often blamed and mocked for being incongruously pompous and out of proportion."
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| From The Telegraph |
So, what is Tsereteli's ideas for the new-supposed-to-be-great-&-memorable monument of Moscow? A Peter The Great statue, together with reminders that he loved the sea. Oh yeah, the statue also built to celebrate the 300th birthday of Russian navy. Thus we got the 98 meter (315 ft) tall statue ...
It's a big Middle Finger ...
First, every single Russian knows that Peter the Great HATED Moscow. He moved Russian capital to St-Petersburg at first chance. He abhorred every single moment he had to spend in Moscow. Maybe because he was traumatized, since he watched many of his relatives were butchered by a mob in Moscow. Maybe because he identified Moscow with the old aristocracies, who opposed most of his reforms. Maybe because he can't pursue his love for the sea in Moscow. Maybe because all of that factors at the same time. Bottom line: he hates Moscow. So ... why built his statue in Moscow? It is just like a big middle finger to Peter, AND to Moscow.
Second, I need to inform people who don't have any clue about the geographical condition of Moscow in case it is not clear enough. Moscow is located several hundreds miles away from the nearest sea. Yup, the statue that celebrate the Russian navy was built on a land-locked city. So, this statue is also a middle-finger to the Russian navy.
Third, most people agree that the statue is as ugly as a monkey's ass. Local Muscovites call the statue "Gulliver" since it portrayed Peter as a giant, while riding a lilliputian ship, AND gathering lilliputian of lilliputian fleet below him. Remember the previous criticism in Wikipedia about pomposity and screwed-up proportion? This statue demonstrates that those criticisms are valid. The Artnews even quoted Tsreteli's nemesis, Marat Guelman who said that Tsereteli has confused the history of art and "Guinnes Book of Record." So, in essence, this is also a big middle-finger for anyone who has good artistic taste.
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| From: Oddstuff Magazine |
Third, most people agree that the statue is as ugly as a monkey's ass. Local Muscovites call the statue "Gulliver" since it portrayed Peter as a giant, while riding a lilliputian ship, AND gathering lilliputian of lilliputian fleet below him. Remember the previous criticism in Wikipedia about pomposity and screwed-up proportion? This statue demonstrates that those criticisms are valid. The Artnews even quoted Tsreteli's nemesis, Marat Guelman who said that Tsereteli has confused the history of art and "Guinnes Book of Record." So, in essence, this is also a big middle-finger for anyone who has good artistic taste.
DITCH IT!
No surprise when Luzhkov was sacked, many people were screaming to ditch this statue. The Muscovites pointed out that St-Petersburg is a far more appropriate location, since that city bear Peter's name, founded by Peter, and acted as the HQ of Russian Baltic Fleet. The people in St-Petersburg responded by saying HELL NO! Some prominent figures even so disgusted by the statue they propose to melt the statue completely. Fortunately, the city of Arkhangel, the very first Russian port, agree to accept the statue.
Unfortunately, the cost of dismantling the statue is enormous: 6 - 17 million Dollar. Not cool. So, the city of Moscow until today is forced to live with this statue.
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