Republic of Councils Monument, Statue Park, Budapest

What it is

This is a photograph of a bronze statue of a striding male figure with arms raised, wearing a cap and long coat. A curved metal sheet stands behind him, and the statue sits on a brick and concrete plinth at the Statue Park in Budapest. The photograph was taken on 17 August 2008 by Guillaume Baviere from Uppsala, Sweden. The statue is a later memorial to the Republic of Councils, not an object made in 1919.

Why it matters

Béla Kun led the Hungarian Soviet Republic in 1919 as its de facto leader and served as People's Commissar of Foreign Affairs. Statues from that period were collected later in one park, which shows how the state's view of the revolution changed over time. The picture reveals how the memory of Kun's government was kept in public space, while the statue itself does not show Kun.

Look closer

• What do the raised arms and striding pose suggest about the message the statue was meant to send?
• Why might people be sitting on the plinth and standing nearby, and what does that say about how the statue is used today?
• What does a park of old statues leave out about the people who lived through the 1919 events?