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The classical method: how the sculptures of the pavilion "Soviet Culture" at VDNH are restored

The restoration of the pavilion "Soviet Culture" (former Uzbek SSR), which is an object of cultural heritage of federal significance, continues at VDNH. Specialists are restoring the historical appearance of the building with jewelry precision — it will be restored to the appearance that it had at the time of opening almost 70 years ago. Thanks to field studies and archival photographs, it was possible to restore the central element of the pavilion — the snow-white rotunda. Soon the main facade will be decorated with two monumental sculptures.

The first pavilion "Uzbekistan" was opened at the All-Union Agricultural Exhibition in 1939. Then it was a wooden structure, at the entrance to which there were plaster figures in national clothes, painted in bronze. During the war, both the pavilion itself and the figures fell into disrepair, after which it was decided to completely rebuild, which was completed in 1954.
According to the project of architect Stefan Polupanov, a monumental building was erected with a rotunda on the main facade and two new concrete sculptures that greeted visitors: "Shepherd-karakulevodom" and "Cotton Picker". These figures, created by Zinaida Snigir, were lost in the 1960s. Today, a team of sculptors under the leadership of Vladimir Trulov is engaged in their restoration.

Фотофонд ВДНХ

Photo from the historical collection of photos by VDNH