Latest news with #monument
Russia Today
8 hours ago
- Politics
- Russia Today
Azerbaijan's demolition of Aivazovsky monument is ‘unfriendly act'
The dismantling of a monument to renowned Russian artist Ivan Aivazovsky in Karabakh, Azerbaijan, was a 'demonstrative unfriendly act' toward Russia, a senior official in Moscow, Mikhail Shvydkoy, has said. The monument in the town of Khankendi, known as Stepanakert in Armenia, was demolished on July 29 – on what would have been the artist's birthday – according to the Agency for the Development of Tourism and Culture of Karabakh. Mikhail Shvydkoy, the Russian president's special representative for international cultural cooperation, expressed deep regret over Azerbaijan's decision, calling it a violation of cultural respect. 'Such actions by the Azerbaijani side cause regret and deep rejection,' he said in a statement on Thursday. 'Instead of removing the monument without warning, Baku could have informed Moscow. I'm confident the issue could have been resolved in a civilized manner, such as relocating it to Russian soil.' According to the official, the move contradicts not only 'the spirit of alliance, partnership, and good‑neighborliness between our countries and peoples' but also 'common sense.' Aivazovsky was a Russian artist of Armenian origin, born in Feodosia, Crimea, in 1817. He became famous for painting dramatic seascapes and ocean scenes. His mastery of light, water, and atmosphere earned him acclaim as one of the greatest marine painters of the 19th century. The statue, created by Russian sculptor Sergey Shcherbakov, was erected in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region in 2021. Baku claimed that the installation of the bust 'by Russian peacekeepers on our territory without the consent of the Azerbaijani side was illegal.' 'The dismantling of such so-called monuments, erected during the occupation of Azerbaijani territories, is logical, fair, and in accordance with the law,' Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry said on Thursday. Russian peacekeepers were deployed to Karabakh in 2020, after Azerbaijan reclaimed parts of the area in a brief war with local Armenian militia. In September 2023, Azerbaijan fully recaptured the breakaway region. Tensions between Moscow and Baku have been rising following the deaths of two Azerbaijani nationals suspected of being gang members during a police raid in June. In response, Azerbaijani police raided the local office of the Russian news network Sputnik, detaining two journalists along with several other Russian nationals. Baku also suspended multiple Russia-related cultural events.
CBC
a day ago
- Politics
- CBC
Chief Peguis statue on Manitoba legislative grounds delayed by a year for 2nd time
A planned monument to commemorate Chief Peguis and the first treaty signed in Manitoba has been delayed again. The structure, originally planned for 2024 then pushed back one year, is now expected to be completed in the latter part of 2026. Bill Shead, co-chair of the group planning the memorial, says there have been several legal, administrative and other issues over the past year, and efforts to obtain charitable status from the Canada Revenue Agency are ongoing. He says work on the bronze statue is well underway, but more time is needed for fundraising and construction of the monument's large plinth or foundation. The monument is to be built on the northwest section of the Manitoba legislature grounds. It is to pay tribute to a gathering in 1817, when Chief Peguis and four other chiefs signed the first treaty in what is now Manitoba and helped early Scottish settlers survive the harsh climate. "The monument project has presented the volunteer board of directors of The Friends of the Peguis Selkirk Treaty Inc. with some unexpected challenges which have led to several delays in co-ordinating all the work by various parties involved," Shead wrote in an email. "The statue is expected to be completed late this fall. However, work on the other elements of the monument project — the plinth and landscaping — only will begin in 2026 with hoped-for completion in the later part of 2026." The Manitoba government has committed $500,000 to the project, which Shead said is still budgeted at $1 million. There are no current plans to ask the province for more money, he added. The monument's design was revealed in 2023. It was created by Wayne Stranger, owner of Stranger Bronzeworks art foundry at Peguis First Nation. Aside from the statue, the monument is to feature large stones and inscribed medallions representing the chiefs who signed the 1817 treaty as well as Thomas Douglas, known as Lord Selkirk. The monument would be the first on Manitoba's legislature grounds to honour the contributions of First Nations people. The scenic grounds already feature statues honouring a variety of people, including Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko, Queen Elizabeth II and Métis leader Louis Riel.
CTV News
a day ago
- Business
- CTV News
Manitoba monument to Chief Peguis, planned for 2024, still a year away
WINNIPEG — A planned monument to commemorate Chief Peguis and the first treaty signed in Manitoba has been delayed again. The structure, originally planned for 2024 then pushed back one year, is now expected to be completed in the latter part of 2026. Bill Shead, co-chair of the group planning the memorial, says there have been several legal, administrative and other issues over the past year, and efforts to obtain charitable status from Revenue Canada are ongoing. He says work on the bronze statue is well underway, but more time is needed for fundraising and construction of the monument's large plinth or foundation. The monument is to be built on the northwest section of the Manitoba legislature grounds. It is to pay tribute to a gathering in 1817, when Chief Peguis and four other chiefs signed the first treaty in what is now Manitoba and helped early Scottish settlers survive the harsh climate. 'The monument project has presented the volunteer board of directors of The Friends of the Peguis Selkirk Treaty Inc. with some unexpected challenges which have led to several delays in co-ordinating all the work by various parties involved,' Shead wrote in an email. 'The statue is expected to be completed late this fall. However, work on the other elements of the monument project — the plinth and landscaping — only will begin in 2026 with hoped-for completion in the later part of 2026.' The Manitoba government has committed $500,000 to the project, which Shead said is still budgeted at $1 million. There are no current plans to ask the province for more money, he added. The monument's design was revealed in 2023. It was created by Wayne Stranger, owner of Stranger Bronzeworks art foundry at Peguis First Nation. Aside from the statue, the monument is to feature large stones and inscribed medallions representing the chiefs who signed the 1817 treaty as well as Thomas Douglas, known as Lord Selkirk. The monument would be the first on Manitoba's legislature grounds to honour the contributions of First Nations people. The scenic grounds already feature statues honouring a variety of people, including Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko, Queen Elizabeth II and Métis leader Louis Riel. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 30, 2025 Steve Lambert, The Canadian Press
CTV News
4 days ago
- General
- CTV News
Ten Commandments monument back at Winnipeg park
The Ten Commandments monument in Assiniboine Park is seen on July 28, 2025. (Glenn Pismenny/CTV News Winnipeg) A monument displaying the Ten Commandments that was briefly removed from a city park is being returned close to its original location. The City of Winnipeg confirmed Monday that the monument, which was previously located in Assiniboine Park, was reinstalled near The Leaf on Friday. 'Last September, we pledged to work with the City of Winnipeg to find a permanent home for the monument consistent with the direction provided by the Executive Policy Committee and City Council,' a City of Winnipeg spokesperson said in a statement. 'After further consultation with stakeholders, we agreed to return it to the Park.' The monument was originally a gift from the Fraternal Order of Eagles and was on display from 1965 to 2017. It was the only monument donated to a Canadian city, according to the city, as the remaining monuments were donated to U.S. cities. It was placed in storage due to the construction of The Leaf. In 2024, city council approved returning the monument to the Fraternal Order of Eagles. 'Over the past year, working with the CAO's office, (Assiniboine Park Conservancy) consulted with stakeholders regarding future placement of the monument and ultimately agreed to reinstall it in the Park,' the city spokesperson said. -With files from CTV's Danton Unger.
Times
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Times
What links a sexy devil, UFOs and a tsar's drunken night out?
In a secluded hollow in Brussels Park a monument marks the spot where the Russian tsar Peter the Great was drunkenly sick after attending a particularly boozy banquet in April 1717. The strange memorial is featured in a new travel guide, Bizarre Belgium, gathering together 50 of Belgium's strangest places — and making a good case for the country to be considered among Europe's most idiosyncratic. 'Belgium is an eccentric country because of its history and weird situation, with the different languages and peoples. So, I think we try to make it fun and this is why we have a surrealist tradition,' Kamiel De Bruyne, one of the guide's authors, said. Belgium is a country regarded by many historians as an artificial creation by Europe's great powers after the defeat of Napoleon, which often seems to be on the brink of falling apart. It is an uneasy marriage between the Dutch-speaking Flemish and francophone Walloons, governed by a famously dysfunctional state, with various dark chapters in its less than 200-year history. • The best of Belgium: where to stay and what to do Karen François, De Bruyne's girlfriend and co-author, said Belgians think their nation 'very normal', adding: 'We wouldn't say 'weird little Belgium' ourselves.' The couple, both aged 33, are uncovering the remains of a fountain basin in Brussels Park, formerly known as the Royal Park, dating back to the 18th century and covered by hedge trimming dumped by park keepers. It bears an inscription in cod Latin: 'Petrus Alexiowitz Czar Moscoviae magnus dux margini hujus fontis insidens illius aquam nobilitavit libato vino hora post meridian tertiadie XVI April's anno 1717'. Translated, Kamiel said, the inscription relates that the tsar, 'seated at the edge of the fountain, enriched its waters with the wine he has consumed, at 3pm on April 16, 1717'. Drunk after a lavish banquet, Peter the Great was sick and, legend has it, fell asleep there until the next morning. Several feet away is a bust of the Russian autocrat and emperor raised in the 19th century by an aristocratic countryman to mark the visit. 'It is a tribute to a royal puke,' said De Bruyne. 'Instead of politely forgetting the whole thing, someone in Brussels decided to immortalise it.' Located in a less-than-inviting corner of the park, right opposite and below the present royal palace, reflecting the lower street level of the 18th century, the statue was once infamous as a trysting spot between government officials and prostitutes, according to François. De Bruyne said that of other landmarks in the travel guide he had a particular soft spot for western Europe's only monument or memorial to UFOs by a roadside in Flanders. 'It is absolutely my favourite,' he said. It recalls a traffic jam, a traditional sight on Belgium's national day of July 21, as everyone headed to the coast in 1955. Marin Vandercruyssen, an 18-year-old soldier, was riding pillion on his father's motorbike when they saw a crowd of more than 20 people pointing up in the air. He followed their gaze and saw five gigantic silver circular flying saucers. They were at least 100 metres in diameter, according to Vandercruyssen and other witnesses. After ten minutes the UFOs supposedly disappeared but changed Vandercruyssen's life for ever. 'He was convinced the alien would come back,' De Bruyne said. 'His dream was to be taken to their planet and that is why he wanted to put the marker there, so they could find him. It even includes a picture of him from 1955 so they can recognise him.' Vandercruyssen died in 2020 — 'no aliens ever turned up', De Bruyne added. 'It is very sad, beautiful and Belgian.' The top pick for François is the 'sexy Satan' of Liège. The 19th-century statue of Lucifer in the city's cathedral depicts the fallen angel as a brooding and muscular young man. The first version of the work, L'ange du mal (Angel of evil) by Joseph Geefs in 1842, was considered to be too seductive and was removed. It is now in a Brussels museum. The second, 1848's Le génie du mal, (The genius of evil) by Joseph's brother William, was still controversial, even though it had more clothes, and was allowed to stay. 'Very typical Belgium: we make something. Oh, no, it's too much. Too hot. Sexy Satan. We will remove it. Now we'll make an even better one. Super sexy Satan,' she said, recounting how the 'sunlight streams through the stained glass windows right on to his six-pack and muscular thighs'. No guide to Belgium can be complete without Leopold II, the great, great, great-uncle of the present king, Philippe. Now seen as a monster, he ran the Congo as his personal colonial fiefdom between 1885 and 1908 when at least ten million Congolese people, more than half the population, either died or were killed. The book includes a British-built pedal tricycle, now in a military museum, which Leopold used to visit one of his mistresses, Blanche Delacroix. The guide also features a now boarded-up royal station. Built in a neo-classical style, the station was purpose-built to receive high-ranking guests and, rumour has it, to ensure Leopold received the first edition of The Times by express train every day. 'I think you should come and visit Belgium and do all the typical tourist places and visit Bruges, which is great and amazing and beautiful,' De Bruyne said. 'But if you come to Belgium a second time, bring this book to go to these weird and peculiar places that otherwise you would miss.'
