Monument to Alexander Pushkin (Brussels)

Opened September 30, 1999 ^[1] in Brussels , Belgium .

Monument
Monument to Alexander Pushkin
Monument to Alexander Pushkin
A country	Belgium
City	Brussels
Sculptor	G.V. Frangulyan
Building	1998 - September 30, 1999
Material	bronze

The monument stands on a small square, which is named after Pushkin . On a bronze pedestal in three languages ​​- French, Russian and Flemish - milestones of the poet's life are marked. The inscription is stylized under the handwritten texts of Pushkin. Plastic clothing, according to the author, is supposedly fashioned with a goose feather, which creates a parallel with the work of the poet himself ^[2] . Making Pushkin, the sculptor set the task to convey the feeling of life of his manuscripts in the environment in which they were created, the creak of a pen, the light from the fire of a candle, the rustle of paper on the desk. The poet, as it were, is holding a mortal wound in a duel with Dantes.

In 1999, when the whole world celebrated the 200th anniversary of the birth of Alexander Pushkin, the Brussels Mayor's Office also decided to pay tribute to the great Russian poet. At the initiative of the Russian Foreign Ministry , it was decided to present a monument to Pushkin to Brussels. With the assistance of the public of the city of Brussels and the participation of the A.S. Pushkin ^[3] a place was found for the monument on the square formed by the intersection of two streets. In connection with the opening of the monument, the square was named after Pushkin. The official opening took place on September 30, 1999 in the presence of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belgium, Louis Michel, the Mayor of Brussels, François De Donay, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Igor Ivanov, the Ambassador of the Russian Federation Sergey Kislyak.

I like that the image created by Frangulyan does not have completeness, just as there is no completeness in the poet’s biographical path, ”said Russian Minister of Culture Vladimir Yegorov, who was present at the opening ceremony of the monument. - At this monument I want to stop, think. The monument led me to the idea that any ideology is only a part of culture, and nothing more, and when politicians try to imagine the opposite, then culture rebels. ^[four]

Every year, June 6, on the poet’s birthday, admirers of his talent and the public of Brussels organize a poetry festival at the foot of the monument ^[5] .

In January 2014, Georgy Kuznetsov, press officer of the Russian Embassy in Belgium, said that the monument could be moved because of the laying of a new tram line ^[6] . The descendants of the poet Alexander and Maria Pushkin organized a campaign to save the monument ^[7] . A petition was drawn up addressed to the Minister-President of the Brussels-Capital Region Rudy Wervort, Brussels Mayor Ivan Meyer and Deputy Mayor for Transport Elsa Amp. The issue of moving the monument was actively discussed in the Russian media. The monument remained in the same place.