Fountain Friendship of Nations

The “Friendship of Nations” fountain was created in 1954. It was meant to become one of the main symbols of the exhibition. However, it became the symbol which reflects the celebration and high spirits associated with the victory in the WWII, embodying the national dream of prosperity in the whole world. The initial name for this well-known fountain was the "Golden Wheat Sheaf".

The terraced granite base of the fountain, which was created in the shape of the flower, gradually transforms into an enormous bowl-shaped bundle of wheat, sunflowers, and hemp. Sixteen gilded statues of women are standing around this composition, symbolizing the republics of the Soviet Union before the 1956. After the sixteen’s republic has seceded and became the Karelian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, the authors decided not to remove the sixteen’s statue of the girl as this would destroy the composition and hinder the functionality of the fountain.

A little known fact is that each statue was created in the image a young lady from each respective republic. Thus, every “golden” girl was once a real model – a living embodiment of her smaller homeland.