“Neither the country nor the parish

I want to choose.

To Vasilievsky Island

I will come to die...”

Joseph Brodsky never came to die on Vasilievsky Island — he had to do it in Brooklyn, New York, USA. But 21 years after his death, the great poet finally reached Vasilievsky Island. In the form of a monument...

The monument appeared on the embankment of the Smolenka River, near house No. 28 on Odoyevsky Street.

The granite Joseph Alexandrovich materialized suddenly and unexpectedly. The sculpture was installed in December 2016. There was no opening ceremony. The monument was unloaded from the trailer of an old “Gazelle” van and placed on the ground... It was not poetic.

Only local residents knew about the presence of the Nobel Prize laureate in literature on Vasilievsky Island. And even then, not all of them. Not everyone could recognize Joseph Alexandrovich in the granite block...

Everyone spoke passionately, both those “for” and those “against.” Opinions were split 50/50. As Brodsky himself would say in excellent American English: “fifty-fifty.” The author of the monument, sculptor and member of the Union of Artists of Russia, Evgeny Rotanov, spoke about his idea brought to life:

I tried to combine two images — Petersburg and the poet himself. The northern capital is represented by the granite block, and Brodsky — by the head, which bears a portrait resemblance to the “original.”

But even now it is quite difficult to recognize the poet. According to Rotanov, the monument was allowed to be installed only on the condition that it would remain incognito, i.e., there would be no indications that it was Brodsky. As a result, the author was not even able to attach a plaque describing the figure.

To make the monument stop being nameless requires a lot of paperwork and approvals in Moscow. But the sculptor, as he told journalists, is “completely satisfied,” adding:

Now local residents have already gotten used to this new extraordinary landmark and even feel some tenderness toward the monument in memory of their compatriot and fellow countryman, the Russian poet and essayist Joseph Brodsky.

To put all the dots on the i’s, we contacted the author of the work — member of the Union of Artists of Russia Evgeny Rotanov.

“I tried to combine two images — Petersburg and the poet himself,” the sculptor said. “The northern capital is represented by the granite block, and Brodsky — by the head, which bears a portrait resemblance to the ‘original.’”

The saga of choosing the place for the monument lasted since 2014. At first, they wanted to install it on Vasilievsky Island, then in Komarovo. In the end, they returned to the option of the Smolenka River embankment.

“Not everyone manages to recognize the poet. Why is there not even a plaque on the monument?”

“The monument was allowed to be installed only on one condition: that I would not indicate that it is Brodsky,” Evgeny Nikitich replied. “Now I am fighting for the ‘legalization’ of Joseph Alexandrovich. To make the monument stop being nameless, you need to collect a bunch of documents and take them for approval to Moscow... In principle, I am satisfied as it is. Brodsky has found his place. People who care about his work know that it is him. That is the main thing.”

According to the sculptor, a solemn opening ceremony was planned but was canceled due to bad weather. But it can still happen when the snow melts.

“I won’t say whether I liked the monument or not. The point is how it was installed. It was done under the cover of night, quietly, on the sly... This is disrespect to the city, the residents, and to Joseph Brodsky himself. That’s not how it’s done. The unveiling of a monument should be a public event, as it was with the Dovlatov monument — they even organized a whole festival for that! But here... I’m not even sure that the appearance of the sculpture on the Smolenka embankment was agreed with anyone,” said Mikhail Milchik, chairman of the board of the Joseph Brodsky Museum Foundation, a friend of the poet.

Informally, the monument is called “Portrait to Joseph Brodsky.” Its height is 3.6 meters (including the pedestal), weight — 7 tons.

Sources:

https://www.spb.kp.ru/daily/26650.7/3669722/

https://peterburg.center/story/pamyatniki-iosifu-brodskomu-v-peterburge-valun-chemodan-portret-i-memorialnaya-doska.html