It is hard to understand why the capital of Uruguay decided to install busts of Leo Tolstoy and Yuri Gagarin, as neither had a direct connection to Russian-Uruguayan relations. The global fame of the Russian writer and the first astronaut is also not a convincing argument for commemorating them in this country. Nevertheless, Montevideo received the gift with respect and installed the busts: Tolstoy in Tolstoy Square and Gagarin in Gagarin Square.

In Uruguay, the busts by Tsereiteli appeared much like the giant figure of Columbus in Puerto Rico two years ago. The sculptor created the work for the 500th anniversary of the discovery of America and proposed to install it in one of the major cities in the USA. However, a place for Columbus was found only in Puerto Rico, where local environmentalists opposed the installation due to the risk of the sculpture being destroyed in the event of a typhoon. In Montevideo, there is no such threat: Tolstoy and Gagarin are not as enormous as Columbus and Peter I.

As for Magellan, Tsereiteli did not specify the height of the future monument in an interview with Interfax, but suggested that it would be 'quite significant.' The monuments to Tolstoy and Gagarin became a gift from the Moscow mayor's office to the distant South American republic. Zurab Tsereiteli, who came to the opening ceremony, conveyed a welcoming message from Yuri Luzhkov to the mayor of Montevideo, A. Roselli. In response, the sculptor received the highest award from the municipality, the Medal of Honorary Citizen of Montevideo, and was received by the President of Uruguay, Jorge Batlle. During the meeting, the figure of Magellan was discussed. This is part of the sculptor's strategy: to start with a gift and finish with a commission.