Not content to leave his stamp on the architecture of the Soviet Union, Stalin also like it have his own image displayed in suitably monumental form, particularly in the occupied territories of Eastern Europe after their ‘liberation’ by the Red Army at the end of the Second World War. The Stalin Monument in Budapest was built as the birthday present to Stalin on the occasion of the great man’s 70th birthday in 1949:
(images via)However, a few short years later, the statue’s destruction was to become one of the most enduring symbols of the Hungarian revolution in 1956:
(images via)
Iconic photography – could any greater story be told, in just two photographs?
(A brief follow-up to my previous post, excerpted from the same article.)
s a m h o c h b e r g - m e t i c u l o u s l y r a n d o m i z e d 