"Moral and Artistic Ugliness." Brest Residents in Shock Over New Installation That Officials Are Proud Of

The Brest City Executive Committee announced the appearance of the new composition in advance. Officials announced the installation of a small architectural form at the intersection of Kosmonavtov Boulevard and Masherov Avenue. "This small architectural form will serve as a reminder of the preservation of historical memory," the City Executive Committee explained.

It later turned out that the sculpture, named "Flag over the Reichstag," was made by masters from Baranavichy's "Decor Corporation." This is already the third composition that has arrived in Brest from Baranavichy.

Many Brest residents criticized both the appearance of the composition and the very idea of its placement in the city center:

"What moral and artistic ugliness."

"Looks cringe, to be honest."

"Pure cringe."

Some Brest residents drew attention to the quality of execution.

"Monuments should be made by sculptors, not plastic decor manufacturers or amateur welders."

"I hope it doesn't last here until winter. It looks very cheap, like Chinese figurines made of cheap plastic."

"I am stunned by the primitivism of the forms, the execution, the plot idea. If we talk about preserving memory, there are a huge number of examples in the world where important ideas are reflected in places that truly make you reflect on the past, delve into important thoughts. This is a form of art and a marker of the level of culture. It offends me that the city decided that THIS reflects the level of culture of Brest residents."

Others were surprised by the installation location itself:

"Well, they should have put it in the fortress – why is it in the city center? If there's already free space, they should have put an installation dedicated to the city of Brest itself."

"The choice of location is surprising. Kosmonavtov Boulevard on one side, Shevchenko on the other. An intersection... Sometimes they put up Christmas trees, sometimes Reichstags."

"You, f***ing, better plant trees in the city, and don't install all sorts of sh*t! Absolutely out of place, inappropriate, tasteless. What's in their heads..."

Brest residents are interested in why the soldier in the installation has no two watches

The historical details of the famous photo of the Victory Banner being raised over the Reichstag became a separate topic of discussion. Several users recalled the well-known story of the wristwatches on the hands of one of the soldiers, which has been discussed by historians and military photography researchers for decades.

"And why doesn't the 'liberator' have two trophy watches on his hands?"

"And for the preservation of historical memory, will it be depicted as realistically as possible – with watches on both the left and right hands?"

"And why did they forget to draw in the stolen German watches on both hands?"

Other commentators were tired not so much of the composition itself, but of the general direction of urban symbolism.

"How fed up I am with this militarism, it's nauseating. As if there was no history other than the Great Patriotic War."

"And will we ever look to the future?"

"Oh, f***, well, they won, they won. What's next?"

At the same time, some users also recalled the historical nuances of the famous event: "Yeah, and that flag was placed by a Ukrainian and a Georgian. Do we remember that?"

History of the photo "Victory Banner over the Reichstag"

In fact, the shot on which the installation in Brest is based is a pure staging, not a random report from the thick of battle. War correspondent Yevgeny Khaldei took it on May 2, 1945, when Berlin had already capitulated, and the gunfire had ceased.

Khaldei actually brought the flags themselves from Moscow – a familiar tailor sewed them from ordinary red tablecloths at his request. On the roof of the Reichstag, the photographer simply met the first soldiers he came across and asked them to pose nicely for a shot that was intended to become a symbol of victory.

When Khaldei developed the film in Moscow, a scandal erupted at the editorial office of "Ogonyok" magazine: it was noticed in the frames that the officer supporting the flag bearer had watches on both hands. According to wartime laws, this was undeniable proof of looting, for which Soviet soldiers were to be shot. Leaving such compromising evidence in the main photo of the era was categorically unacceptable, and the leadership immediately made it clear: either this disgrace disappears, or the photo would not go to print, and Khaldei would face huge problems.

To save the photo (and himself), Khaldei had to resort to severe Photoshopping, 1945-style. He took an ordinary sewing needle and simply manually scraped off the second watch from the soldier's right hand on the negative, turning it into a blurred spot.

At the same time, to add wartime drama to the shot, he darkened the sky and added thick plumes of smoke from a completely different photograph. Thus, the real historical photograph turned into a retouched propaganda myth.

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