Children – victims of adult vices, Bolotnaya Square, 10, Moskva, Russia

Children – victims of adult vices, Bolotnaya Square, 10, Moskva, Russia 

Children Are the Victims of Adult Vices is a group of bronze sculptures created by Russian artist Mihail Chemiakin. The sculptures are located in a park in Bolotnaya Square, Balchug, 2,000 feet (610 metres) south of the Moscow Kremlin behind the British Ambassador’s residence.

The sculptures are of thirteen figures, which depict adult vices, such as alcoholism, drug addiction, and prostitution, that affect children.The figures are perceptibly closing in on two unaware playmates, a girl and a boy, with the centrepiece figure being ‘Indifference’.

The sculpture was commissioned by then-Mayor Yuri Luzhkov and sponsored by the state-owned oil company Rosneft. It was unveiled in 2001 amid some controversy. Some Muscovites worried that the graphic imagery would frighten children. Chemiakin said that, was conceived and carried out by me as a symbol and a call to fight for the salvation of present and future generations.

Epic Russia Culture & Adventure Route © Monika Newbound