A large, interesting and not very well-known monument is located in the very center of Moscow, in the park on Bolotnaya Square. It is called "Children - victims of the vices of adults." Although a monument, in the classical sense of the word, it probably cannot be called. This is a whole sculptural composition, a whole story that cannot be told in a nutshell.

He appeared in the capital on September 2, 2001 on City Day. Its author is Mikhail Shemyakin. According to the artist, when he first conceived the composition, he wanted one thing - for people to think about saving today's and future generations. Many, by the way, at that time were against its installation near the Kremlin. They even assembled a special commission in the Duma of the capital, and she also spoke out against it. But the then mayor, Yuri Luzhkov, weighed everything and gave the go-ahead.

The monument really looks ambiguous and unusual. It is included in the top 10 most scandalous monuments in Moscow. The composition consists of 15 figures, two of which are small children - a boy and a girl of 10 years old. They are located in the very center. Like everyone at this age, they play ball, they have books of fairy tales under their feet. But the children are blindfolded, they do not see that 13 terrible tall figures are standing around, pulling their arms-tentacles towards them. Each statue personifies some kind of vice that can corrupt children's souls and take possession of them forever.

It is worth describing each in detail (from left to right):

  • Addiction. A thin man in a tailcoat and bow tie, somewhat reminiscent of Count Dracula. A syringe in one hand and a bag of heroin in the other.
  • Prostitution. This vice is represented in the form of a vile toad with bulging eyes, a deliberately elongated mouth and a magnificent bust. Her whole body is covered with warts, and snakes curl around her belt.
  • Theft. A cunning pig that turned its back, obviously hiding something. She has a bag of money in one hand.
  • Alcoholism. A fat, sugary, half-naked man sitting on a barrel of wine. In one hand he has a jug with something "hot", in the other a beer goblet.
  • Ignorance. Cheerful and carefree donkey with a big rattle in his hands. A living illustration of the saying "the less you know, the better you sleep." True, here it is better to say "no knowledge, no problems."
  • Pseudo-science. A woman (probably) in a monastic robe with her eyes closed. In one hand she holds a scroll of pseudo-knowledge. Nearby stands an incomprehensible mechanical device, and in the other hand, the result of the misapplication of science, is a two-headed dog, which is held like a puppet.
  • Indifference.“Killers and traitors are not so terrible, they can only kill and betray. The worst thing is the indifferent. With their tacit consent, the worst things in this world happen.” Apparently, the author fully agrees with this saying. He placed "Indifference" at the very center of vices. The figure has four arms - two are crossed on the chest, and the other two plug their ears.
  • Propaganda of violence. The figure resembles Pinocchio. Only he has a shield in his hand, which depicts a weapon, and next to it is a stack of books, one of which is Mein Kampf.
  • Sadism. The thick-skinned rhinoceros is an excellent example of this vice, and he is also dressed in a butcher's outfit.
  • Unconsciousness. The pillory is the only inanimate figure in the overall composition.
  • Exploitation of child labor. Either an eagle or a raven. The bird-man invites everyone to the factory where children work.
  • Poverty. A desiccated barefoot old woman with a staff holds out her hand, asking for alms.
  • War. The last character in the list of vices. A man clad in armor and with gas masks on his face, holds out a toy to the children - everyone's favorite Mickey Mouse, but the mouse is clad in a bomb.

It is very difficult to unmistakably recognize a specific sin or vice in each figure, so the author signed each sculpture in Russian and English.

Initially, the monument was open permanently. But after lovers to profit from non-ferrous metal, they opened a hunt for it, the composition was fenced off, guards were put in place and visiting hours were introduced from 9 am to 9 pm.

People often come to the park on Bolotnaya Square. The newlyweds are photographed against the backdrop of bizarre sculptures, without particularly attaching importance to the meaning hidden in the sculpture. Many people scold the composition, consider it ridiculous. Probably the most ardent opponent, Doctor of Psychology Vera Abramenkova. She believes that Mikhail Shemyakin erected a monument to gigantic vices, it is they, and not small children, who are the central characters. But most people treat the monument with understanding, they call it the right one, for the place and time. The sculptor raised a problem that should not be talked about, but shouted about. Only Shemyakin did this not with the help of words, the author immortalized his views and beliefs in bronze.

“Children are victims of the vices of adults” is a sculptural composition by the artist and sculptor Mikhail Shemyakin, set in a park near Bolotnaya Square, set in 2001. List of vices (from left to right): Drug addiction, Prostitution, Theft, Alcoholism, Ignorance, Pseudo-science (Irresponsible science), Indifference (center), Propaganda of violence, Sadism, Pillory for those without memory, Exploitation of child labor, Poverty and War .
For some reason, I don’t want to talk about this monument in my own words, I’d rather give a few quotes from the artist himself and not only about his life and how this composition appeared.

"Luzhkov called me and said that he was instructing me to create such a monument. And he gave me a piece of paper on which the vices were listed. The order was unexpected and strange. Luzhkov stunned me. Firstly, I knew that the consciousness of a post-Soviet person was accustomed to urban sculptures obviously realistic. And when they say: "Depict the vice" child prostitution "or" sadism "(a total of 13 vices were named!), You have great doubts. At first I wanted to refuse, because I had a vague idea of ​​how this composition could be brought to life And only six months later I came to a decision ... "

In my opinion, this is not a monument to vices, and not a monument to “children who are victims of vices”, but a monument to us adults, what we become, committing vicious acts knowingly or accidentally - with donkey heads, fat bellies, closed eyes and money bags. This is a very powerful monument, serious, by no means entertaining and of course not for children, but completely for adults. Natalya Leonova, local historian.

The monument was erected not to children, but to vices ... This frightening symbolism is quite in the spirit of Masonic lodges, secret orders such as the Rosicrucians, occult sects ... Identifying themselves with them (the children from the sculptural composition), our living children will learn the psychology of the victim and will not be able to resist violence, evil...
The meaning (of the installation of the monument) is to legalize that satanic content that has always been hidden, not pulled to the surface. To him, to this satanic element, they probably want to accustom, tame people, they want to show that it is not so scary, but very good ...
The main thing is not to reconcile with evil. Is it not enough that the monument was erected? How many monuments stood, and then they were demolished, and this happened even throughout our lives. It is necessary to demand that the "monument to vices" be removed from the Russian land. Vera Avramenkova, Doctor of Psychology, one of the authors of the expertise in the Pussy Riot case. Excerpts from an interview in 2001.

Mikhail Shemyakin worked as a postman, watchman, scaffolder in the Hermitage. In the 60s he was subjected to compulsory treatment in a psychiatric hospital, after which he lived in the Pskov-Caves Monastery as a novice. In 1971, he was deprived of Soviet citizenship and expelled from the country.

I did not engage in any "dissidence", I was simply recorded as a dissident. And I just painted pictures and tried to see the world with my own eyes.

Shemyakin lives in Paris, then moves to New York. In 1989, the return of Shemyakin's work to post-communist Russia began.

“I serve Russia, but here today I still feel like a foreigner, an alien, because I don’t fit into this society. ...I live in Russia, which is not here, but somewhere higher. But, as they say, they don’t choose relatives, but I belong to this country in my heart and soul. I serve her and will serve her - this is my duty, this is my duty, this is my love for her, for the people, which I feel very, very sorry for.

It is better to watch Shemyakin not in Moscow, but in St. Petersburg, where his work is presented in a rather versatile way: both monuments (including the Peter and Paul Fortress), and window dressing of the Eliseevsky store, and ballets at the Mariinsky Theater. But even in Moscow there is an opportunity to get acquainted with another facet of his work - in company stores

Monument to Mikhail Shemyakin "Children are victims of the vices of adults." Installed on Bolotnaya Square on September 02, 2001. The installation project for the sculptural composition was carried out by architects Vyacheslav Bukhaev and Andrey Efimov.
The sculptural composition includes: figures of children - a boy and a girl, who are frozen in motion blindfolded, at their feet are books: "Folk Russian Tales" and A.S. Pushkin "Tales", in a semicircle there are figures that personify the vices or evils of the modern world - drug addiction, prostitution, theft, alcoholism, ignorance, pseudoscience, indifference, propaganda of violence, sadism, an instrument of torture with the signature "for the memoryless ...", exploitation of child labor, poverty and war.

Here is what Mikhail Shemyakin himself said about the history of the creation of the monument:
"Luzhkov called me and said that he was instructing me to create such a monument. And he gave me a piece of paper on which the vices were listed. The order was unexpected and strange. Luzhkov stunned me. Firstly, I knew that the consciousness of a post-Soviet person was accustomed to urban sculptures obviously realistic. And when they say: "Depict the vice" child prostitution "or" sadism "(a total of 13 vices were named!), You have great doubts. At first I wanted to refuse, because I had a vague idea of ​​how this composition could be brought to life And only six months later I came to the decision that only symbolic images can stand up in this exposition, so as not to offend the eyes of the audience.
The result is such a symbolic composition, where, for example, the vices of debauchery are depicted by a frog in a dress, the lack of education is depicted by a donkey dancing with a rattle. And so on. The only vice that I had to re-figure in symbolic form was drug addiction. Because before our "blessed time" children never suffered from this vice. This vice in the form of a terrible angel of death, holding out an ampoule of heroin, stood up for me in this terrible gathering of vices.

This is one of my favorite sculptures in Moscow. You can argue as much as you like about how Shemyakin realized his plans, many even say that this is a monument not to children - victims of vices, but to the vices themselves, there were many disputes that such a "horror" should not be installed in the very center of Moscow, not far from the Kremlin and etc.
But, I think that this sculptural composition is undoubtedly a talented work, the strength of the idea presented by the author, frankness and honesty, which not everyone wants to face, and partly and therefore causing rejection. In addition, allegorical figures personifying vices accurately convey the emotions that these vices evoke. The only thing I disagree with the author is that children are not born angels, they grow up, acquire a psyche, social norms and principles with age, and therefore it is very important that a truly adult significant person is next to the children, and if this is not the case, then children grow, grow old, but do not grow up, and the very evil that surrounds us appears, so I would clarify the name of the sculpture: “Children are victims of the vices of immature adults.”

Year of installation: 2001
Sculptor: M. M. Shemyakin
Architects: V. B. Bukhaev, A. V. Efimov
Materials: bronze, metal, granite

An unusual monument is located in the city of Moscow and was made by sculptor Mikhail Mikhailovich Shemyakin. Its name contains the very essence of the sculptural ensemble - "Children - victims of the vices of adults."

Fully installation work on the installation of sculptures was completed in 2001.

In the center of the raised pedestal-platform there are sculptures of a boy and a girl, whose eyes are covered with a bandage. The plasticity of the figures is made in such a way that it seems that they are moving forward by touch with uncertain steps. Under the feet of the children - a book and an impromptu ball.

In a semicircle around the center of the composition there are sculptures of human adult vices in an ominous amount - 13:

  • Addictionpresented in the form of a thin man dressed in a tailcoat and flaunting a bow tie. In one hand, a bag with a dose of the drug, and a syringe is clamped in the other.
  • Prostitutionappears in the form of a sort of vile toad with an elongated mouth, bulging eyes and a huge bust. Her decrepit body is dotted with warts, and poisonous snakes curl around her waist.
  • Theftrepresents a cunning pig with its back to the children, hiding a bag with a ringing coin in its paw.
  • Alcoholismassociated with a half-naked man with a sugary physiognomy. He sits on a barrel of cheerful wine, holding a snack and a beer goblet in his hands.
  • Ignorance appears in the form of a donkey - a kind of merry and carefree personality. There is a big rattle in his paws.
  • Pseudo-science is represented by a sculpture of a woman in a hoodie and a blindfold draped over her eyes. In one hand she holds a scroll with some pseudo-knowledge, and on the other is a two-headed dog - the product of a false idea about science and its application.
  • Indifference is the central figure of adult vices from which the rest are placed on either side. The sculpture has four arms, a pair of which covers the ears, and the second is crossed on the chest.
  • Propaganda of violence somewhat reminiscent of Pinocchio, beloved by many children. Only this is not a good fairy-tale hero, but a vice that holds a shield with a weapon in its hand. Next to this figure is a stack of books, among which you can see Hitler's Mein Kampf.
  • Sadism is represented by a thick-skinned rhinoceros dressed in a butcher's uniform.
  • Forgetfulness was sculpted in the form of a pillory, probably not finding an animated image for it.
  • Exploitation of child labor appears as an image of an ominous bird with a human face, luring children to its factory.
  • Poverty is represented by a withered old woman holding a staff in one hand and holding out the other for mercy.
  • War is a certain person in a gas mask, dressed in armor. He hands the children a Mickey Mouse doll chained to a bomb.

It is worth noting that the monument "Children - Victims of Adult Vices" appeared in Moscow on the initiative of the then Moscow Mayor Yuri Mikhailovich Luzhkov. They say that he showed great interest in this work by Mikhail Shemyakin and even became a co-author of the image of "Sadism" (thick-skinned rhinoceros), spontaneously and on emotions in one of the discussions of the project, took the appropriate pose, which the sculptor, in the end, performed in metal.

Previously, access to this unusual sculptural exposition was open around the clock, but after it was damaged by vandals, the pedestal was surrounded by a fence with gates that open at strictly defined hours.