A monument to People's Artist of the USSR Mikhail Ulyanov was unveiled in Moscow

MOSCOW, March 27 The monument to People's Artist of the USSR Mikhail Ulyanov was opened on Theater Day in the Mikhailovsky Garden park in Moscow, the correspondent reports .
«I don’t know why this park or square is called Mikhailovsky, it probably has its own history, an old one, of which Moscow is proud, but from today, I am absolutely sure and convinced that this square has found its owner» , — said the rector of the Shchukin Theater Institute, People's Artist of the Russian Federation Evgeny Knyazev.

Ulyanov is captured in full growth, holding a pile of papers in his hands. A creative team worked on the creation of the monument: People's Artist of Russia Andrei Balashov, who is also the author of the monument to Ulyanov in his homeland in Tara and the memorial plaque in Moscow, where the artist lived, as well as artist Igor Burganov and architect Yuri Menchits.

“Our theater has been waiting for this day for seventeen years. It is very sad that Lena, the daughter of Mikhail Alexandrovich, who gave all the remaining years of her life to ensure that this monument stood here today, did not live one year, but I think, I am even sure that she is now stands among us. That's right, Mikhail Alexandrovich is a great man and a great actor… Not everyone manages to become a symbol of their time, an image of their era, but Mikhail Alexandrovich became,» People's Artist of the RSFSR Irina Kupchenko said at the ceremony.
The opening ceremony of the monument was also attended by Director of the Vakhtangov Theater Kirill Krok, Chairman of the Moscow City Duma Commission on Culture and Mass Communications Evgeny Gerasimov, Honored Artist of the Russian Federation Vladimir Vdovichenkov and People's Artist of the Russian Federation Yulia Rutberg, as well as students of the Shchukin Theater Institute and fans of creativity Ulyanov.

The idea to open the monument belongs to Rimas Tumanis, Ulyanov’s successor as artistic director of the Vakhtangov Theater. Five years ago, during an informal meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and the heads of the country’s leading theaters, Tuminas gave him a letter in which the theater staff spoke about their dream of having a monument to Ulyanov opened in Moscow. Putin gave the corresponding order to the government.

The Presidium of the Moscow Government adopted a decree providing for the installation of a monument in memory of Ulyanov at the expense of the city budget in the spring of 2020. It was assumed that the monument would be installed before the end of 2022.
Mikhail Ulyanov — People's Artist of the USSR, actor, theater and film director, teacher, public figure. He played several dozen roles on stage and about 70 in films. Among the actor's famous roles are Georgy Zhukov («Liberation»), Dmitry Karamazov («The Brothers Karamazov»), Ivan Afonin («Voroshilovsky Shooter»). Ulyanov passed away in March 2007.