There is no other sculpture like this in Russia!

Today, on the eve of Yekaterinburg's birthday, a monument to the Russian statesman, reformer, Honorary Citizen of Yekaterinburg Pyotr Arkadyevich Stolypin was ceremoniously unveiled on the square in front of the Ural State University of Economics.

The ceremony of unveiling the monument was attended by the rector of USUE Yakov Silin, the Head of Yekaterinburg Alexey Orlov, the Chairman of the Legislative Assembly of the Sverdlovsk Region Lyudmila Babushkina, the Chairman of the Yekaterinburg City Duma Anna Gurariy, the director of the Dubrovin foundry Ivan Dubrovin, the general director of the Ural Mining Holding Sergey Mazurkevich, rectors of the city's universities, and diplomats.

The first to speak was the mayor of Yekaterinburg Alexey Orlov: "Pyotr Arkadyevich visited our city in 1910. He was here for a short time, but during this time he resolved issues important for Yekaterinburg that had remained unresolved for decades. Thanks to him, Yekaterinburg received the right to open higher education institutions. Today we are proud that our students can receive high-quality higher education. We rightfully call ourselves one of the main student cities in Russia. By opening a monument to the great reformer and the youngest Prime Minister of the Russian Empire, we pay tribute and will always remember his contribution to the development of our country, region and city."

Lyudmila Babushkina, Chairperson of the Legislative Assembly of the Sverdlovsk Region, joined in the congratulations: "I congratulate you on the opening of the monument to the outstanding reformer, the first Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Russia in the first years of the 20th century. Pyotr Arkadyevich did a lot for the development of the country, including for Yekaterinburg. He visited many provinces and participated in their development, but it was Yekaterinburg that was the only city that invited Pyotr Arkadyevich to become its honorary citizen. This shows that Yekaterinburg has always been an advanced and right-thinking city. Today we are restoring historical memory, and most importantly, we understand that Yekaterinburg has developed and is developing thanks to the outstanding people who lived here or visited. I thank everyone who took part in the opening of the monument."

The opening of the monument on the square in front of USUE is an important event not only for the university students, but also for all city residents.

"I would like to draw attention to the place where the monument is being opened today. It is located in front of the university, which trains specialists in the field of management for municipal, regional and federal authorities. I hope that students from our region, passing by the monument, will become interested in the history of our homeland, will be inspired by its examples and will want to contribute to the development of the country. Congratulations on the opening!" - Anna Gurariy, Chairman of the Yekaterinburg City Duma, greeted those present.

The height of the bronze figure is 2.5 meters, weight - 1.2 tons. The author of the monument was Moscow sculptor, member of the Moscow Union of Artists Mikhail Baskakov. Two years ago, several sculptors submitted three sketches to the USUE Academic Council. The final design of the monument was decided by vote. 30 out of 32 council members voted for Mikhail Baskakov's version.

"The Urals, located at the junction of Europe and Asia, have enormous historical significance. At that time, Yekaterinburg was already being formed. It was small, but by decision of Pyotr Stolypin it became a new promising center," says USUE Rector Yakov Silin. "Today is a significant event - a monument to an outstanding economic manager of the Russian Empire has been erected in front of the main economic university of the Urals. A great deal of work has been done. I thank everyone who took part in the creation of this monument!"

The monument was to be cast by Ural craftsmen, according to USUE Rector Yakov Silin, this was an important condition. The choice fell on the Dubrovin Foundry. As the head of the Dubrovin foundry, president of the Ural Center for Monumental Art Ivan Dubrovin, says, the craftsmen worked for months without days off. The main difficulty was that the monument consists of 45 parts, but they had to be assembled in such a way that the viewer would think that the figure was cast in one go.

“We had a powerful team, and we were unstoppable when we created this monument! It took two years for it to appear here. This work is the result of the enormous work of everyone who took part. The sculptor’s task was to create a collective image that would reflect the historical portrait of Pyotr Arkadyevich Stolypin. On the back of the monument, there is an overcoat to show that he was a military man. There is no similar monument anywhere in Russia,” says Ivan Dubrovin.

Pyotr Arkadyevich Stolypin was born on April 14, 1862 in Dresden. His father belonged to a noble family known since the 16th century. In the early 1880s, Pyotr Stolypin graduated from the Physics and Mathematics Department of St. Petersburg University and entered the service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and then the Ministry of Agriculture and State Property. He devoted much attention to educating the peasants and increasing efficiency of their farms: advanced technologies and new varieties of grain crops were introduced.

In 1903, Pyotr Stolypin was appointed Governor of Saratov. In April 1906, Nicholas II appointed him Minister of Internal Affairs, and just three months later - Chairman of the Council of Ministers. Pyotr Stolypin's activities as Prime Minister still cause heated debate, since the protection of state order earned him a reputation as an extreme reactionary, and the implementation of agrarian reform put him on a par with liberal reformers. Pyotr Stolypin visited Yekaterinburg on September 6, 1910. He was in the city for only three hours. But it was thanks to Pyotr Stolypin that Yekaterinburg managed to resolve two important issues: to begin collecting a one-pood tax on goods transported through the city and to win the fight for the right to host the first higher education institution in the Urals. In the same 1910, the City Duma awarded Pyotr Arkadyevich the title of Honorary Citizen of Yekaterinburg.

The idea to erect the monument belongs to the Sverdlovsk Regional Union of Small and Medium Businesses. The funds for the creation of the sculpture were allocated by the General Director of the Ural Mining Holding, honorary graduate of USUE Sergey Mazurkevich: "Pyotr Arkadyevich was a politician who made bold decisions in difficult times and was responsible for them. Thanks to this, results were achieved that we still use today. His example inspires young people, managers and businessmen. He shows how to conduct your policy, treat your position and make decisions that will help the development of the enterprise."

The honored guests removed the white robe from the monument to solemn music. And then... they rubbed their left shoe - for good luck. Thanks to the Ural State University of Economics, Yekaterinburg has one more good omen.

Thanks to USUE, Yekaterinburg has one more good omen

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