Description of the attraction
Two steles 46 meters high in the form of a half-open book were installed on the bank of the Izhevsk pond in 1972. A group of sculptors and architects headed by A. N. Burganov and R. K. Topuridze worked on the creation of the monument. The monument was laid back in 1958 to celebrate the four hundredth anniversary of the entry of Udmurtia into Russia.
The monument is made of wrought copper, granite, steel and gilding. On the front side of the monument there are sculptural compositions of a blacksmith, a warrior and women of the united countries, and on the back there is a relief with heraldic symbols of Russia and Udmurtia. Upon close examination, one can read an inscription on the pylons praising the friendship between Russians and Udmurts in two languages.
The monument has two names: "Friendship of Peoples" and "Forever with Russia", and the people simply - "Kulakova's Skis", in honor of the famous three times Olympic champion in cross-country skiing, who hails from Izhevsk. The monument played an important role in the construction of the embankment, centralizing the entire ensemble around it. As a result of the reconstruction, the adjoining territory was radically changed and ennobled. Night lighting was also installed, making the embankment and the cascading staircase to the monument comfortable and beautiful in the dark.
The "Friendship of Peoples" monument can rightfully be considered a symbol of the city of Izhevsk and Udmurtia as a whole.
