“Fine Metropolitan”
of the city of Minsk
Mihailovskiy Park in the center of the Belarusian capital
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| Photo credit: http://crosti.ru/ |
In the capital of Belarus,
in the city of Minsk there is a
very cozy small park that is called “Mihailovskiy Park” created in the 20-s of the last century, and recently it has
become famous for its unusual inhabitants – some interesting statues. The
creator of all the sculptures of the park is the talented Belarusian artist and
sculptor Vladimir Zhbanov.
The main inhabitant of Mihailovskiy Park is located on the far side of
alleys. This is a so-called fine metropolitan of Minsk.
It is a poetic sculpture called “Minchanka”
in Russian or we can call it “Native Lady of Minsk”
in English. It has got some other name that is “Stranger”. “Minchanka” is
also the main model of the park for taking photos by tourists. And it deserves
to be called this way as you can see a very elegant and feminine lady with long
beautiful legs in a wide brim hat sitting on a bench and being indifferent to
all your attempts to get acquainted with her. They say that the prototype of
this sculptor became its creator’s acquaintance – some ballet-dancer.
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| Photo credit: http://knitting.1gb.ru/ |
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| Photo credit: http://galeneastro.livejournal.com/ |
The other sculpture “Girl with an umbrella” standing near the southern entrance is one
of the saddest inhabitants of Mihailovskiy Park. First the sculptor wanted to create an image of a
girl waiting for a trolley-bus or a tram under rain. However, the tragic event
of the year of 1999 in Minsk, when in an awful crowding in the metro station
“Nemiga” 53 people died the majority of whom were young girls, made Vladimir
Zhbanov change his mind and turn the romantic image of the girl into a peculiar
monument dedicated to the victims of that tragedy.
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| Photo credit: http://i015.radikal.ru/ |
Nowadays you will see a girl
standing as if under a lacy umbrella in a short dress stuck to her cold body
because of strong wind. The umbrella in the girl’s hands with bare feet must
protect her from rain but it is just an illusion. The girl-teenager as if is
inviting other people to hide under her raised umbrella which can’t give any
protection. The statuette of a child reminds people how vulnerable and helpless
are the most priceless things, their children.
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| Photo credit: http://img-fotki.yandex.ru/ |
In Mihailovskiy
Park, close to the bus-stop a young
man standing on a hatch will wink you and ask to get a light. It is the most
mysterious inhabitant of the park. The young man in a cap is Lohovskiy, a movie
character that was filmed at the end of the 90-s in the studio “BelarusFilm”. The
prototype of the sculptor is considered to be a real man – the movie producer
Vladimir Golynskiy. He ordered this sculpture Vladimir Zhbanov in order to draw
people’s attention to the released movie “Lohovskoiy case”. Trying to create
the exact similarity of the movie producer, the sculptor made a plaster mask of
his face. But they say not for nothing that to erect a monument for yourself
while you are alive is a bad omen. At the moment when Vladimir Zhbanov was
creating his master-piece and started to cast a bronze statue of the young man
the Belarusian movie producer Vladimir Golynskiy died. But the sculptor
finished his started work. The date of the statue’s installation in Mihailovskiy
Park coincided with the 40th
day of the Belarusian movie producer’s death. This creation got the name “Prikurivauchiy” that means a man who is
getting a light.
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| Photo credit: http://club.osinka.ru/ |
Mihailovskiy
Park is situated among the
following streets: Leningradskaya, Kirov and Sverdlov Streets. It is not far
away from the Central Railway Station of Minsk. Mihailovskiy
Park is a favorite place for rest
of both native people of Minsk and guests
of the capital. The park looks like a green oasis in a stone desert of the
Belarusian capital. After some time, looking at the taken photos of the bronze
inhabitants of Mihailovskiy Park
you will call to mind this picturesque corner of modern Minsk
with pleasure.
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