Zair Azgur

Who is Zair Azgur?

Zair Isaakovich Azgur was a Belarusian sculptor active during the Soviet period. Born in the Vitebsk region, he studied in that city from 1922 to 1925; from 1925 until 1928 he studied at the Vkhutein in Leningrad. He first exhibited in 1923. He was mainly active in Minsk, where among his projects was the creation of reliefs for the opera house. He created a series of portrait busts of war heroes and military figures during the 1940s. At the 1958 World's Fair in Brussels he won a silver medal for his work. Monuments to his design were erected at Lugansk in 1947; Minsk in 1947; Borodino in 1949; Suzdal in 1950; and Leninogorsk - a monument to Vladimir Lenin - in 1957. Later in his career he exhibited in Bucharest and Paris.

Azgur's home and studio in Minsk is now a museum.