Worker and Kolkhoz Woman (Russian: Рабо́чий и колхо́зница Rabochiy i Kolkhoznitsa) is a 24.5 meter (78 feet) high sculpture made from stainless steel by Vera Mukhina for the 1937 World’s Fair in Paris, and subsequently moved to Moscow. The sculpture is an example of the socialist realistic style, as well as Art Deco style. The worker holds aloft a hammer and the kolkhoz woman a sickle to form the hammer and sickle symbol.
The sculpture was removed for restoration in the autumn of 2003 in preparations for Expo 2010. The sculpture was planned to return in 2005, but because the World’s Fair was not awarded to Moscow but to Shanghai, the restoration process was hampered by financial problems. As of May 2007, the sculpture was still under restoration, with plans to return the statue to the All-Russia Exhibition Centre by 2008, but due to financial constraints, its return was further deferred until November 28, 2009. The restored statue uses a new pavilion as its pedestal, increasing its total height from 34.5 meters (old pedestal was 10 meters tall) to 60 meters (new pavilion is 34.5 meters tall plus 24.5 meters of the statue’s own height).
