Say Goodbye to Liberty
Say Goodbye
Last month I posted a postcard dedicated to the Erkindik Monument in the main Ala Too Square –Bishkek’s own Statue of Liberty.
At the time, I didn’t know that it was about to be controversially thrust into the limelight by a government decision to tear down the statue and rep[lace it with another dedicated to the legendary Kyrgyz Hero, Manas. That news broke over the weekend last week.
To recap briefly, the 12 meter statue was originally erected in 1999 in honour of the eight anniversary of Kyrgyz Independence at the foot of Prospect Erkindik, Freedom Avenue, or Boulevard. In 2004 it was moved to its present location in the square, replacing the statue of Vladimir Illych Lenin, which was moved to the old Central Square on other side of the Historical Museum, where it still stands.
The statue depicts an image of a winged woman, an angel figure, holding aloft in her left hand a representation of a tunduk which is found at the summit of a yurt. At the base of “Erkindik” is a ball, symbolizing peace and freedom around the world, and at the bottom of the statue there is an inscription: “Oh Asyl. Ak Cos. Adal-ish. “, (noble thoughts, words and truthful righteous acts of the Kyrgyz people).
So why would the government seek to remove a “Statue of Liberty”?
In fact, the statue has been the subject of some controversy for some time.
After the revolution in April 2010, in particular, a number of youth organizations began a campaign to demolish the statue, and even brought a bulldozer into the square to perform the act. They were stopped by the intervention of the local authorities, but it was clear that at least some of the population had reservations about the monument.
I have met a couple of people who have expressed concern about the fact that it is of a woman who is scantily clad in a loose fitting robe. I’ve even heard someone say that it was modeled on the wife of an ex-president, who fled the country in the face of a popular uprising and so isn’t a fit representation of Freedom. Then there is the fact that a winged angel is not a part of Kyrgyz culture, and is seen as an alien implant. The orb at the foot of the statue is also seen as unintelligible and meaningless. Most of the people I have asked about it, however, are more incensed by the fact that she is holding a tunduk. First of all, it is in her left hand – but the right hand would have been a better symbol. The fact that it is surrounded by flames as on the Kyrgyz flag caused one person concern, because there should be forty, representing the original forty tribes – as on the flag,
More to the point, however, according to tradition, a woman should never touch the tunduk. When erecting and dismantling a yurt, this is the job of the menfolk, and a woman holding the tunduk is seen as a serious break with tradition – a symbolic faux pas.
Some people feel this so strongly that, it is sometimes argued, the statue is a harbinger of doom and ill fortune.
The government has therefore decided on the step of replacing the statue as part of the celebrations for the 20th anniversary of Independence on 31st August. They did it more or less in secret. A competition or tender wasn’t announced, and one report that I have seen says that even sculptors of Bishkek were unaware that there would be an opportunity to have a work placed in the heart of the city. The chosen design is by Bazarbai Sadykov, who already has some fifteen monuments in cities around Kyrgyzstan to his credit including the famous statue of Kojumkol outside the Sports Palace on Togolok Moldo Street.
According to some of the politicians, the reasons for keeping things quiet was that was a question of funding – the project is going to cost some 28 million som. That has now been “solved” and, so we are told, not one som will be taken from the state budget as funds have been either donated or pledged by sponsors, who have asked not to be named.
The choice of Manas as a subject is bound to popular, but that too has aroused a certain amount of comment, after all just a couple of blocks away, just down Propect Chui, outside the Philharmonic Hall, there is already an impressive sculptural complex dedicated to him. (It’s seems that even this one is the subject of some criticism or controversy, but I’ll save that for another postcard.)
The proposed design has Manas sitting astride a horse, holding a shield, but his sword will be sheathed and his right hand will raised in gesture of greeting. This will, it is hoped be a more a welcoming and peaceful gesture than his effigy further down the street where he portrayed as a warrior charging into battle with his sword drawn, albeit dragging it behind him.
The eight and a half meter bronze statue will be mounted on an eleven meter plinth, giving the entire structure a height of just over seventeen and a half meters.
The new work is already under construction and it’s hoped that it will be ready on 23rd August. Work has already begun on the demolition of the existing monument. If all goes according to plan it should be taken down this evening, (for some reason at about 10pm), and for a month the square will be empty.
.
On the other side of the square, on Kievskaya, facing the new statue there will be another new statue dedicated to the famous Kyrgyz author Chinghis Aitmatov who died last year. At the moment, there is only one statue dedicated to him in the country, in Issyk Kul. Once again, the three and a half meter statue will stand on a plinth, but this time only just over four meters high giving it an overall height of almost eight meters.. Once again, the chosen design is by Bazarbai Sadykov.
Now, there is a question as to what to do with the Statue of Erkindik. It looks as if it won’t be destroyed, even with its “bad karma”. There are already, apparently, several suggestions for new locations under consideration.
Bishkek