Featured Soviet porcelain

I previously posted this info on another forum, so sorry for duplication. I told you I have a large collection of Soviet porcelain. Hope you will like this piece and the story behind it. This is a figurine of Stalin, Soviet dictator, who had millions of people executed or sent to GULAG, with a girl. The girl is real. Her name was Helya. In 1936, at one of the party congresses, she greeted Stalin with flowers. This was captured with different photos and presented as "thank you,Comrade Stalin, for our happy childhood". Soon her parents were executed for "anti-Soviet activity". A few years later she was found dead as if because of heart attack. There are a lot of misterious facts in this story. I might tell you later. But the photos were widely used in the Soviet propaganda. Based on them the figurine was made. But I assume, all copies were destroyed later (or never put into production) as I only saw it once. So, it is unique........

 

Very interesting. Which factory made this? Do you have a photo of the maker's mark?

 

Interesting story, Natasha. And welcome to Antiquers!

 

Thank you. I do not know which factory made this. There is no stamp on the bottom. I checked around trying to find some information but I found nothing. I assume it was a model. Due to unknown reason it was never put into production. But maybe I am wrong and I will find anther one. While checking around I found a sculpture based on this photo.

 

Thanks.

 

Don't forget to use the full image button always.

 

The story sounds like one of the scary old fairy tales, with Stalin in place of the evil witch. I would believe it however; Stalin has a reputation even now in the West.

 

Festering bag of dogs**t he was.

 

I was being polite. Paranoid dictator with delusions of godhood. Role model for North Korean dictators everywhere.

 

That is an interesting story. There are old newspaper pictures and articles of the event and aftermath all over the internet, too. Videos on YouTube, also.

Most are spelling her name as Gelya. Her full name was Engelsina “Gelya” Markizova. Though so far, that hasn't helped find another porcelain figurine like yours.

 

This is because Russian does not have a letter equivalent to the letter H, and G is often used where we would use H. This sometimes happens with words that were originally from another language besides Russian. From the photograph, it appears that Gelya/Helya might have been from a part of the Soviet Union that was farther into eastern Asia? Her name is not a typical Russian name.

 

That's correct. I put H because it is closer to Ukrainian pronunciation, in Russian it is G. Originally Gelya was from Buryat/Mongolian(!!!) autonomous republic

 

Thanks for the explanation, Natasha. Are you from Ukraine?

 

Yes, I am. I live in Kyiv.

 

Good! If I ever need anything translated that is in Ukrainian I will post it. I am American but have taken a lot of Russian classes when I was in college. I can still read Russian, but not as well as a native speaker can. And I can't always read the Ukrainian language, because it can be somewhat different from Russian.

 

Okay. I wil be glad to help with translation. If you want, you can practice your language skills writing to me in Russian or Ukrainian.