The initiative for putting up the bust of the legendary Russian poet in Cairo came from the Egyptian Association of Graduates of Russian Universities and the Russian Center for Science and Culture
A monument to the landmark Russian classical poet and writer Alexander Pushkin was unveiled in downtown Cairo on Thursday.
A gala ceremony took place in Al Hurriyah (Freedom) Park, with the Russian Ambassador to Egypt, Sergei Kirpichenko, Egypt’s deputy ministers of culture, and members of Russian language faculties at Cairo University and Ain Shams University attending.
The initiative for putting up the bust of the legendary Russian poet in Cairo came from the Egyptian Association of Graduates of Russian Universities and the Russian Center for Science and Culture. Egypt’s Deputy Minister of Culture, Iman Negi, told TASS the choice of the site for a monument to Pushkin was not at all accidental.
“Apart from the fact the park with the highly emblematic name already has several sculptures devoted to outstanding leaders of national liberation movements from different countries, it is also a most frequently visited and popular recreation areas for Cairo residents,” she said.
“There could scarcely be a better place for a monument to the emir of world poetry and for making his name and his works popular among the Egyptians,” Negi said.
The director of the Russian Center for Science and Culture, Alexei Tevanian, recalled that the monument to Pushkin in Al Hurriyah Park was a third one in Egypt. “Still this is the first bust of the great poet in a public park visited by thousands of Egyptians,” he said.
“We’re trying to avoid bombastic one-time actions in a field as subtle as relations between the two peoples but rather to hold long-term important programs that have a bearing on the groundwork of years-long ties between our nations,” Tevatian said. He added that the monument to Pushkin in a downtown area of Cairo signaled one more step along these lines.
A monument to the outstanding Russian classical composer, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov was unveiled on the compound of the Cairo Opera House at the end of last year. This sculpture opens up the Alley of Composers that will stretch along the main building of the theater.
One more outstanding personality will appear in a monumentalized form in Cairo in the next few month. This time it will be a politician.
