November 22, 2022
Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin presided Tuesday at the inauguration ceremony of a monument to the eternal leader of the Cuban Revolution Fidel Castro in Moscow. The sculpture stands on the square named after the Commander in the Sokol district.
The monument made of bronze is three meters high and was created in Moscow over a period of half a year.
The sculpture depicts Fidel on a rock on which the map of Cuba is inscribed. The image reflects the heroic path of the man who defended the rights and freedoms of the people in his country, according to a Kremlin statement.
The Russian president stressed that the monument is inaugurated in the square that already bears the name of Fidel Castro, whom he referred to as “outstanding statesman and politician, founder of the modern Cuban state.” His whole life was dedicated to “the self-sacrificing struggle for the triumph of the ideas of good, peace and justice, for the freedom of oppressed peoples, for a dignified life for ordinary people and social equality,” Putin recalled.
The president added that Fidel Castro “is rightly considered one of the most famous and charismatic leaders of the 20th century, a truly legendary personality.”
Last February, In Moscow, City Duma deputies supported the idea of establishing the monument in the capital. The necessary funds for its construction would be provided by the Russian Military-Historical Society.
The Cuban president arrived in Moscow on November 19, as part of his international tour that includes visits to Algeria, Turkey, Russia and China, between November 16 and 27. During his stay in Moscow, the Cuban leader will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin on November 22.
Also, on November 21, the Cuban leader attended a ceremony to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Moscow, a monument in honor of the fallen combatants during the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945).
The Cuban president received an invitation from the Russian president to “come to Russia, hold talks and participate in the opening of the monument to Comandante Fidel Castro,” Cuban Ambassador to Russia Julio Antonio Garmendía Peña said in mid-November.
Source: Cuba en Resumen