Kört-Aika Monument


The Kört-Aika Monument is a steel statue located at the entrance to the village of Kortkeros, Kortkerossky District, Komi Republic, Russia. It is a statue of a man pulling up several boats with his chains.

Features

The Kort-Aika Monument is a steel statue that are 100 x 100 millimetres in height, and 80 x 80 millimetres in length, with the chains measured in 40 x 4 millimetres in length. The statue weighs around 1 ton.

History

Yuri Shagunov, president of the Russian Union of Blacksmiths, commissioned the monument's construction to two blacksmiths, Alexander Sushnikov and Georgii Gorbachev. It was initially installed in the courtyard of a local blacksmith, Igor Usachev, before being built at the village's entrance on November 12.

Controversy

Some residents objected to the statue's existence, as they considered it to promote a revival of the native Komi religion. Furthermore, some residents also considered the statue to be a monument of a robber.
In response, the statue's creators stated that it is not a pagan monument, but a work of art. The local diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church also stated that the statue does not bear any religious or ideological motive.