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Alexander Rukavishnikov I exercise at least one hour a day Alexander Rukavishnikov is quite familiar with sports. His works include monuments to the legendary footballers Nikolai Starostin, Lev Yashin and Eduard Streltsov, two-fold Olympic champion in wrestling Ivan Yarygin, as well as numerous compositions about karate. The sculptor is very fond of karate and is a serious connoisseur of this martial art.
There are sculptors who have a knack for making friends with governors and earning a cart blanche for casting sculptures all over the patron-controlled area. But, alas, their creative output is never brilliant. The multitude of mediocre monuments in Russian cities and countryside are truly a sad sight.
Rukavishnikov belongs to a different type of artists who thrust their own way, and in spite of having famous relatives prefer to rely on their own talent and diligence. It is my opinion that he fully deserves the title of a People's Artist of Russia because people like his sculptures. The list of his masterpieces starts with the monument to Vladimir Vysotsky at Vagankovo cemetery, continues with Lev Yashin frozen in flight (installed near the northern tribune of Dinamo stadium) and ends with... but there is no end to Rukavishnikov's creativity!
- You're well known in sports circles not only because of your sculptures of Nikolai Starostin, Lev Yashin, Eduard Streltsov and many other stars of our sports but also because you're a master of martial arts and are often seen on tatami.
- Well, this is an exaggeration. I do try to keep my shape but I prefer to do it without big words and fanfares.
- However, sometime ago you trained with the legendary 1991 judo world champion in super-heavyweight, Sergei Kosorotov, as well as the founder of the Russian school of karate, Alexei Shturmin...
- It's amazing that you've heard about it.
- Not just heard bout it but also saw it on TV! Many people noted your excellent physical shape.
- In fact, we're meeting quite often but try to do it without publicity. There's a common understanding between us with regard to self-publicity, which we abhor. But that time the TV people somehow found out about our training session and all of a sudden we found them there...
- You surely remember the times when karate was outlawed in our country, do you?
- True. I'm rather annoyed with the pathetic attempts to write or make documentaries bout that period. They simply fail to capture that feeling of danger that was present then.
- So it was actually dangerous then?
- Yes, many people had suffered and were imprisoned for no offense at all...
- Shturmin was one of them...
- He doesn't like to remember those days. They did summon me to interrogations. The accusations against me were really funny, I remember being showed some amateur collages with weapons and batches of dollars... Yet, the feeling that you get when an iron door is closed behind you is not pleasant one. My father used to tell me: “Don't you realize that this is going to have a bad ending, you're fools?” He was right, of course.
- How often do you exercise these days?
- I try to exercise for at least one hour a day. Sometimes this is not possible because my work schedule is tight...
- When do you usually find time for exercises?
- Normally I do it after work. In the morning I also dedicate about twenty minutes to it.
- Speaking about other sports, you also have a number of sculptures of footballers. Are you fond of this game?
- Frankly speaking, my understanding of it is not deep. When working on the monument of Starostin and Streltsov I tried to learn as much as possible about them by reading and talking to people who knew them well.
- Did you ever try to make sculptures of active athletes?
 - I did. I am now planning to capture Sergei Kosorotov. He is a unique person: very strong and very kind. I also did a sculpture of Tamara Bykova when she was still performing.
- Our legendary high jumper...
- Yes, a nice idea came to my mind. She brought me a training bar. I fixed it at the height that she had succeeded to overcome. Then I did a portrait of Tamara upside-down over the bar, as if capturing the moment of her flight. German colleagues called it an upside-down portrait in marble!
- How do you like modern-day Moscow? There's a lot of critique of the architectural tendencies dominant in our capital.
- I am not one of those people who like to criticize without grounds. Some things I like, other things I don't. I guess it's a fifty-fifty proportion. The abundance of turrets is not a nice thing. However, the City is quite successful to my taste.
- What cities do you like most from the architectural point of view?
- I like Copenhagen and, of course, Rome a peerless city. You know, Italians have this inborn taste. They realize that nothing really needs to be renovated. Walking in the city you find old half-rotten doors. Spanish people also have this inborn taste.
- Changing the subject to stadiums, what sports arenas do you like most?
- I'm not an expert but I like Luzhniki very much. I might be subjective in my opinion, after all Vladimir Aleshin, the director of the complex, is my old friend... I don't think the stadium needs a roof. We recently discussed this issue with Vladimir. The spectators would prefer open air and a view of the sky above their heads for a festive mood. I wonder what are they going to construct in Sochi...
- Recently there was an inauguration of your memorable tablet at Luzhniki dedicated to 1980 Olympics...
- The monument is rich in symbolism, it is very Russian, it looks like kokoshnik (arched woman's headdress in old Russia). It depicts two bears: brown and white. One is rowing in a boat and the other is riding sleigh. The brown bear symbolizes 1980's Olympics. The white antipode of the brown bear symbolizes the coming Winter Olympics in Sochi.
- FC Spartak is planning to build its own arena, CSKA and Dinamo have plans to build their own stadiums. Would you agree to consult them if they request your opinion?
- I the bearing responsibility in issues that I don't understand very well. However, I will be glad to give them my advice if they request it.
Interview by Yuri Stepanov
Photo: RIA Novosti
BASIC RECORD:
Alexander Iulianovich Rukavishnikov
Born on October 2, 1950 in Moscow to a family of sculptors I.M. Rukavishnikov (1922-2000) and A.N. Filippova (1923-1988).
1974 – graduated from the Surikov Art Institute in Moscow. Awarded honors degree for a work titled “Northern Fisherman”. Joined the USSR Union of Artists.
1984 – awarded a Silver Medal from the French Academy of Fine Arts at Spring Salon exhibition in Grand-Pale (Paris) for a sculpture of “John Lennon”.
People's artist of Russia, member of the Presidium, professor and actual fellow and of the Russian Academy of Arts.
Studied karate under the guidance of A.B. Shturmin, the founder of the Russian school of karate, earned a “black belt”, had created a number of sculptural compositions on sports.
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