According to the terms and conditions of the tender, the winner will have to perform overhaul repairs of the statues over two years. The application deadline is set for August 20.
"A simplified open tender has been announced for the repairs of the four sculptures. The reason for the repairs is their critical condition, and as the four sculptures are listed as cultural heritage and are subject to state protection, the municipality has to look after them," Vilnius Vice-Mayor Jonas Pinskus told BNS on Wednesday.
He refused to reveal the potential cost of the repairs.
Asked to give his opinion about the Soviet-era sculptures, Pinskus said he trusted the opinion of heritage specialists on the matter.
Meanwhile, Conservative MP Kęstutis Masiulis claims Vilnius should dismantle the statues rather than invest in their renovation. He once registered a draft amendment, which bans listing objects portraying Soviet or Nazi emblems, flags, signs as cultural heritage, but the bid was voted down.
"In my understanding, the sculptures carry no artistic significance, they should be dismantled, not repaired. We have to understand that art served the ideology back in the Soviet era and were fully ideological, that is the case with the four sculptures; furthermore, they include an image of the Soviet army that occupied Lithuania. I cannot say that the sculptures are valuable and precious, I do not dare to say they are worth the 200,000 litas (EUR 58,000) that will be put in them. Vilnius is full of objects in need of renovation," Masiulis told BNS on Wednesday.
The Green Bridge across the River Neris in central Vilnius features four sculpture groups that represent social classes championed by the Soviet regime, namely, soldiers, workers, farmers, and students.
 |
| Green Brisge sculptures |
