Uncle Ho's monument in Russia

Uncle Ho monument in the square named after Uncle Ho in Ulianovsk city, Lenin's hometown (Photo: VNA)

This monument complex was inaugurated on May 18, 1990 on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of President Ho Chi Minh’s birth. This is a very familiar place for Vietnamese people in Russia on holidays, festivals or families’ events. Overseas Vietnamese in Russia often come here to lay flowers and pay homage to President Ho Chi Minh.

The main part of the bronze and granite stone is Uncle Ho's gentle smiling face in a giant circle. Under the circle is a statue of a Vietnamese man full of vitality in a standing position. Behind the circle are two bent bamboos. The base below the monument has the immortal saying of President Ho Chi Minh in the Russian language "Нет ничего дороже независимости, свободы" (Nothing is more precious than independence and freedom).

The monument's creators are sculptor Vladimir Efimovich Tsigal and architect Roman Grigoryevich Kananin. In 1985, Mr. Tsigal visited Vietnam to learn about President Ho Chi Minh for his statue project. Sculptor Tsigal analyzed the circle of the statue as the image of the sun of Vietnam, with the implication that Ho Chi Minh's sun always shines for the strong Vietnamese man who is standing up. According to him, the original statue design intended for the man to hold a gun. However, after visiting Vietnam, he decided to give up the gun, alluding to the strong rise of Vietnam in peacetime. The image of two bamboo trees bent behind the statue comes from the notion of bamboo as a typical tree of Vietnam, which is durable and resilient, not broken, like the will and strength of Vietnam.

Tsigal is a famous engraver of the former Soviet Union and Russia today. He was born on September 17, 1917 in Odessa. In 1978, he was awarded the title of People's Painter of the Soviet Union. He is also the creator of more than 60 monuments and many portrait works, including many famous monumental works erected in foreign countries./.