Focus on Statue of Lenin (Seattle) and explain the Commission and construction.
The statue was constructed by Bulgarian-born Slovak sculptor Emil Venkov (1937–2017) under a 1981 commission from the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. While following the bounds of his commission, Venkov intended to portray Lenin as a bringer of revolution, in contrast to the traditional portrayals of Lenin as a philosopher and educator.Venkov's work was completed and installed in Poprad, Czechoslovak Socialist Republic (now Slovakia), in 1988 at a cost of 334,000 Kčs, (equivalent to US$230,000 in 2022), shortly before the fall of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic during the 1989 Velvet Revolution.
Bulgaria Communist Party of Czechoslovakia Velvet Revolution Slovak Bulgarian-born Czechoslovak Socialist Republic Slovakia Emil Venkov Kčs Poprad