Projects for monument to Vladislav Ardzinba sparks controversy in Abkhazia

The Ministry of Culture of Abkhazia has summed up the results of the first stage of the contest for projects of the monument to Vladislav Ardzinba, the first President of Abkhazia.

Three projects were chosen for further consideration, while the names of sculptors are kept secret so that personal attitude towards them does not affect the voting, Irma Tsveiba, the secretary of the State Commission on Monumental Arts, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

The online voting for the best project of the monument to Vladislav Ardzinba has been on since February 15 on the website of the Ministry of Culture.

Gennady Alamiya, a poet and activist, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that he had visited the exposition in the Central Exhibition Hall and examined all the three projects. He has noted that the author of the third project had most accurately embodied the Ardzinba's appearance.

Mr Alamiya is categorically against the extension of the contest, since a lot of time has passed since Ardzinba's death, but there's still no monument in Sukhumi.

Yuri Anchabadze, a leading researcher at the Caucasus Division of the Institute of Anthropology and Ethnography (IAE) of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), believes that Ardzinba should undoubtedly be immortalized in a monument in the country's central square. The people of Abkhazia have deep respect for Ardzinba; and by the degree of respect that he enjoyed, "none of the subsequent presidents can be compared with him," Mr Anchabadze has stressed.

"There is no doubt that this monument will appear in Abkhazia. But not a single contestant made an impression on me. I would postpone the issue (of erecting the monument) for a while. Maybe an adequate artistic solution for this monument will appear, but it's up to the people of Abkhazia to decide," Mr Anchabadze has concluded.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on February 20, 2021 at 11:44 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.