Vyacheslav Klykov

Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Klykov was a Russian sculptor who specialized in public monuments to key figures of national history and culture.

He was born into a peasant family near Kursk and studied in the Surikov Art Institute in Moscow, matriculating in 1964. Klykov's bronze statues did not conform to the precepts of Socialist Realism. His playful sculptural decor for the Central Musical Theatre for Children made him famous. In the late 1980s Klykov turned to the Russian Orthodox Church for inspiration and support. His public statue of Sergius of Radonezh in Radonezh was the first memorial installed in the Soviet Union without permission from the authorities.