masterpiece in its own right, similar to the Black Square of Kazimir Malevich. The Decoration of the Komsomolskaya Koltsevaya station Komsomolskaya-Koltsevaya station opened in 1952. Alexey Shchusev was the main architect. He invited Korin to work at the station design. Korin decided to decorate it with monumental panels. There are eight of them. Each one is framed by stucco molding. And the yellow ceiling is also decorated with mosaic inserts and stucco molding. There are images of Alexander Nevsky, Dmitry Donskoy, Kuzma Minin, Dmitry Pozharsky, Alexander Suvorov, Mikhail Kutuzov, Vladimir Lenin, the capture of the Reichstag and the Triumph of victory. They are arranged in chronological order. Pavel Dmitrievich was attentive to all the details of the work of the mosaicists and especially carefully monitored a set of portrait images. These examples were there to inspire the Soviet people, as well as glorify the deeds of other Russian heroes. Joseph Stalin mentioned all these historical figures and events in his speech before the parade on 7 November 1941. “The war you are waging is a war of liberation,” Stalin exclaimed, “a just war. Let the manly images of our great ancestors—Alexander Nevsky, Dimitry Donskoy, Kuzma Minin, Dimitry Pozharsky, Alexander Suvorov and Mikhail Kutuzov—inspire you in this war! May the victorious banner of the great Lenin be your North star!”. This quote was carved into a marble tablet at the entrance to the hall. However, now the Stalin quote is gone. It has been replaced by historical information about the station. Also, despite the fact, that Stalin’s quote was the main theme of the whole station design there is no portrait of him. Moreover, for a long time, none of the stations had portraits of him thanks to de-Stalinization, which came after Krushchev’s speech at the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. All of Stalin’s portraits were painted over or destroyed. Two of the eight mosaics were completely replaced – mosaic Lenin speaks to the Red Army heading for the front was installed instead of the Guards Banner Presentations, the Triumph of the Victory mosaic appeared instead of the Victory Parade, and the medallion was replaced with the capture of the Reichstag mosaic. References External links Site devoted to Korin Biography of Korin N. A. Ionina 100 great paintings, House Museum of Pavel Korin 1892 births 1967 deaths People from Palekhsky District 20th-century Russian painters Russian male