The Tretyakov Gallery on Krymsky Val (Третьяковская галерея на Крымском Валу) – a branch of the State Tretyakov Gallery – closed at 6pm. I was among the last to leave. See earlier posts, for example, here, here, and here for the 20th century collection.

The gallery is situated in the Park of Arts – Muzeon (МУЗЕОН) – so this is a part of it. Muzeon is formerly called the Park of the Fallen Heroes.

.

Outside on the right side of the gallery is a small area filled with rows and rows of sculptures – literally a very compact sculpture gallery that is in open air.

In the 2000s, the park began hosting symposiums for sculptors working with limestone; the sculptures they donated are displayed on a special square reserved for white-stone sculptures.

.

In October 1991, when the Soviet Union collapsed, smaller socialist realism statues of Soviet leaders and unidentifiable workers and peasants were removed from their pedestals, hauled to the park and left in their fallen form. They were rectified later, although missing original pedestals.

.

Located just down the footpath towards the embankment are giant busts of ex-Russian/Soviet leaders. From the Krymskaya embankment, one get the full view of the Peter the Great sculpture on Bolotny island.

.

I can imagine how popular and crowd this area can be in the right weather – Krymskaya (Crimean) embankment – where sightseeing boat on the river departs.

It was getting rather cold as the park is situated right next to the Moskva river. I was so glad to find a tiny coffee shop – Caffe Parco – which was filled with very cold people.

The Peter the Great Statue is a 98-metre-high monument, designed by the Georgian Zurab Tsereteli to commemorate 300 years of the Russian Navy, which Peter the Great established.  He also moved the Russian capital to St Petersburg.

In more than one occasion, it has been voted one of the ugliest building in the world. Moscow is reportedly keen to get rid of the statue, offered to relocate it to Saint Petersburg, but this offer was refused.