The full-length figure of Gennady Kernes was cast according to a sketch by sculptor Alexander Ridny. At the end of last year, an arch in the form of the letter “G” and the number “1” was installed on the grave – a symbol of the ex-official’s desire to be the first in everything.
A monument was erected on the grave of the former mayor of Kharkiv, Gennady Kernes. The video was posted on Instagram on March 6 by Oksana Gaisinskaya, the widow of the ex-mayor.
The footage was filmed to the sound of an air raid siren at the city cemetery No. 2 on Pushkinskaya Street, where Kernes is buried.
The full-length figure of Kernes was cast in bronze according to the sketch of the sculptor, associate professor of the sculpture department of the Kharkov State Academy of Design and Arts Alexander Ridny. The monument was made from a real photograph, which he chose from the photo archive along with the relatives of the ex-mayor, the KHARKIV Today edition clarifies.
Kernes shows his signature gesture – victory hand, the Lens media reported.
“There was an idea to make it [предварительный эскиз памятника] in a wheelchair, so that it was a symbol of personal courage, like US President Franklin Roosevelt, who also moved in a wheelchair. But relatives were against it, for them this is a painful topic,” Ridny explained in November last year.
According to journalists, at the end of last year, a triumphal arch in the form of the letter “G” and the number “1” was installed on the grave of Kernes, which should mean Kernes’ desire to be the first in everything.
They wanted to finish the arrangement of the grave by the second anniversary of the death of the former mayor – December 17 last year. The Russian invaders bombed the foundry in Russkaya Lozova, where they were supposed to cast a bronze figure of Kernes, so they were looking for another workshop, the newspaper writes.
There were problems with the delivery of granite for the monument from Italy. The stone, as noted by the authors of the material, they wanted to bring in February 2022, but the delivery was delayed for several months due to the outbreak of a full-scale war with the Russian Federation.
When did Gennady Kernes die?
Gennady Kernes died on the night of December 17, 2020 in the German clinic “Charite” at the age of 60. He was admitted to the hospital with a coronavirus infection on September 17, due to complications, Kernes’ heart stopped, his friend, businessman Pavel Fuks, reported.
Kernes was buried on December 23. The farewell ceremony was held at the Opera House. The National Police of the Kharkiv region estimated that 110,000 people came to see the mayor on their last journey.
After the death of Kernes, the former secretary of the Kharkiv City Council, Igor Terekhov, became the acting mayor. The Territorial Election Commission registered Terekhov as the current mayor on November 11, 2021.
