Kutaisi is a relatively small city in Georgia, but it's one that had quiet an important role during the Soviet Union. Like many small towns and cities, its primary function was its industrial output, and with that came a large amount of factories throughout the outskirts of its residential districts. Due to the various industries it pursued, from ceramics to clothing, the Soviets saw the importance in ensuring the people of the city felt catered to. It comes as no surprise that a communist rule would try to appeal to its workers, highlighting them and glorifying their efforts. A happy worker, even in capitalism, is usually a more productive worker, after all. The city holds a lot of really beautiful mosaics that sit by the sides of those former factories, but it also has a beautiful number of Soviet era monuments in the central areas of the city where its cafes, restaurants, and more cultural buildings are found. The Glory to Labour monument was found right in the heart of Kutaisi, just a little walk away from the city's Opera House, and also rather close to the City Hall.
Soviet monuments tend to variety in their designs, and this was the first time I had seen one of quite large scale that also took advantage more of three-dimensional space. The monuments I have seen elsewhere have usually been mosaics or simple monuments to specific people featuring a sculpture of their heads or entire bodies in a particular pose. This one did have some statues, but it was something that felt a bit more interactive in the sense that you could walk around and through it, looking at the little bits of text in both Georgian and Russian for context. What was more surprising here was that, while it was in really poor condition from pieces crumbling off, one statue missing, and graffiti from the less caring fools, Kutaisi had not rejected its Soviet past much like the larger cities. Soviet rejection is something of a hot topic within Tbilisi, with much of its soviet symbolism having been destroyed or removed from buildings over the years. Personally, I'm not much of a fan of such behaviour and believe historical preservation is important regardless of emotion. It was a great surprise to see that the monument was left mostly untouched, to the point in which the Soviet star and hammer and sickle were still present.
That's a larger rarity these days in many former Soviet republics, unless you do run more into the more remote locations where fewer would care for it. Usually left ignored and to rot. In some cases, that is how this monument had turned out. Certainly neglected to a sad fate, but a positive that history remained. On the back of one of the walls it was stated that the monument was in honour of the people, primarily the workers. A monument that celebrated the labour worker and the people of Kutaisi. That aforementioned industrial importance of the city meant it had to be celebrated. Their names were written, with the years of construction added. It was a really creative space that felt like walking through an art exhibition despite its condition. Somewhat like roaming through something rather abstract, odd shapes and stairways that led to nothing other than the statue. Each one being someone different. You could feel the power it conveyed, the industrial might and the importance of the people. Built in 1980, it lasted just over a decade before the Soviet Union had properly collapsed and Georgia would demand its independence from it. From that point, the cracks had already began to form. No surprise that the Union would still pour money and effort into appealing to its people.
While I stumbled across the monument a little late in the day, I can imagine that it looks absolutely beautiful under snow or during the daytime, where the sun is just hitting the monument around sunset. That golden hour sunlight looked incredible on the surrounding dated architecture that I had previously seen, so it's something I'd recommend trying to run into around that sort of time of day if you're ever in Kutaisi. It's a shame I didn't get to capture it in a more artistic manner like that, part of me wanting to capture that old stone look on 35mm film with the grain it provides. But I was still happy to capture the beauty of it all on digital anyway. It's not something you'll spend a whole lot of time at, and if you don't speak Georgian or Russian then reading the information will be a bit of a difficulty. Especially in a font that most translators won't register. Just across the street are a few great cafes at least, so I do recommend spending some time in those if you're in the area and want something more to do than just run into one monument. It's certainly worth the visit if you're a fan of architecture and art, however.
And one thing to consider if you are around the area: it probably won't be sticking around for much longer with the laws against communist symbols in Georgia, as well as the gradual decay and neglect of the monument over the years. It lives on borrowed time. And you're probably best looking it up online for deeper context, as there's next to no information at the actual monument, given the decay over time.