(Source: http://www.ekmap.ru/fun/elka_1905_2012)

“Rus Bogatyrskaya” (“Heroic Russia”): volumetric and functional.

The preparations for the construction of the main ice town began in Chelyabinsk. The opening of the ice town “Rus Bogatyrskaya” at the Revolutsii Square in Chelyabinsk is scheduled for December 26. This year it was decided to abandon metal attractions and place ice sculptures in the free spaces. The town will occupy the entire Revolutsii Square. And the cost this year remained at the same level - 10 million roubles.

As the author of the project, the artist Lyudmila Novikova told, the square will be decorated by 18 volumetric ice sculptures - the characters of popular cartoons about three heroes of the “Melnitsa” animation studio. According to the authors, these heroes are very popular and well-known among children. The creation of ice compositions will involve 43 experts, including architects from Chelyabinsk and Yekaterinburg. All figures will be volumetric and functional.

A lot of attention is paid to security this year. All slides, turns, climbs are calculated by the architects to eliminate the risk of injury. Steps will be constantly swept, the town will be cleaned. In addition, it was decided to divide the town into several conventional age zones. For example, small sculptures and slides will be organized for kids. And adults can ride from a 9-meter high slide with several descents and turns. According to Dmitry Nazarov, this division will help to avoid dangerous encounters of kids with older children.

The works on the construction of the town will begin on December 1, at that time, according to the organizers, the ice on the Shershnevskoye career will have reached the required thickness of 20 centimeters. This year the implementation of the plans of the ice town authors, according to preliminary estimates, will require about 1,300 cubic meters of ice. The installation of a Christmas tree on the square will start on December 3.

This year the green beauty will be decorated with new toys. A modern LED backlighting will emphasize the fantastic atmosphere in the town. The organizers expect to complete all the works until December 20.