Legendary Russian sculptor dies

Zurab Tsereteli, creator of Moscow’s Peter the Great monument and the UN’s Good Defeats Evil, has passed away

Prominent Russian-Georgian artist Zurab Tsereteli, who was the epitome of Russian sculpture, has died at the age of 91, his assistant has announced.

According to Sergey Shagulashvili, Tsereteli suffered heart failure at 1:30am on Tuesday in Moscow. Later, his staff said that a farewell service would take place in the iconic Cathedral of Christ the Savior, but he would be buried in his native Georgia.

Tsereteli, the president of the Russian Academy of Arts since 1997, was widely regarded as a defining figure in Soviet and Russian monumental art. Among his most recognized works is the towering Peter the Great statue in Moscow. Standing 98 meters (322 feet) tall, the monument was unveiled in 1997 to commemorate 300 years of the Russian Navy. It remains one of the tallest statues in the world.

The monument, however, has been a subject of significant controversy. Critics have highlighted its disproportionate scale and incongruity with Moscow’s historic cityscape, describing it as overbearing and out of place.

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Internationally, Tsereteli is known for ‘Good Defeats Evil’, a bronze sculpture installed at the United Nations headquarters in New York. The artwork depicts St. George slaying a dragon crafted from fragments of dismantled Soviet and American nuclear-capable missiles, symbolizing the end of the Cold War and victory over the specter of the nuclear Armageddon.

Another notable work is the ‘Tear of Grief’, (also known as ‘To the Struggle Against World Terrorism’) a 10-story monument in Bayonne, New Jersey, dedicated to the victims of the September 11 attacks. The sculpture features a large stainless-steel teardrop suspended within a cracked tower. It was presented as a gift from Russia and unveiled in 2006.

Throughout his career, Tsereteli created more than 5,000 art works that spanned beyond architecture to include paintings and frescoes. He received numerous honors, including the title of People's Artist of the USSR and the French Legion of Honor.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has offered her condolences, describing Tsereteli as “an artist of international renown and a true public figure who knew no borders or barriers in the cause of peace and creativity.”

“[He was] a true people’s diplomat. He will live not only in our hearts but also in his works: in the stained glass and enamels decorating embassies, in monuments and sculptures placed around the world, in the lush flowers and bouquets that he painted with such passion. He knew how to love and how to give love,” she added.