Mask of Sorrow

The Mask of Sorrow.

The Mask of Sorrow seen from behind.

One of many religious symbols carved into stone sitting on the side of the pathway up to the mask of sorrow. This is an Eastern Orthodox cross Eastern_Orthodox#The_Cross

This metal statue is at the backside of the monument, and it is covering its face.

The memorial plaque on the backside of The mask of sorrow.

The Mask of Sorrow (Russian: Маска скорби Maska skorbi)is a monument perched on a hill above Magadan, Russia (located at 59°35′30.62″N 150°48′43.65″E / 59.5918389°N 150.812125°E / 59.5918389; 150.812125), commemorating the many prisoners who suffered and died in the Gulag prison camps in the Kolyma region of the Soviet Union during the 1930s, 40s, and 50s. It consists of a large stone statue of a face, with tears coming from the left eye in the form of small masks. The right eye is in the form of a barred window. The back side portrays a weeping young woman and a headless man on a cross. Inside is a replication of a typical Stalin-era prison cell. Below the Mask of Sorrow are stone markers bearing the names of many of the forced-labor camps of the Kolyma, as well as others designating the various religions of those who suffered there.

The statue was unveiled on June 12, 1996 with the help of the Russian government and financial contributions from seven Russian cities, including Magadan. The design was created by famed sculptor Ernst Neizvestny, whose parents fell victim to the Stalinist purges of the 1930s; the monument was constructed by Kamil Kazaev. The mask stands 15 metres high and takes up 56 cubic metres of space.

Wikisource

• Decree about labor camps of 1919, in Russian
• A decree about penal labor, 1929, in Russian