Russians destroy unique mosaic panel at Mariupol railway station – photos
Pravda Ukraine
The Russians have reopened the railway station in occupied Mariupol and dismantled the Metallurgists mosaic panel from the waiting room on the first floor. The panel by local monumental artists Valentyn Konstantinov and Lel Kuzminkov has been utterly destroyed, the Mariupol City Council reported.
“The invaders are boasting on propaganda channels about having repaired the railway station in Mariupol, which they themselves had ruined. The Russians destroyed over 80% of the station premises in the spring of 2022,” the city council said.
The large Metallurgists mosaic panel, dedicated to Mariupol workers, was created in 1974. It has decorated the hall of the main railway station for over 40 years and has become one of the city’s landmarks. In 2019, the mosaic was exhibited at the UN headquarters in New York.
There is also no information on how the rebuilt station will be used in the future or whether city residents will be allowed access to it.
About Metallurgists by Konstantinov and Kuzminkov
The construction of Mariupol’s new railway station was completed in 1974. Its predecessor – an old 19th-century building – was demolished, and a more modern architectural style, functionalism, was chosen for the new one.
Local representatives of the monumental school, Valentyn Konstantinov and Lel Kuzminkov, were invited to work on the building’s decoration. The artists often collaborated on projects, including creating mosaic friezes on the Vazhmash plant buildings, a mosaic panel on the facade of the community arts centre in the village of Urzufi, and erecting several monuments in the city and the oblast.
Sashko Chernidis, a historian of Mariupol art, says it took the men two months to create Metallurgists, which is a record for a 110 sq. m. piece. The artists used local granite and marble for the colours, not just conventional ceramics and smalt.
Three working groups were involved in decorating the station, each producing a unique piece. By the time the full-scale invasion began, only two decorations remained: Metallurgists and the reliefs by Yakiv Raizin and Viktor Ponomarov.
During the siege of Mariupol, the railway station building sustained constant damage and even caught fire once. A journalist from the Esthete newspaper suggested that Metallurgists could have been saved. A photo dating back to 2022, showing a burnt-out mosaic panel, was found on the web. However, the Russians opted to dismantle the station’s coating to the iron frame.
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