Boris Vasilievich Chesnokov is a professional artist. He studied at Ivanovo School of Art. Later on, he taught drawing at the school, and led his own arts studio. He spent more than 10 years working as an artist and designer in the Tomsk and Usinsk mines in Mezhdurechensk. He is a member of Colorit, a club of artists in the city. He frequently takes part in exhibitions and competitions. He has won prizes in the city’s Artist of the Year and Young Face of the City competitions, as well as the regional competitions Character of a Miner and Kuzbass is our Home.

His main subjects are his native region and its people. He paints in several different genres, including landscapes, scenes of daily life and portraits.

He has painted portraits of the traditional singer and musician Gennady Zavolokin, and Russia’s foremost mountaineer and climber Yury Uteshev.

In his Portrait of Vladimir Smirnov, the painter depicts his friend, the well-known artist, who designed of the sculptures that form part of the Monument of Glory, as well as the Mezhdurechensk name sculpture by the highway at the entrance to the city and the memorial boards and mosaic friezes on the gables of buildings on Kommunistichesky Prospekt and Freedom Square. The artist has precisely caught not only the physical appearance of his subject, but also his personality.

Vladimir Borisovich Smirnov was born in Kazan. In 1959 he came to Tomusinsk. He worked as a police officer, and then as the head of the ventilation system in the Tomusinsk 1 and 2 mines, and as a mechanic in the Tomusinsk Factory for the Construction of Large Concrete Panel Buildings. In 1977 he was appointed as director of the Evening School of Art. He also started designing monuments, as a hobby.

He created a design for a children’s “play city”, which was incorporated into the Mezhdurechensk Park of
Culture and Leisure. Here you can see Sadko’s ship and mill, Baba Yaga’s house, all kinds of strange slides, and forty knights guarding the fortified walls around this unique city. And, at the entrance to this fantastic city you can see Gulliver - the hero of Johnathan Swift’s novel.

The 6- meter tall sculpture of Gulliver can be seen in the background of the portrait. It was erected in the park on July 8, 1983. Once this giant figure, which weighs 34 tons, was standing in place it was tested to ensure it was stable and firmly fixed to the ground. They brought in a tractor, attached a cable to Gulliver, and started to pull. The giant did not move a centimeter.

This unusual sculpture has become a symbol of the Jewel of the Kuzbass, and in addition to ornamenting the city park it has featured on the covers of many magazines, both in Russia and abroad.

Talking about his creation, Vladimir Smirnov said: ‘I created Gulliver to make children happy, and make adults feel like Lilliputians when they stand next to him’.