View source for Worker and Kolkhoz Woman

{{Short description|1937 sculpture by Vera Mukhina}}
{{Redirect|Kolkhoznitsa|the Russian word denoting a female collective-farm worker|Kolkhoz|the muskmelon cultivar|Kolkhoznitsa melon}}
{{Infobox artwork
 | image = Ouvrier kolkhosienne 2.jpg
 | image_size =
 | title  = Worker and Kolkhoz Woman
 | other_language_1 = 
 | other_title_1 = Рабо́чий и колхо́зница (Rabochiy i Kolkhoznitsa)
 | artist = [[Vera Mukhina]]
 | year   = 1937
 | type   = [[Stainless steel]]
 | height_metric = 24.5
 | metric_unit = m
 | imperial_unit = ft
 | city   = [[All-Russian Exhibition Centre|Russian Exhibition Centre]], [[Moscow]], Russia
 | museum =
 | module = <br/>{{nobold|3D model (click to interact)}}
}}
'''''Worker and Kolkhoz Woman''''' ({{langx|ru|Рабочий и колхозница|Rabochiy i kolkhoznitsa}}) is a sculpture of two figures with a [[Hammer and sickle|sickle and a hammer]] raised over their heads. The concept and compositional design belong to the architect [[Boris Iofan]]. It is 24.5&nbsp;metres (78&nbsp;feet) high, made from [[stainless steel]] by [[Vera Mukhina]] for the [[Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne (1937)|1937 World's Fair]] in [[Paris]],<ref name="overy260">[[Richard Overy]], ''The Dictators: Hitler's Germany, Stalin's Russia'', p260 {{ISBN|0-393-02030-4}}</ref> and subsequently moved to [[Moscow]]. The sculpture is an example of [[socialist realism]] in an [[Art Deco]] aesthetic. The worker holds aloft a hammer and the [[kolkhoz]] woman a sickle to form the [[hammer and sickle]] symbol.<ref name="overy260"/>

==History==
[[File:Paris-expo-1937-pavillon de l'URSS-13.jpg|thumb|upright|left|1937 Expo pavilion in Paris]]
[[File:Exposition_Internationale_des_Arts_et_Techniques_dans_la_Vie_Moderne_15.jpg|thumb|400px|right|The Soviet pavilion opposite the [[Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne#German Pavilion|Nazi German pavilion]] of an eagle and the swastika at the [[Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne|1937 World's Fair]] in [[Paris]]]]
[[File:Moscow, Worker and Kolkhoz Woman from the Main Gate (10656844163).jpg|thumb|250px|Worker and Kolkhoz Woman from the [[VDNKH|VDNKh]] Main Gate]]

The sculpture was originally created to crown the Soviet pavilion of the [[Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne|1937 World's Fair]].<ref name="overy260"/>  The organisers had placed the Soviet and German pavilions facing each other across the main pedestrian boulevard at the [[Trocadéro, Paris|Trocadéro]] on the north bank of the Seine.<ref name="overy260"/>

Mukhina was inspired by her study of the classical ''[[Harmodius and Aristogeiton (sculpture)|Harmodius and Aristogeiton]]'', the ''[[Winged Victory of Samothrace]]'' and ''[[La Marseillaise]]'', [[François Rude]]'s sculptural group for the [[Arc de Triomphe]],<ref name="Power 1995">''Art and Power: Europe under the dictators'', 1995, {{ISBN|1-85332-148-6}}</ref> to bring a monumental composition of socialist realist confidence to the heart of Paris. The symbolism of the two figures striding from West to East, as determined by the layout of the pavilion, was also not lost on the spectators.<ref name="ReferenceA">''Totalitarian Art'', Golomstock, 1990 {{ISBN|0-00-272169-4}}</ref>

Mukhina said that her sculpture was intended "to continue the idea inherent in the building, and this sculpture was to be an inseparable part of the whole structure",<ref>''Arkhitekturnaya gazeta'', 28 February 1938</ref> but after the fair, the ''Rabochiy i Kolkhoznitsa'' was relocated to [[Moscow]] where it was placed just outside the [[All-Russia Exhibition Centre]].

In 1941, the sculpture earned Mukhina one of the initial batch of [[State Stalin Prize|Stalin Prize]]s.<ref name="ReferenceA" />

The sculpture was removed for restoration in autumn of 2003 during the city's [[Expo 2010]] bid.The plan was that the sculpture could be back at its place by 2005, but this did not happen after the city lost the bidding process to [[Shanghai]] and many financial problems contributed to a delayed re-installation.

At the end of 2009 the monument returned to its place at [[All-Russia Exhibition Centre|VDNKh]] after 6 years of restorations.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2009-12-04 |title=В Москву вернулись "Рабочий и Колхозница" [Worker and Kolkhoz Woman return to Moscow] |url=https://www.bbc.com/russian/russia/2009/12/091204_rabochiy_kolhoznitsa |access-date=2023-06-15 |website=BBC News Русская служба |language=ru}}</ref> The revealing of the restored monument was held on the evening of December 4, 2009, accompanied by fireworks and a light show.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2009-12-04 |title=В Москву вернулись "Рабочий и Колхозница" |url=https://www.bbc.com/russian/russia/2009/12/091204_rabochiy_kolhoznitsa |access-date=2023-06-15 |website=BBC News Русская служба |language=ru}}</ref> The restored statue uses a new pavilion as pedestal, increasing its total height from 34.5 metres (the old pedestal was 10 metres tall) to 60 metres (the new pavilion is 34.5 metres tall plus the 24.5 metres of the statue itself).<ref>{{cite web
 | title = "Рабочий и колхозница". Сложная судьба эталона соцреализма
 | publisher = РИА НОВОСТИ
 | date = 2007-04-11
 | url = http://www.rian.ru/spravka/20070411/63472592.html
 | access-date = 2007-08-09 }}</ref>

== Manufacturing and installation ==

The main structure of the monument was made at The Moscow factory of aggregate machine tools and automatic lines (called "Stankoagregat"), while the smaller components of the outer covering were created at the pilot plant of the Central Research Institute of Mechanical Engineering and Metalworking, overseen by Professor Pyotr Nikolayevich Lvov. He suggested using stainless chrome-nickel steel for the sculpture, despite initial doubts from [[Vera Mukhina]] and the rest of the team. The main reason steel was chosen over [[bronze]] and [[copper]] was because it had a better ability to reflect light. The goal was for the monument to shine brighter than the eagle on the German pavilion and the [[Eiffel Tower]]. Lvov invented resistance [[spot welding]], a technique that was used to skin airplanes since the 1930s. Instead of using the traditional riveting method, the decision was made to use this technology for assembling the sculpture.{{sfn|Voronov|1990|pp=146—161}}

At the start of the project, the workers had four plaster models to use, with the tallest one being 95&nbsp;cm. They assembled the monument in the factory courtyard using a crane that was 35 meters high with a 15-meter boom. The templates for the plating parts were made of wood, and the carpenters used 15&nbsp;cm thick boards. The molded parts were then shaped from inside the monument. People involved in the project remembered these details: <blockquote>"Working in February was particularly challenging due to the cold weather and strong winds. The only respite from the wind was inside the frame or "under the skirt of the Kolkhoznitsa". To keep warm, we relied on a fire that was built in a cauldron dug into the ground. Additionally, we had to manually weld the sheathing sheets".{{sfn|Shishkina-Yarmolenko|Yarmolenko|2010|p=64}}</blockquote>

A different approach was needed to create the hands and heads of the sculpture. Instead of using wooden templates, clay was used to fill in the damaged wooden blanks for the heads, which were then molded with steel. The creation of the scarf posed challenges, as it was a large and heavy piece that needed to be supported without external help. During the creation of this artwork, factory director S. P. Tambovtsev criticized Mukhina for causing delays with numerous revisions and claimed that the scarf she had designed could potentially damage the sculpture during windy weather. Tambovtsev even stated that [[Lev Trotsky]], who was considered an "[[enemy of the people]]", could be seen in certain angles of the frame. However, his complaints were ignored, and engineers B.A. Dzerzhkovich and A.A. Prikhozhan managed to create a truss to support the scarf, allowing it to appear as if it was floating behind two figures.

During this time period, the sculpture was created and it was supported by a heavy frame weighing 63 tons. The outer shells of the sculpture, made from thin sheets of 0.5&nbsp;mm steel, only weighed 12 tons. The entire process took three and a half months. Once the sculpture was assembled, it was visited by a government commission led by [[Kliment Voroshilov]], the People's Commissar of Defense. Later that evening, [[Joseph Stalin]], the leader of the USSR, inspected the finished monument. Shortly after, the sculpture was dismantled for transportation to [[Paris]].

[[File:Worker and Kolkhoz Woman.jpg|thumb|Worker and Kolkhoz Woman in 2022]]

==Use in media==
[[File:Russia-2000-stamp-Tatlin Tower and Worker and Kolkhoz Woman by Vera Mukhina.jpg|thumb|''Worker and Kolkhoz Woman'' was among achievements of the 20th century in the arts to be commemorated in Russian stamps in 2000 (depicted with [[Tatlin's Tower]])]]
In Soviet cinema, the sculpture was chosen in 1947 to serve as the logo<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.ytfiles.com/2009/12/10/worker-and-kolkhoz-woman-a-soviet-era-monument-finds-its-way-back-into-moscows-landscape/ |title=Worker and Kolkhoz Woman: A Soviet-era Monument Finds Its Way Back into Moscow's Landscape « YT Files – Blog by Yuliya Talmazan |access-date=2009-12-10 |archive-date=2009-12-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091231200746/http://www.ytfiles.com/2009/12/10/worker-and-kolkhoz-woman-a-soviet-era-monument-finds-its-way-back-into-moscows-landscape/ |url-status=usurped }}</ref> for the [[film studio]] [[Mosfilm]]. It can be seen in the opening credits of the film ''[[Red Heat (1988 film)|Red Heat]]'', as well as many of the Russian films released by the [[Mosfilm]] studio itself.

A giant moving reproduction of the statue was featured in the [[2014 Winter Olympics opening ceremony|opening ceremony]] of the [[2014 Winter Olympics|2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia]],<ref>{{cite news|title = Olympics Opening Ceremony Offers Fanfare for a Reinvented Russia| work = [[The New York Times]]| date = 7 February 2014| url = https://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/08/sports/olympics/russia-opens-sochi-games-with-pageantry-and-pride.html?_r=0| access-date = 2009-02-09}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| title = Sochi 2014 in five pictures| work = beranger.org| date = 7 February 2014| url = http://beranger.org/2014/02/07/sochi-2014-in-five-pictures/| access-date = 2009-02-09| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://archive.today/20140209212605/http://beranger.org/2014/02/07/sochi-2014-in-five-pictures/| archive-date = 9 February 2014}}</ref> symbolizing post-World War II Soviet society, particularly in Moscow.

==See also==
{{Wikinews|Soviet statue returns to Moscow}}
*[[Socialist realism]]
*[[List of tallest statues]]

==References==
{{Commons category|Worker and Kolkhoz Woman}}
{{Reflist}}
{{1937 Paris International Exposition of Arts and Techniques Applied to Modern Life}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Coord|55|49|42|N|37|38|44|E|region:RU-MOW_type:landmark|display=title}}

==Sources==
* {{cite book |last=Voronov |first=N.V. |script-title=ru:Рабочий и колхозница |trans-title=Worker and collective farmer |year=1990 |language=ru |ISBN=5-900829-07-3 }}
* {{cite journal |last1=Shishkina-Yarmolenko |first1=L. |last2=Yarmolenko |first2=A. |script-title=ru:К 120-летию В. И. Мухиной. "Рабочий и колхозница": четвёртое рождение |trans-title=To the 120th anniversary of V.I. Mukhina. "Worker and Collective Farm Woman": fourth birth
|year=2010 |language=ru |journal=Русский міръ (Russian World) |number=4 |pages=58–67 |location=St. Petersburg |publisher=Русская культура (Russian culture) |issn=2072-9456 }} <!-- Шишкина-Ярмоленко -->
* {{cite book |last=Shokarev |first=Sergey Yurievich |author-link=|title=Povsednevnaya zhizn' srednevekovoj Moskvy [Everyday Life in Moscow during the Medieval times] |year=2012 |language=ru |ISBN=978-5-235-03540-9 }}

[[Category:Statues in Russia]]
[[Category:Monuments and memorials in Moscow]]
[[Category:Colossal statues in Russia]]
[[Category:Outdoor sculptures in Moscow]]
[[Category:Steel sculptures in Russia]]
[[Category:Socialist realism]]
[[Category:1937 sculptures]]
[[Category:Relocated buildings and structures]]
[[Category:World's fair sculptures]]
[[Category:Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne]]
[[Category:Monuments and memorials built in the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Sculptures in the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Mosfilm]]
[[Category:Exhibition of Achievements of National Economy]]
[[Category:Sculptures of women in Russia]]
[[Category:Sculptures of men in Russia]]
[[Category:Art Deco sculptures and memorials]]
[[Category:Stainless steel sculptures]]
[[Category:Cultural heritage monuments of federal significance in Moscow]]
[[Category:France–Soviet Union relations]]
[[Category:Sculptures of women in the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Sculptures of men in the Soviet Union]]