Grūtas Park

Grūtas Park - lith. "Grūto parkas" - is a sculpture garden of Soviet-era statues and an exposition of other ideological relics, founded by the Lithuanian entrepreneur (and former wrestler) "Viliumas Malinauskas", near Druskininkai, about 130 km southwest of Vilnius, Lithuania. It is unofficially called "Stalin's World" or "Stalin World" (by way of reference to theme parks such as Walt Disney World and SeaWorld).

After Lithuania regained its independence in 1990, these statues were all taken down and dumped in different places. Later Malinauskas requested the Lithuanian authorities to grant him possession of the sculptures, so that he could build a privately-financed museum.

This Soviet theme park was created in the wetlands of Dzūkija National Park. Many of its features are re-creations of Soviet Gulag prison camps: wooden paths, guard towers and fences. The park is rich in irony and is intended to amuse as much as to inform, but it awakens many painful memories; its establishment faced some fierce opposition, and its existence is still controversial. Some ideas originally meant to be a part of the park were never allowed. Examples include transporting the visitors with Gulag-style trains, and the restaurant only serving Gulag food.

The park also contains playgrounds, a mini-zoo and cafes, all containing relics of the Soviet era.

Exposition

The exposition is organized into spheres, as listed below. Each of the statues features an information stand, with a brief historical overview. All of the statues, with the exception of Karl Marx, are of men and women who influenced the occupation of Lithuania. Altogether, the exposition consists of 86 statues, created by 46 different sculptors.

The totalitarian sphere

* Vladimir Lenin
* Joseph Stalin
* Karl Marx

The terror sphere

* Felix Dzerzhinsky, the organizer of Red Terror
* M.Kozlovsky, head of Soviet Committee of Inquiry
* Zigmas Aleksa-Angarietis, one of the founders of the Communist Party of Lithuania
* Vincas Mickevičius-Kapsukas, an organizer of the Red Terror regime in Lithuania
* Pranas Eidukevičius, founder of Lithuanian and Belarusian Social Democrat Workers' Party, which later became Lithuanian and Belarusian Communist Party
* Vytautas Putna, comcor a Red Army lieutenant and Soviet military diplomat
* Jeronimas Uborevičius, comandarm 1st rank (General of the Army) of the Red Army, commander of Armament of Red Army, later commander of military district
* Feliksas Baltušis-Žemaitis, general major of Red Army, participant in the Lithuanian Occupation in 1940

The Soviet sphere

Fighters against Lithuanian independence in 1918-1919, including:
*Karolis Požėla
*Juozas Greifenberger
*Kazys Giedrys
*Rapolas Čarnas
*E. Tučkus
*B. Grikas
*V. Rekašius

The Red sphere

Mocking the idealization of Soviet partisans

* Marytė Melnikaitė - a Soviet partisan
* Other Soviet partisans

The occupation sphere

Various participants of occupation and organizers of mass terror and genocide.

The death sphere

Organizers and heads of various death squadrons and anti-nationalistic organizations.

Events

From time to time, actors stage re-enactments of various events in the Soviet era, which closely replicate the various Soviet-sponsored festivals.

Trivia

* Grūtas Park and its founder Viliumas Malinauskas won the 2001 Ig Nobel Peace Prize (see List of Ig Nobel Prize winners#2001). Malinauskas traveled from Lithuania to accept the award personally and did so in good humor.
* Since January 2007 the park conflicts with the agency of Lithuanian copyright protection association. The agency requires the royalties to be paid to the seven Lithuanian artists who sculpt some of the statues. [http://tvscripts.edt.reuters.com/2007-02-12/24c53af6.html]

ee also

*List of statues of Lenin
*Szoborpark - similar statue park in Budapest, Hungary

References

External links

* [http://www.grutoparkas.lt/index-en.htm Official site of Grūtas Park]
* [http://www.okupatsioon.ee/ Museum of occupations of Estonia] — Project by the Kistler-Ritso Estonian Foundation
* [http://www.occupationmuseum.lv/ The Occupation museum of Latvia]