Vyacheslav Klykov

Who was Vyacheslav Klykov?

Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Klykov was a Russian sculptor who specialized in public monuments to key figures of national history and culture.

He was born into a peasant family near Kursk and studied in the Surikov Art Institute in Moscow, matriculating in 1964. Klykov's bronze statues did not conform to the precepts of Socialist Realism. His playful sculptural decor for the Central Musical Theatre for Children made him famous. In the late 1980s Klykov turned to the Russian Orthodox Church for inspiration and support. His public statue of Sergius of Radonezh in Radonezh was the first memorial installed in the Soviet Union without permission from the authorities.

Klykov's other high-profile commissions include the memorial and church on the Field of Prokhorovka, the public statues of Sts. Cyril and Methodius on Slavyanskaya Square and Marshal Zhukov on Manege Square. He was also responsible for the statue of St. Vladimir in Kherson and several monuments to Nicholas II, including the first one erected in Russia, in 1996, which was blown up by anti-monarchists on several occasions.