Iconic Russian sculptor passes away

(MENAFN)
Legendary Russian-Georgian artist Zurab Tsereteli, widely celebrated as a titan of Russian monumental sculpture, has passed away at the age of 91. His assistant, Sergey Shagulashvili, confirmed that Tsereteli died from heart failure at 1:30 a.m. on Tuesday in Moscow.

A farewell ceremony will be held at Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Savior, while Tsereteli’s final resting place will be in his native Georgia, according to his staff.

Tsereteli, who had served as president of the Russian Academy of Arts since 1997, left an indelible mark on Soviet and Russian public art. One of his most iconic—and polarizing—works is the massive Peter the Great statue in Moscow, which stands at 98 meters (322 feet). Unveiled in 1997 to mark 300 years of the Russian Navy, the monument remains one of the tallest in the world, though it has sparked debate for its enormous scale and clash with the city’s historic landscape.

On the international stage, Tsereteli is perhaps best known for Good Defeats Evil, a sculpture at the United Nations in New York. It shows Saint George slaying a dragon made from dismantled Soviet and U.S. nuclear missiles, symbolizing peace and the end of the Cold War.

Another powerful piece, Tear of Grief (also known as To the Struggle Against World Terrorism), was gifted to the U.S. and installed in Bayonne, New Jersey. The 10-story monument, unveiled in 2006, features a large stainless-steel teardrop hanging inside a fractured tower, commemorating the victims of the 9/11 attacks.

Throughout his prolific career, Tsereteli created over 5,000 works across various mediums, including sculpture, painting, frescoes, and architecture. He was honored with numerous accolades, including the prestigious title of People's Artist of the USSR and France’s Legion of Honor.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova paid tribute to Tsereteli, calling him a globally respected artist and an ambassador of peace through art. “He was a true people’s diplomat. His legacy lives on in the embassies he decorated, the monuments scattered across the world, and the vivid, passionate flowers in his paintings,” she said. “He knew how to love—and how to share that love with the world.”

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