Russia's Motherland Statue Calls…For A Makeover

The Motherland Calls statue, in Russia’s southern city of Volgograd, on October 16 after scaffolding was partly removed following renovations.

Unveiled in 1967, the statue was part of a complex commemorating the World War II battle of Stalingrad. Stalingrad was renamed Volgograd in 1961, several years after the death of Soviet dictator Josef Stalin.

Renovations to the 85-meter statue began in 2017, in preparation for the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II, which will be marked in Russia in May 2020. 
 

Teams of restorers at work on the monument’s head in September.

The workers are tasked with filling in cracks in the concrete and coating the statue in a weather-resistant lacquer.

The renovation teams will also be installing spikes to prevent birds from settling in the monument’s eyes, which has caused unsightly “tears” to form in the past.

The statue’s left hand before the renovation.

And the same hand on September 26 after the weatherproof coating was applied.

A worker climbs inside the statue during the renovation. The steel cords at the top of the image are part of a network of sinew-like cables that strengthen the monument and can be tightened by engineers.

A worker brushes the statue’s tongue. Weathering of the monument has been an ongoing issue, with the harsh climate of southern Russia leading to chips of concrete flaking off.
 

An overview of the memorial complex. The remains of more than 35,000 Soviet soldiers are interred in the area around the Motherland Calls statue. More than 1.5 million people were killed during the battle for Stalingrad, which is seen as a key turning point in World War II.

The inspiration for the statue’s figure was the famous Winged Nike sculpture from ancient Greece.
 
 

Alpine climbers inspect the statue’s surface in 1986. The model for the female face is believed to have been the wife of Soviet sculptor Evgeny Vuchetich, who also created the main statue in the Soviet War Memorial of Berlin’s Treptower Park. The legendary sculptor reportedly faced some pressure from Soviet authorities over the woman’s expression: “My bosses asked me why her mouth is open, it doesn't look beautiful [they said]. And I answered, because she is screaming: 'For the Motherland, you motherf*****s!' They never asked again.”