Who designed the sculpture?

Architect Boris Iofan conceived the design, and sculptor Vera Mukhina created the figures.

What material was used to build the monument?

The sculpture is made from stainless steel.

Where was the artwork displayed before coming to Moscow?

The composition stood atop the Soviet pavilion at an international exposition in Paris, positioned across from the German pavilion along the Seine.

Which artworks influenced the sculptor?

Vera Mukhina drew inspiration from classical statues including Harmodius and Aristogeiton, the Winged Victory of Samothrace, and the relief La Marseillaise.

Why was a gypsum version created for film credits?

Vera Mukhina crafted a gypsum reproduction for the Mosfilm studio because photographing the full monument produced distorted perspectives on camera.

What figures are depicted in the monument?

The sculpture portrays an industrial worker alongside a collective farm woman, holding aloft a hammer and a sickle.

Moscow · Russia

Worker and Kolkhoz Woman: what's nearby, how to get there and when to go · 2026

Residents near VDNKh use the colossal steel monument as an unmistakable orientation point, trading crowded exhibition parkways for immediate access to northern transit arteries.

Worker and Kolkhoz Woman · CC BY-SA 4.0

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About the place

Vera Mukhina designed the monumental stainless steel figures to represent an idealized industrial workforce for international display.

Boris Iofan conceived the original architectural scheme, and sculptor Vera Mukhina executed the pair in welded stainless steel. The composition combines socialist realist ideology with Art Deco lines, depicting an industrial laborer and an agricultural worker raising tools together. Constructed for the Soviet pavilion at the Paris World's Fair, the monument stood directly across from the German installation along the Seine.

Read on

Classical statuary in Paris inspired Mukhina to capture forward motion, drawing stylistic ideas from the Winged Victory of Samothrace and sculptural reliefs on the Arc de Triomphe. After returning from abroad, the monument took its position outside the national exhibition grounds at VDNKh. A prolonged municipal restoration dismantled the massive plates, eventually mounting the restored figures on an elevated pavilion pedestal.

Beyond its physical site, the image became an institutional emblem across Soviet media. Studio executives selected the dual silhouette as the official screen logo for Mosfilm productions, requiring Mukhina to mold a smaller gypsum scale model to prevent visual distortion on camera. Modern ceremonies continue to revive the imagery, including a moving mechanical reproduction constructed for the Sochi Winter Olympic Games.

Associations

Boris IofanThe architect created the original concept and layout for the pavilion.
MosfilmThe studio features the dual figures as its signature cinematic emblem.
Restoration delaysStructural work stalled for years following municipal budget deficits.
Vera MukhinaThe sculptor welded the stainless steel figures and earned a state prize.
VDNKh groundsThe pedestal stands directly adjacent to the historic exhibition complex.

Facts

The sculpture depicts an industrial laborer and a collective farm worker elevating tools to form the Soviet emblem.
Sculptor Vera Mukhina crafted a reduced plaster version specifically to avoid perspective distortion in film studio credits.
The pavilion pedestal beneath the restored monument functions as an exhibition space outside VDNKh.
Organizers at the World's Fair in Paris arranged the Soviet pavilion directly opposite the German pavilion along the Seine.

Updated September 8, 2026Source: Wikipedia

Worker and Kolkhoz Woman: what's nearby, how to get there and when to go · 2026

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Vera Mukhina designed the monumental stainless steel figures to represent an idealized industrial workforce for international display.

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