13 Pravdy St., Saint Petersburg, Russia, 191119
The most scandalous monument to dogs in Saint Petersburg turned out to be the “Kind Dog Gavryusha” or the “Monument to the Stray Dog.” The monument to the stray dog Gavryusha appeared in the courtyard of a house on Malaya Sadovaya Street in 1999. The idea to install this unusual monument belongs to the St. Petersburg Guild of Blacksmiths and Artists. The city residents also call this sculpture the monument to the Kind Dog or the monument to Nyusha. The author of the sculpture based it on his own dog, which he took from the street. At first, he named her Gavrosh, but when it turned out she was a girl, he changed the name to Gavryusha.
The sculpture is made of wrought iron. Its deliberately non-naturalistic style reflects the preference of Viktor Sivakov, director of the regional architectural and artistic foundation, for modernism. Today, Gavryusha lives in the courtyard at house number 11 on Pravda Street. It was moved here on June 1, 2007, from Malaya Sadovaya, where the sculpture was originally installed along with the cats Yenisei and Vasilisa.
The “Stray Dog” was forged by Kuznetsov-Sergeev. Its height is 60 centimeters, and the pedestal raises it another 18 centimeters. Who would have thought that such a small sculpture would spark a whole scandal?
At the unveiling of the Gavryusha monument, which took place a year before the millennium, in 1999, fateful words were spoken that despite the lack of pedigree, the dog is smart and helps fulfill wishes. And since, according to the guests, Gavryusha is considered a literate dog who can read, all the walls of the courtyard where the monument was installed ended up covered with various requests and wishes. The situation with the garbage and the requests on the walls was not resolved even by the special “Mailbox of Dreams” from Yuri Krush’s workshop, which was installed on September 4, 2001. Although there was a place to drop notes containing wishes, many undisciplined citizens continued to write on the walls, which caused dissatisfaction among the residents of the surrounding houses. Therefore, under pressure from local residents, Gavryusha was expelled from Malaya Sadovaya. The last straw contributing to this was vandalism. Due to her popularity, Nyusha’s nose was broken off, her coat was damaged in many places, and inscriptions appeared on the sculpture itself.
After the sculpture was repaired and installed in a new location, the way the message is conveyed changed. Now, for the “Kind Dog” to fulfill your wish, you simply need to whisper it in her ear. To appease her, you can use a coin or a candy, placing it in her mouth.
Sources:
https://peterburg.center/maps/pamyatnik-sobake-gavryushe.html
https://www.ptmap.ru/monuments/2212
Izmailovsky Garden, Fontanka River Embankment, 114, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 190005
Fontanka River Embankment, 2, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 191187
Admiralteysky Ave, 12, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 190000
Malaya Sadovaya St., 8, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 191023
Kazan Square, 2, Saint Petersburg, 191186
Palace Square, 6, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 191186
Malaya Konyushennaya St., 16, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 191186
Moskovsky Ave., 19, Saint Petersburg, Leningrad Region, Russia, 190005
Razvodnaya St., 2, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 198510
Lieutenant Schmidt Embankment, 49, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 199034
Admiralteysky Lane, 1, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 190195
Petrovskaya Embankment, 6, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 197046
ter. Peter and Paul Fortress, 3, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 191186
Voskresenskaya Embankment, 12a, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 191123
Isaakievskaya Square, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 190000
nab. Reky Karpovki, 9, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 197022
Letter Z, Fontanka River Embankment, 132, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 190068
Grazhdansky Ave., 25 building 2, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 195220
k, Tikhoretsky Ave., 4b2, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 194064
Peter and Paul Fortress, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 197046
Universitetskaya Embankment, 11, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 199034
Lieutenant Schmidt Embankment, 9, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 199034
Liteyny Ave., 55 lit A, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 197372
Nevsky Ave., 17, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 191186
Vasilyevsky Island, 21st Line, V.O., Building 2, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 199106
Catherine Park / Ekaterininsky Park, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 196603
Devil's Bridge, Catherine Park, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 196609
Malaya Konyushennaya St., 5, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 191186
2 Tchaikovsky Street, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 191187
6a Pravdy St., Saint Petersburg, Russia, 191119
Saint-Germain Garden, Liteyny Ave., 46, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 191014
Manezhnaya Square, 4, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 191023
Kirochnaya St., 8, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 191028
Pinsky Lane, 1, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 197046
XGWR+7F Vsevolozhsk, Leningrad Oblast, Russia
Stachek Square, 1, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 190020
Revolyutsii Ave, 8, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 195027
195196, Stakhanovtsev St., 19, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 195196
Universitetskaya Embankment, 11, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 199034
Bering Street, 27k6, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 199397
Zagorodny Prospekt, 15-17, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 191002
23 Rubinstein St., Saint Petersburg, Russia, 191002
Ryabovskoe Highway, 78, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 195043
Building 28e, room 405, Khimikov Street, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 195030
Universitetskaya Embankment, 7/9, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 199034
Odessa St., 1, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 191124
Kronverkskaya Embankment, 3A, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 197046
Sytninskaya Square, 5A, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 197101
Apraksin Dvor, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 191023
Admiralteysky Canal Embankment, 2/3, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 190121
2 Zodchego Rossi Street, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 191023
Birzhevaya Square, 1 building 2, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 199034
Pulkovskoye Highway, 74, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 196140
Millionnaya St., 35, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 190000
Peter and Paul Fortress, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 191186
Island of Forts, Citadel Highway, 14, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 197760
Lieutenant Schmidt Embankment, 36, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 199034
Skippersky Lane, 10, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 199106
pl. Ostrovskogo, 1, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 191023
10th Sovetskaya St., 17B, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 191144
Volokolamsky Lane, 9, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 191119
Obvodny Canal Embankment, 102, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 196084
