[ad_1]
The Russian sculptor and author of the Stefan Nemanja monument, Aleksandar Rukavishnikov, visited the Sava Square in Belgrade, where his work is located, with the Deputy Mayor Goran Vesić, because he was unable to attend its inauguration due to health reasons. When asked by journalists about the price of the monument, Rukavishnikov replied that he did not know how much money he had spent, because his bills kept coming in.
“Neither Mr. Vesic nor I can tell you the truth about how much the monument costs, because I really don’t know how much money I spent on this monument. I still receive the bills that I pay,” Rukavishnikov replied to Nova.rs’ question about how much the monument cost and a request to allow the city authorities, that is, Vesić, to publish the price of the monument, since Vesić himself said a few days ago that it was the Russian sculptor who asked for the price, the monument will be kept secret until the works are finished.
The Russian sculptor added that he has a partner, whom Vesić also knows, and whose name is Alan, and that “he constantly thinks of something when he collects and collects bills.”
“He complicates things all the time, I get angry, he writes everything in a notebook, various debts, and I say to him ‘can you collect everything and tell us how much money we spend?’, And he says’ I can’t, because the bills keep coming in. We don’t know how much we spent, “Rukavishnikov explained, saying they hadn’t paid all the bills for the monument figure yet.
He did not even answer the question of how much the price of the monument was agreed upon when the work was contracted.
Deputy Mayor Goran Vesić also joined the conversation, thanking the guest from Russia for the response and assessing that the question was “another ugly attempt” to speak about the monument.
“I agree with the lady, I am also interested to know if I have won something or if I am in the red,” commented the Russian guest on Vesić’s dissatisfaction regarding the Nova.rs issue.
Rukavishnikov did not respond to Nova.rs’ question whether there was any subsequent request from Belgrade to change certain segments of the monument and explain why the cross in the initial version of the monument was replaced by a sword in the final version.
Rukavishnikov noted that it was an important part of him and that he was happy to have won the competition.
“I was happy because I have many friends here and because the Serbs are a very special people, especially for the Russians. You know how it goes, you rejoice first and then you work. “I understood the significance of Stefan Nemanja while working on this monument,” Rukavishnikov said, reports Sputnik.
The Russian sculptor stated that he was thinking about how to make a monument and that he wanted it to be modern and traditional, like Belgrade.
He noted that it was the first time that he had made a monument of such dimensions and that it was challenging work.
“It should take time for people to get used to the monument, and I really hope it does,” Rukavishnikov said.
Vesić said he had the honor to greet Academician Rukavišnjikov on behalf of Belgrade.
“In this way we show how the city is changing and how it is progressing. Thank you for this monument, “said Vesić.
The construction of the monument to the founder of the medieval Serbian state lasted about a year and a half and involved about 120 teachers and associates of Rukavishnikov.
In order for such a tall sculpture to be stable, a strong steel structure was placed inside. About three meters of the monument are underground and 21 meters above the ground.
