First in Russia Omar Khayyam’s statue was opened in Astrakhan

On August, 4 the Governor of Astrakhan region Alexander Zhilkin together with the Governor-General of Gilan Province of Iran Mohammad Ali Najafi unveiled a monument to Omar Khayyam, an outstanding Persian poet, philosopher, and scientist.
Omar Khayyam’s statue is a gift to our city from Gilan Province. It was built at the Gilan Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture’s cost. It’s essential to note that the Astrakhan region and Gilan Province are united by ties of long-standing friendship and dynamic contacts in most diverse spheres.
The statue was installed on a pedestal in the student square of the Astrakhan State University across the monument to Turkmen poet and philosopher Magtymguly Pyragy, which was gifted to Astrakhan by Turkmenistan in 2009. The statue of Omar Khayyam weights one ton and a half and is four and a half meters tall. It was molded in Yekaterinburg. According to the creator of this statue, Chelyabinsk sculptor Sergei Vorobiev, the making of the statue from the moment the idea was born to its embodiment took about seven months, undergoing five concept changes.
For major contribution to the development of long-standing Astrakhan-Iranian ties Governor Alexander Zhilkin awarded medals “For services to the Astrakhan region” to Mohammad Ali Najafi, the Governor-General of Gilan, and Hadi Tizhush Taban, the head of the Gilan Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture. The certificate of honor was presented to Adeli Mossabab Younes, a senior expert of the Department of Economic Development and International Relation of Gilan Province.
Extending gratitude on behalf of the whole region to Gilan Province for the gift, Governor Alexander Zhilkin said: “Today is a truly memorable event, which serves to strengthen interethnic and interreligious relations, peace, friendship, and respect. I am certain that the monument will become a worthy symbol of warm relations between the Astrakhan region and Gilan Province. We have been cultivating our versatile relations with Gilan province, first of all, on basis of mutual cultural respect. We are doing this for our future – for mutual friendship and the development of the countries bordering the Caspian Sea.
The Governor-General of Iran, in turn, highlighted the fact that at all times culture served as a rallying point for international cooperation and without cultural awareness it is impossible to develop trade and relations in other spheres.
The Governors laid flowers at the monument. The bronze monument will become a symbol of recognition of the Astrakhan region’s role in developing Russian-Iranian trade, economic, and cultural ties. Omar Khayyam’s monuments can be found in Tehran, Dushanbe, Bucharest, and Ashgabat. The Astrakhan monument will be the first monument to Omar Khayyam in Russia.