Baku city. Five monuments for international travellers' attention

Baku city is the capital of Azerbaijan. As any great cultural city it is the concentration of sculptural works, monuments of people of art, science and politics, the prominent historical persons. Among them not only Azeri but the representatives of other nations. And what is more interesting - neither of those people whose monuments are given below, never visited Baku. But we respect and value them not only for this. 
Note: the monuments are listed in chronological order of monument fix up.

1. Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin (1799-1837)

The greatest Russian poet and the founder of modern Russian literature and language.

The A.S. Pushkin monument locates in garden square, in Pushkin street, in 2001. The opening was planned to the 200 anniversary of the poet and during the visit of V.V. Putin to Azerbaijan. but then it was postponed. The author of monument is Yuri Grigoryevich Orekhov - the people's artist of the Russia, laureate of the Lenin's and State Prizes of the USSR, Vise-President of the Russian Academy of Arts, honored member of Fine Arts Academy of Carrara. Altogether he was the author of more than 30 monuments and sculptures fixed up in various cities of Russia and abroad. Among them Pushkin monuments in Minsk, Yakutsk, Vienna, Paris, Rome. The monument in Baku was the last work of Yuri Grigoryevich Orekhov and had been fixed up after the artist's death - by his son, the sculptor, Grigory Orekhov. 

2. Taras Hryhorovych Shevchenko (1814-1861)

He was the prominent Ukrainian poet, writer, arist, public figure, as well as folklorist and ethnographer, the academician of Imperial Academy of Arts and the founder of modern Ukrainian.
3,5-meter monument was made of bronze by the Ukrainian sculptor Igor Grechanyk (www.grechanyk.com) and brought to Baku by the expenses of the Ukrainian art patron Sergey Bondarchuk.
Unlike other Shevchenko monuments, here the poet is represented as young man. In arms he holds his famous book "Kobzar (Folk Minstrel)", the first edition of which had been issued when he was 26. From the reverse side the monument resembles the willow with roots - incarnating the Ukraine and the folk root.
The monument was opened in June 30, 2008. The President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and the President of Ukraine Viktor Yushenko participated at the ceremony. 

3. Mustafa Kemal Ataturk (1881—1938)

The great politician and commander, the first President of Republic of Turkey, the founder of the modern Turkish State. 
The monument for Mustafa Kemal Ataturk had been fixed up in May 2010, at the cross of streets Samad Vurgun and Bakhikhanov - opposite the Embassy of Turkey. The monument author is Olmar Eldarov, the sculptor, the President of Azerbaijan Academy of Arts. The granite slab near the moments carries the known Ataturk's words "The sorrow of Azerbaijan is our sorrow, the happiness of Azerbaijan is our happiness". The President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and the Prime-Minister of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan participated at the opening ceremony.


4. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) 

The Austrian composer of genius, chapelmaster, piano player, violinist, clavecinist, organist. The Mozart monument had been fixed up in new garden square in Inshaatchilar avenue. The memorial authors are the people's artist Natig Aliyev and the honorable artist, architect Chingiz Farzaliyev. The President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and the Federal President of Austria Heinz Fischer participated at the opening ceremony in October 12, 2011.


5. Nikola Tesla (1856-1943)

The prominent Serbian inventor, engineer, physicist.  The SI unit measure for magnetic field strength and the airport in Belgrade suburb Surchin are named after Nikola Tesla.
The Tesla monument had been fixed up in Baku in garden, at the cross of Azadlig avenue and Suleyman Ragimov street, near the railway station. The monument author is the people's artist Omar Eldarov and architect Sanan Salamzade. The monument is made on the background of decorative panel illustrating one of the main inventions of Tesla - the alternating current generator. The President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and the President of Serbia Tomislav Nikolić participated at the opening ceremony in February 8, 2013


This record is translated from and of the kind permission of Vyacheslav Sapunov, editor-in-chief of Boutique Travel Magazine. The original blog record in Russian.