Sculptor Zurab Tsereteli, known for his controversial monuments, dies

Sculptor and monumental artist Zurab Tsereteli passed away at the age of 91.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons by SJabberwocky, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

Zereteli's monument to Peter the Great in Moscow

He died in his apartment in Moscow on April 22 at 1:30 AM (Moscow time).

Tsereteli's family has not yet announced the time and location of the farewell and burial ceremonies.

Cause of death possibly cardiac arrest

The artist reportedly died as a result of cardiac arrest.

Relatives stated that Tsereteli did not have any serious illnesses but did have several "age-related issues,” including heart problems. There were no major health complaints reported the day before his death.

The sculptor's assistant, Sergey Shagulashvili, told RT that Tsereteli had been frequently ill in recent times and had complained about heart problems.

Tsereteli remembered as a true people's diplomat

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova called Tsereteli a true people's diplomat.

"An artist of global renown, a public figure who knew no borders or obstacles in his efforts to strengthen peace and support creativity. A true people's diplomat,” she said.

The diplomat also expressed condolences to Tsereteli's family and friends, adding that he will live on not only in people's hearts but in his works as well.

The sculptor's assistant described him as "the kindest and most wonderful person.” "He will be remembered as a brilliant man, the kindest, most beautiful person who only did good. That's what he did-goodness, all his life, for the sake of art, through art, and for people. It's very hard to talk about it,” Shagulashvili said.

Controversial monument to Peter the Great may be relocated from Moscow

Discussions about the need to relocate the monument to Peter the Great from Moscow resurfaced in November 2024, when Dmitry Pavlov, leader of the New People party in the St. Petersburg Legislative Assembly, proposed moving it to the shores of the Gulf of Finland or one of the city's forts. According to Pavlov, the monument could become part of the new federal resort Gorskaya, which is currently under construction near St. Petersburg.

The monument was erected in 1997 to mark Moscow's 850th anniversary in the Red October district, at the confluence of the Moskva River and the Vodootvodny Canal. The sculpture has received mixed reactions. Many Muscovites believe it clashes with the historical setting and appears overly bulky against the city's landscape.

Tsereteli created more than 5,000 works of art

In addition to the monument to Peter I, he worked on the "Friendship Forever” monument on Tishinskaya Square in Moscow, participated in the design of the memorial complex on Poklonnaya Hill, and contributed to the Cathedral of Christ the Savior.

Tsereteli's works are located not only in the Russian capital but also in other cities across Russia, CIS countries, and many nations abroad, including the United States. For example, the "Tear of Grief” monument dedicated to the 9/11 attacks stands in the U.S.; his "Good Defeats Evil” sculpture can be seen in front of the UN headquarters in New York.

Details

Zurab Konstantinovich Tsereteli (Georgian: ზურაბ კონსტანტინეს ძე წერეთელი, Russian: Зураб Константинович Церетели; 4 January 1934 – 22 April 2025) was a Georgian-Russian painter, sculptor and architect known for large-scale and at times controversial monuments. Tsereteli served as the President of the Russian Academy of Arts from 1997 until his death. Zurab Konstantinovich Tsereteli was born in Tbilisi on 4 January 1934. Tsereteli studied at Tbilisi State Academy of Arts, graduating in 1958. The same year, he married Inessa Andronikashvili, a princess from a noble Georgian family that claimed patrilineal descent from Byzantine Emperor Andronikos I Komnenos.

Peter I (9 June [O.S. 30 May] 1672 – 8 February [O.S. 28 January] 1725), better known as Peter the Great, was the Tsar of all Russia from 1682 and the first Emperor of all Russia from 1721 until his death in 1725. He reigned jointly with his half-brother Ivan V until 1696. From this year, Peter was an absolute monarch, an autocrat who remained the ultimate authority and organized a well-ordered police state. Much of Peter's reign was consumed by lengthy wars against the Ottoman and Swedish empires. His Azov campaigns were followed by the foundation of the Russian Navy; after his victory in the Great Northern War despite initial difficulties, Russia annexed a significant portion of the eastern Baltic coastline and was officially renamed from a tsardom to an empire. Peter led a cultural revolution that replaced some of the traditionalist and medieval social and political systems with ones that were modern, scientific, Westernized, and based on radical Enlightenment.