Discover Moscow Tells the Story of Worker and Kolkhoz Woman

The Worker and Kolkhoz Woman sculptural composition has turned 85: on May 25th, 1937, the architectural masterpiece was put on display at an international exhibition in Paris. We have collected the most interesting little-known facts about the iconic 20th-century couple.

From discovermoscow.com’s materials, readers will learn who served as the prototype for the sculpture, the idea the creator wanted to convey, how the gargantuan statue was moved from Moscow to Paris and back, what has happened to it in its almost one hundred years, and much more.

For example, not many know that the sculpture attained its impressive height only in 2009. For many years, it stood on a much shorter pedestal (around 10 meters). Vera Mukhina, the creator of the monument, did not like the short pavilion at all, as it completely took away the ideas of flight, lightness, and aspiration. After the restoration of the sculpture and the reconstruction of the pavilion, the composition was returned to a respectable height on the initiative of Boris Iofan.

Today, Worker and Kolkhoz Woman is the fifth tallest statue in Russia. Its pavilion regularly hosts temporary exhibitions, plays, and lectures, as well as musical concerts on the roof.

Photo: discovermoscow.com