A monument to a shoe seller in Yekaterinburg
The Schastlivy vmeste TV series (which means «Happy Together» in Russian) was so popular among the TV viewers that they decided to erect a monument to the main character — Gena Bukin, the seller of shoes. The concept of this monument was born in the head of the Russian businessman Igor Zavodovsky. He is the founder of the Greenwich Mall. The statue of Gena Bukin is located on the Weiner Street not far from the Greenwich Mall itself. The opening of the monument was a big joy for the residents of Yekaterinburg.
The ceremony was pompous and attended by not only the vice-mayor of Yekaterinburg but by a well-known actor Viktor Loginov, who, generally speaking, is the prototype for the monument. He was the one to bring on screen a character of a loser, a shoe seller and a head of the Bukin family. One could see different emotions on the face of the actor — from joy and confusion to bewilderment. It was obvious that both hero and actor took the fact of monument’s construction very close to their heart.
Those who live in Yekaterinburg were greatly surprised by the decision to erect a monument to the hero, but, nevertheless, quite happy that their town commemorated the series. The Schastlivy vmeste series earned the love of the audience and, therefore, its monument brought a lot of joy to the public.
Viktor Loginov is also a native of Yekaterinburg, so the fact that the monument is located in his hometown means a lot to the actor. During the ceremony he told about the feelings which he experienced at the sight of the statue and even compared them with the emotions experienced at the childbirth. It was noticeable that the actor was happy with his job because very few actors can boast a monument to their scenic character.
It is important to note that the face of the monument is different from that of Viktor Loginov, because basically the idea was to make a monument to the character rather than to the actor himself. Bukin adorns the center of the capital of Ural and is one of the most exciting and unusual attractions of the city. All tourists and locals passing by the monument for their favorite comic series, smile and get happy with the fact that at any given moment they can stand next to Gena.