Motherland Calls, one of the most iconic and instantly recognizable Soviet monuments, stands in Volgograd commemorating the WWII Battle of Stalingrad, one of the bloodiest battles of all time. But did you know that its sculptor, Yevgeny Vuchetich, used multiple models to create this personification?

The monument was made between 1959 and 1967 and is 85 meters, or 279 feet tall, including the sword. This makes it one of the tallest statues in the world. This work of art was recently restored (completed in 2020). Despite its immediate connection to Stalingrad, Motherland Calls may be interpreted as a general allegory of a Mother(land) calling her sons to defend their country.

Considering the scope and scale of the project, Vuchetich used several models for the face and body of the statue. The author may have been inspired by the ancient Greek Nike of Samothrace—because of its dynamic movement—along with other famous paintings and sculptures featuring similar themes.

In terms of the actual models, Soviet athlete Nina Dumbadze, is believed to be one of the key inspirations for the body of Motherland Calls. Like the Greek Nike, this Georgian track-and-fielder was fit and powerful. Next was Valentina Izotova, a waitress, who served as a model for Vuchetich literally (because of her chiseled facial features) and figuratively, as a symbol of an ideal Soviet woman. It took a long time to convince Izotova to pose. Izotova stated in later interviews that initially she did not believe that an army wife should be a model for a sculptor.

It is also important to note that monumental sculptures typically feature anatomical adjustments to their faces because they are meant to be viewed from below. So their close-ups look exaggerated.

Allegedly, the sculptor also relied on several other models including the gymnast Yekaterina Grebneva and Anastasia Peshkova who later posed for other artists. The latter suggested that the sculptor initially wanted to depict the Motherland personification holding a flag rather than a sword.

Be that as it may, Motherland Calls is a collective image both apparently inspired by many famous historical works of art and based on several real women. What they all have in common is their power, athletic beauty, and dynamism like the Greek Nike—an appropriate way to depict such an important patriotic symbol.


For reference, Nike of Samothrace.

Regarding Erdogan, and the "Putin betrayal" (sic) with his Azovite release:

Erdogan has been sitting on the fence since the Ukraine war escalation in 2022. So exploiting the situation in ways that he perceives to benefit Turkey is nothing new. 🧵 First, from the geopolitical/geostrategic standpoint, Turkey and its predecessor states in the region are located in an extremely auspicious position between different regions and cultures with premiere access to the Black Sea--between the proverbial East and West and beyond.

More Questions than Answers:

What we’re seeing with the Prigozhin-led mutiny in Russia is the tip of the iceberg, and much of it makes no logical sense. So it’s unsurprising that there are so many conspiracy theories floating around. Let’s break it down. 🧵 1. It makes no sense to use 25K (even 30-50K) Wagnerites for a full-fledged coup in a large country like Russia especially when its ammo and supplies come from the state itself. Thus, there must be someone big backing Prigozhin.

Today, Putin revealed two key conceptual documents in the framework of Xi Jinping’s Moscow visit: 1) a joint statement about deepening Russia-China relations 2) a joint statement about developing key trajectories in the Russian-Chinese economic cooperation until 2030. Putin: Russia and China to work on developing the Northern Sea Route.

What never ceases to amaze me is muppets like this one yapping about freedumbocracy from the European “garden,” half of which was under authoritarian pandemic lockdowns and most of which banned RT. And that’s besides the history of European colonialism.

https://twitter.com/cgmk/status/1638106122203570176

Conclusion? @cgmk is still butthurt about losing the Great Northern War to us, Russkies, 300 years ago! 🙃

Russia has written off debts to African countries in the amount exceeding $20 billion.

Russia and China write off debt and help with economic development, while certain Western countries simply like to lecture Africa and give ultimatums. Meanwhile, Africa only received 3% of grain from the grain deal.

🗣️”If we decide not to renew this deal after 60 days, then we are ready to deliver all the volume that was sent in the previous period to countries in Africa […] free of charge,” Putin stated.

After visiting Crimea, Vladimir Putin stopped by Mariupol to inspect the city's reconstruction as well as the construction of new neighborhoods, according to the Kremlin's press service. RIA shared a video of Putin visiting a command point in Rostov-on-Don and meeting with the Chief of Staff Gerasimov and General Surovikin. These visits could be timed with Xi Jinping’s upcoming Moscow trip or simply be the result of geographic proximity to Crimea.

日本人皆様へ。。。 🧵

Things that are not aesthetic.

“Disgusting” and “vile” are the words Lukashenko used to characterize Angela Merkel’s interview in which she stated that the Minsk peace agreements were used to gain extra time to arm and train Ukraine. 👇🏻 Some analysts claim that Merkel made such statements about the Minsk agreements to change her image as someone more hawkish on Russia than she was. Remember, she opted for Nord Stream 2. Others argue that Poroshenko made similar statements about misusing the agreements earlier.

On "Holodomor":

First, the 1932/3 famine in the Soviet Union affected multiple regions, not just Ukraine. Second, western Ukraine was not part of the Soviet Union. Third, there were other factors like weather conditions and a poor harvest in 1931/2.👇 Fourth, if you're going to link state policies and ideologies of the Soviet Union to the 1930s famine, then you should similarly examine e.g. the Great Depression (same time period) through the prism of capitalism and link it to hunger, poverty, and death in this and other cases.

1/ In light of Ukraine’s S-300 striking Poland yesterday, here are some other notable incidents. 🧵

i) March 3, 2022: Estonian cargo ship sinks off the coast of Odessa colliding with a Ukrainian naval mine.

navalnews.com/naval-news/202…

reuters.com/world/europe/c… 2/ ii) March 10, 2022. A Ukrainian drone crashes in Zagreb, Croatia. Luckily, no one is injured.

reuters.com/world/europe/s…

iii) September 9, 2022: A Ukrainian mine in the Black Sea hit a Romanian navy ship. The crew was unharmed.

reuters.com/world/europe/r…

I want to see my compatriot's biceps now...*for research*.

https://twitter.com/SteveGuest/status/1592908308146683904

Russian culprit identified.

Russian doctors performed surgery on a soldier to remove unexploded ordnance from his chest. They had to wear body armor under medical gowns since the risk of detonation was high. 😵‍💫 The patient is recovering well. 😬

Alex from the 138th separate motorized rifle brigade is chill enough to throw away grenades. You, armchair military expert, are not. Be like Alex. Stay Zen like Alex.

Another cover of Shaman’s “I’m Russian” by the different regions and ethnicities in Russia. Original.

https://twitter.com/ninabyzantina/status/1551995154201882624

Rafael Grossi, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, stated this week at the Carnegie Foundation that Russia (Rosatom) has become the leading global supplier of commercial nuclear technologies. In the past, the US was the global leader in this area. Recent context for Russian commercial nuclear technologies:

https://twitter.com/NinaByzantina/status/1563255524488925184

Known as Banderites’ Nightmare, Soviet intelligence officer Pavel Sudoplatov was responsible for the partisan movement during WWII and for hunting down known Banderite/UPA criminals like Shukhevich afterward. This is a new monument to him in Donetsk. What’s interesting about this monument is that it is one of the first projects by the Russian Military-Historical Society (which curated many famous monuments in Russia) in the region. Another sign of Donbass integration.

https://twitter.com/NinaByzantina/status/1477066525542477824

“They kept firing at Donetsk.
They kept firing at Lugansk.
At worn-out children’s boots.
At ladies’ heels and purses.

At blankets and pillows
Nighties, shorts, pajamas,
And at a classroom where the banned Pushkin
Kept speaking Russian in verse.” “At thick dictionaries,
At scrawny goats, at wells,
They kept firing at the shopping
Booths and vegetable gardens,

They wouldn’t come closer
Shooting at a schoolgirl next a house
She was a separatist
She was an abstract stranger.”

In light of the “Hollywood production” Zelensky greenscreen video circulating everywhere today, my question isn’t, “Where is he actually located,” but rather, “Does Zelensky even exist?” The second question is why this video was released now.

We remember NATO’s indiscriminate attacks with depleted uranium on civilians and civilian infrastructure in Serbia. We also recall the way NATO’s friends have been deliberately striking Donbass civilians and crucial infrastructure day after day by using its weapons. Spare us.

https://twitter.com/jensstoltenberg/status/1579434516628017152

Accusing others of "whatabboutism" is a lazy way of distracting from the main point. The point of my tweet above, obviously, is the hypocrisy of having the biggest war machine in the world selectively shed crocodile tears in light of its own aggression.

https://twitter.com/wetaDP/status/1579547189654990849?s=20&t=ER0RNeFNeQnUAXp26u3iwQ