Monument to Cort Aike

The idea to establish at the entrance to the village an art object based on the legend of the mythological blacksmith Kort Aike belonged to Tatyana Gennadievna Popova, who served as head of the Kortkerossky MP MoD Department of Culture, and came up with a way to accomplish the task and attract craftsmen Yuri Shagunov, president of the Russian Blacksmiths Union . The author of the image of Cort Aiki was the St. Petersburg blacksmith-artist Alexander Sushnikov and the blacksmith from Moscow Georgy Gorbachev. ^[one]

The product was delivered from St. Petersburg to the place of the blacksmith festival in a disassembled form. The assembly of the parts was carried out by the joint efforts of all the blacksmith members (including foreign ones) and symbolized the community of people devoted to their craft. Due to the need to finish the boats and the great busyness of the authors, until November 2016 the product was in the courtyard of the Kortkeros blacksmith Igor Usachev, and after completion of the final assembly by Sushnikov A. and Usachev I., painting by volunteers, as well as obtaining permits and design documentation from the road Department of the Komi Republic, it was installed at the entrance to the village. ^{[2] [3]}

The authors of Cort Aiki consider it not a monument, but an art object. ^[4] This is a piece of art designed for the emotional reaction of viewers. Ica Court is a non-utilitarian object created from various materials and objects, conveying the creator’s creative idea through visual interaction with the public. ^[5] The purpose of its creation was: branding the territory based on local legend, the development of regional tourism, attracting tourist traffic, positioning p. Kortkeros in the media as a place of origin of blacksmithing in the Komi Republic.

The installation of the monument was timed to coincide with the All-Russian Day of the blacksmith ^[6]. The object is made of a steel corner 100x100 and 80 × 80 mm and strips 40 × 4 mm. At the base is a thick steel sheet. The monument is made by hot forging. Weight is about 1 ton. ^[7]

The installation of the art object sparked debate in local media. According to some residents of the Komi Republic, the erection of a monument to the pagan and the robber is a crime against the Christian faith and testifies to the revival of paganism in the Kortkeros region . ^[8] Representatives of the Orthodox diocese commented on this news, saying that this product does not carry any religious or ideological background. ^[9]

• Syktyvkar diocese. Monument to Cort Aike
• Syktyvkar and Komi-Zyryansk diocese. Komiinform
• Court Ika. Inter-regional blacksmithing festival "Court Hayka"