Translated material
"Get rid of the image of Salavat." Controversy about the monument
The authorities of Bashkortostan decided not to restore the monument to the Bashkir national hero Salavat Yulaev, dismantled last year, in its original place. Officials and pro-government social activists said that the monument was in a “catastrophic state” and chose the option of casting a new bronze copy of the sculpture and its subsequent installation in its original place. The dismantled sculpture is proposed to be restored over time and placed in a kind of “museum under glass.” Social activists say that casting the new monument will take a very long time and fear that the monument, which served for many years as one of the main symbols of the republic, will never be restored.
"Have you put an end to it"?
On June 1, the head of Bashkortostan , Radiy Khabirov, “put an end to it,” as the official republican media put it , in the months-long controversy surrounding the restoration of the monument to Salavat Yulaev.
“The restorers told us that about 80% of the monument would need to be changed and new elements made,” Khabirov said at an operational meeting in the government. — In this regard, we thought: after all, the metal there is not of very high quality. Therefore, during the discussion, an idea was born, which I proposed to the court of public opinion of the residents of the republic, that it is possible to take a more difficult path, but more reliable and, in my opinion, more strategically advantageous - to cast a new monument one in one from bronze.
Touching upon the fate of the monument dismantled last year, Khabirov assured that it would definitely be restored.
“After consulting with the residents of the republic, Ufa, I propose to find a place for him, erect a monument and cover it with a glass dome,” said the head of Bashkortostan. — This will be another museum.
The monument to Salavat Yulaev by sculptor from North Ossetia Soslanbek Tavasiev was opened in Ufa in the fall of 1967. It is installed on a high hill in the southern part of Ufa, above the Belaya River - Ak-Idel.
The monument was cast from bronzed cast iron at the Leningrad plant "Monumentsculpture" and was delivered to Ufa in parts. The height of the equestrian statue reaches 9.8 meters, and taking into account the pedestal - 14 meters. The weight of the sculpture is 40 tons.
On December 4, 1974, by a resolution of the Council of Ministers of the RSFSR, the monument was placed under state protection as an object of cultural heritage of federal significance. His image is on the state emblem of the Republic of Bashkortostan.
Khabirov announced his decision after the restorers of the dismantled monument announced its “deplorable” condition at the end of March. The head of the group of restorers, Andrei Kudryavtsev, noted that the reason was the low-quality cast iron used during casting.
“Initially it was planned to cast [the sculpture] in bronze,” he said ( quoted from the Bashinform news agency ). — But in the 1960s it was necessary to overtake the Americans and fly into space, all non-ferrous metals went to a clear destination. So what to do - bronze is not issued and is not issued, the plaster model is already beginning to collapse, and a decision is made to cast in cast iron. But the model has almost crumbled - we need to pour it quickly, the deadlines are running out - we need to open the monument by the November holidays. We were in a hurry and poured cast iron that was not of the best quality, with a high content of slag.
After this, Radiy Khabirov stated that “there are two ways”: “Restoration of what is, but about 60-70% of the surfaces will be cast in a new way, or cast a new one from bronze, as was originally in the project.”
Bashkir social activists, who had previously categorically opposed the dismantling of the monument, initially agreed with this proposal.
“We are for the second option,” said the leader of the public movement “Patriots of Bashkortostan” Sagit Ismagilov . — It is necessary to cast a new monument, but from bronze, as the author [sculptor Soslanbek Tavasiev ] wanted. Bronze has excellent casting fluidity, which allows you to create products of complex shapes with high precision. Bronze is exceptionally wear-resistant and has good corrosion resistance. Thanks to these qualities, the monument will be much lighter than a cast iron one - and no special effort will be required to strengthen the base. Therefore, I and my supporters are in favor of making a bronze monument and installing it in its original place.
Regarding the dismantled sculpture, Ismagilov said that it was necessary to reconstruct it and place it “in some other city of the republic, located on the border with other subjects of the Federation.”
On May 29, the “Supervisory Council” created by the authorities of Bashkortostan in 2021 on the issue of carrying out work on the restoration of the monument also spoke in favor of a new casting of a copy of the monument in bronze and its installation in its original place - near the Ufa television center.
President of the Russian Academy of Arts Vasily Tsereteli, who was present at the council meeting, said that the new sculpture would be cast “in St. Petersburg, at the Monumentsculpture plant, where Salavat Yulaev himself was cast from cast iron.”
On June 4, "Bashkultnasledie" ( Department for State Protection of Cultural Heritage Objects of the Republic of Belarus ) published the conclusion of an examination of the state of the monument to Salavat Yulaev, carried out by order of the Russian "Academy of Arts Foundation" at the Central Research and Design Institute of Building Metal Structures named after. N. P. Melnikova.
“We have been waiting for this conclusion for quite a long time,” said Anna Pyshta, director of restoration of the Foundation of the Russian Academy of Arts. — We directly examined the composition of the material — cast iron. We selected four samples from the monument from those areas that should not subsequently affect the display appearance. These four samples were analyzed. We have identified the same controversial issue that has been repeatedly raised regarding the bronzing of cast iron sculpture in general. Our material is extremely heterogeneous for such a prefabricated structure, which causes failure in some places, and excessive stress in other places, which was further aggravated by welding work, which increased stress in certain points. It is heterogeneous, and as a result of this it destroys itself.
Bashkir social activist Sagit Ismagilov, in turn, noted : “Researchers have shown that restoration of a monument can be carried out by removing minor defects, such as microcracks and corrosion up to 1 mm deep, and protecting the monument from further damage by applying a protective layer.”
“It’s a pity that similar studies were not carried out on the power frame,” added Ismagilov. “If defects the same as those of the cast iron skin had been found in the frame, then restoration of the monument could have been carried out on the spot without removing the steel frame.
“The image of the Bashkir national hero evokes both hatred and fear among the imperials”
Discussions about the need for a complete reconstruction of the monument to Salavat Yulaev took place in Bashkortostan for more than six years.
Republican media wrote that back in 2019, Bashkultnaslediye employees conducted an examination of the monument and found out that it was in poor condition.
“There are problems both with the 40-ton sculpture itself, and with the pedestal and even the slope on which the entire composition stands,” the Proofs publication reported in October 2021, citing experts. “One of the support points - the front left leg of the horse - is, according to experts, in critical condition. It is heavily rusted. The loss of this support means that this whole colossus can fall under the force of gravity and roll into the Belaya [river]. The sculpture is not whole, it was assembled in parts, which means that these joints have rusted. And now Salavat resembles a sieve. In the area of the horse’s neck and the rider himself, there are crevices of such width that birds can easily fly in and build nests inside the sculpture.”
The publication also wrote that the monument “tilted towards the Belaya River by 11 mm,” and its foundation “sank by 70 mm.”
In 2021, Bashkortostan social activists, having learned that for reconstruction they planned to remove the monument from its pedestal and take it to a specialized workshop, began to fear that the monument would not be returned to its place. They insisted on carrying out restoration work without dismantling and transporting the monument.
“There are a lot of examples of such restoration work,” Sagit Ismagilov, leader of the public movement “Patriots of Bashkortostan,” wrote in June 2023. “An excellent example is the work carried out on Mamayev Kurgan [the sculpture “The Motherland Calls”].”
At the end of June 2025, protective fences began to be installed around the monument. The media wrote that “in the last days before the closure of the territory, hundreds of residents not only of Ufa, but also from the entire region - from the cities of Yanaul, Salavat, Sterlitamak and many districts came to the foot of the legendary monument.”
“I have a very bad feeling - I doubt that the monument will return to its place,” said Ismagilov. “That’s why I say goodbye to the monument.” Perhaps, over time, there will be ideological people who will restore the monument if it is lost.
After the republic’s authorities “put an end to” discussions about the fate of the monument, activists and other observers continue to express fears that the monument will not be returned to its original location.
“I remember how many people said that they were worried about the possibility that the monument might not be returned,” noted journalist Maxim Kurnikov on the Echo channel. “Then I thought it was alarmism.” It turned out I was wrong. The monument will not be returned. Now it's official. It will be cut into several parts and installed somewhere in a secluded place. And they will cast a similar monument there, maybe they will even try to make a copy, but it will be some kind of new, different monument.
Kurnikov emphasized that the monument, which stood for almost 60 years, is “an important symbol of Bashkortostan”:
— He is depicted on the coat of arms of the republic. Let me remind you that Bashkortostan declared its sovereignty back in 1990, before the collapse of the USSR. And this declaration is still in effect. Just a reminder. Just in case.
One of the activists of the Patriots of Bashkortostan movement, on condition of anonymity, told Idel.Realii that the organization “is now unanimously in favor of restoring the cast-iron original and installing it in its original place.”
“Making a bronze copy using old patterns will lead to an increase in the weight of the monument,” the activist noted. “This, accordingly, will require a recalculation of the strengthening of its base on the mound. The project work will be extended for an unknown period. And we are now convinced that the republic’s authorities are in favor of a bronze copy because they are simply playing for time - they know that new approvals and design calculations will take months, if not more. In this case, the cast-iron monument, now dismantled, may simply be sent somewhere to the outskirts, never restored. And this cannot be allowed.
Political emigrant, founder of the Committee of the Bashkir National Movement Abroad, Ruslan Gabbasov, also doubts that the sculpture will be restored to its original location.
“The monument, apparently, is really in poor condition, and if it cannot be restored to its previous form, then casting a new bronze copy now seems to be the only option,” Gabbasov told Idel.Realii. “But the huge delay with this whole long-term issue of restoration of the monument, willy-nilly, suggests that all this was done on purpose - so that the monument would reach such a state that it can no longer be returned.
Gabbasov also doubted that they would be able to cast an exact copy of the previous sculpture from bronze: “There is no second Soslanbek Tavasiev now, and those monuments that are being erected in Russia today raise big questions about their quality and artistic value.”
The activist also expressed doubt that the new copy of the monument will be returned to its original location.
“The authorities swear that this will happen, but we know that they have no faith, since we see the true attitude towards the personality of Salavat Yulaev on the part of all imperial Kremlin propagandists and officials. They simply hate Salavat. The image of the Bashkir national hero, who fought against the Russian Empire hand in hand with the Cossacks, Russian factory peasants, Tatars, Cheremis and other peoples, evokes both hatred and fear among the imperials - especially now, when the Putin empire is waging a war of conquest against Ukraine, and among the oppressed peoples of this empire, resistance to this war is increasingly beginning to grow, and the idea of independence is becoming increasingly popular. Therefore, I fear that now is the ideal moment for the Kremlin to get rid of the image of Salavat - first from the monument, as the most visible symbol of the spirit of the Bashkir people, and then from the rest of the memory of our hero.
Gabbasov added that “Russian and Bashkortostan propagandists were never able to put the image of Salavat at the service of their ideological principles in the war with Ukraine.”
“They created a battalion named after him, sent him to war, where his soldiers died ingloriously - and that’s all,” Gabbasov summed up.
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