Zurab Tsereteli, the Georgian-born sculptor whose colossal, often contentious works became fixtures of Moscow’s skyline and landmarks worldwide, has died at the age of 91.
A favourite of Soviet and Russian political elites, Tsereteli wielded immense influence as president of the Russian Academy of Arts and a prolific state-sponsored artist—his legacy as polarising as his towering statues.
Born in Tbilisi in 1934, Tsereteli belonged to Georgia’s artistic aristocracy, studying at the Tbilisi Academy of Arts before ascending to prominence as the chief designer of the 1980 Moscow Olympics. His early work—including surreal bus stops in Abkhazia—hinted at the grandiosity that would define his career. But his Soviet-era connections propelled him, granting him rare access to the West, where he claimed to have watched Picasso and Chagall at work in their Paris studios.
By the 1990s, Tsereteli had become a key figure in post-Soviet Russian art. With backing from Moscow’s long-serving mayor, Yuri Luzhkov, he oversaw the reconstruction of Christ the Saviour Cathedral—razed under Stalin and rebuilt as a symbol of resurgent Russian Orthodoxy. His 98-meter tribute to Peter the Great, looming over the Moscow River, drew outrage for its jarring scale yet endured as a symbol of his political clout. Critics called it a harbinger of Putin’s imperial aesthetic; in a telegram following Tsereteli’s death, President Putin praised his “selfless service to art.
Beyond Russia, his monuments sparked both admiration and bafflement. His ‘Tear of Grief,’ a 9/11 memorial in New Jersey, and ‘Good Defeats Evil’ at the UN—crafted from dismantled Cold War missiles—earned international recognition, if not universal acclaim. At home, he commanded a mini-empire: two Moscow museums dedicated to his work, one run by his grandson, and a studio mansion where Gypsy musicians serenaded oligarchs and officials.
Tsereteli’s loyalty to the Kremlin never faltered. Even in his final years, he designed medals glorifying Russia’s war in Ukraine—a stark contrast to the private generosity he showed struggling artists. His funeral at Christ the Saviour Cathedral, once the stage for Pussy Riot’s anti-Putin protest, underscored a man who adorned empires while standing firm, he served only beauty.
In 2019, Tsereteli was the subject of a retrospective exhibition at the Saatchi gallery in London. The show highlighted his significant influence on Russian Contemporary art.
He will be buried in Tbilisi, the city of his birth.
Photo: © Artlyst 2025