Robespierre Monument: Difference between revisions

{{Infobox monument

| name = Robespierre Monument

| native_name = Памятник Робеспьеру

| image = Robespierre's monument (Moscow, 1918).jpg

| caption = The Robespierre Monument being unveiled on 3 November 1918, three days prior to its destruction

| location = Moscow

| designer = Beatrice Yuryevna Sandomierz

| type = Monument

| material = Concrete

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| open = 3 November 1918

| restore =

| dismantled = 7 November 1918

| dedicated_to = Maximilien de Robespierre

| map_name = Moscow

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| coordinates = {{coord|55.7537|N|37.6149|E|source:wikidata|display=title, inline}}

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The '''Robespierre Monument''' ({{lang-ru|Памятник Робеспьеру|Pamyatnik Robyesp'yeru}}) was one of the first monuments erected in the [[Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic]] (later part of the [[Soviet Union]]), raised in Moscow on 3 November 1918 – just ahead of the first anniversary of the [[October Revolution]], which had brought the [[Bolsheviks]] to power.<ref name=Geldern/> It depicted [[Maximilien Robespierre|Maximilien de Robespierre]], a prominent figure of the [[French Revolution]]. Located in [[Alexander Garden]], it had been designed by the sculptor Beatrice Yuryevna Sandomierz ({{lang-ru|Беатриса Юрьевна Сандомирская|Beatrica Yur'yevna Sandomirskaya}}). Created as part of the "[[monumental propaganda]]" plan,<ref name=Geldern>{{cite book |last=Von Geldern |first=James |date=1993 |title=Bolshevik Festivals, 1917-1920 |location=[[Oakland, California|Oakland]] |publisher=[[University of California Press]] |page=83 |isbn=052-007-690-7 }}</ref> the monument was commissioned by [[Vladimir Lenin]], who in an edict referred to Robespierre as a "Bolshevik ''[[wiktionary:avant la lettre|avant la lettre]]''".<ref>{{cite book |last=Jordan |first=David P. |date=2013 |title=Revolutionary Career of Maximilien Robespierre |location=[[New York City]] |publisher=[[Simon & Schuster]] |isbn=147-672-571-3 }}</ref> It was only one of several planned statues depicting [[France|French]] revolutionaries&nbsp;– others were to be made of [[Georges Danton]], [[François-Noël Babeuf]] and [[Jean-Paul Marat]], although only the one of Danton was never completed.<ref name="Impact">{{cite book |last=Schoenfeld |first=Gabriel |editor1-last=Schwab |editor1-first=Gail M. |editor2-last=Jeanneney|chapter=25. Uses of the Past: Bolshevism and the French Revolutionary Tradition |editor2-first=John R.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ne3jNvz-gXAC |date=1995 |title=The French Revolution of 1789 and Its Impact |location=[[Westport, Connecticut]] |publisher=[[Greenwood Publishing Group]] |page=286 |isbn=031-329-339-2 }}</ref>

Created in the context of the ongoing [[Russian Civil War]] and with the country in a state of [[war communism]], there were few materials available to make the statue.<ref>{{cite book |last=Dunn |first=Susan |date=2000 |title=Sister Revolutions: French Lightning, American Light |location=[[London]] |publisher=[[Macmillan Publishers]] |page=169 |isbn=142-992-369-5 }}</ref> Lacking bronze or marble, the monument was instead constructed using concrete, with hollow pipes running through it.<ref name=Bean/> This design proved frail, lasting only a few days. On the morning of 7 November only a pile of rubble remained.<ref name=Bean/> Over the following days different newspapers supplied varying versions as to why it collapsed, with ''[[Znamya Trudovoi Kommuny]]'' and others saying it was the work of "criminal" ([[counter-revolutionary]]) hands, and ''[[Izvestia]]'' stating the statue's demise was caused by improper construction.<ref name=Bean>{{cite book |editor1-last=Bean |editor1-first=Jennifer M. |editor2-last=Horak |editor2-first=Laura |editor3-last=Kapse |editor3-first=Anupama |date=2014 |title=Silent Cinema and the Politics of Space |location=[[Bloomington, Indiana|Bloomington]] |publisher=[[Indiana University Press]] |page=89 |isbn=025-301-507-3 }}</ref><ref name="Impact"/>

[[Category:Concrete sculptures in Russia]]

[[Category:Demolished buildings and structures in Moscow]]

[[Category:Cultural depictions of Maximilien Robespierre]]

[[Category:Sculptures of men in Russia]]

[[Category:Removed statues]]

[[Category:Outdoor sculptures in Moscow]]