The Angel of Petersburg

Izmailovsky Garden, Fontanka River Embankment, 114, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 190005

This angel was conceived and brought to life in bronze by the talented artist Roman Shustrov, the creator of magnificent original dolls.

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There is Izmailovsky Garden in Petersburg – quiet alleys, dense trees, cozy benches. On a cozy bench, a reader is already sitting. This is him, the Petersburg angel, as this sculpture is called. A small bronze angel in a long, crumpled coat and a funny old-fashioned hat has perched on the back of the bench. He sits under a large maple tree, wrapped in a scarf and absorbed in reading. The angel is depicted as an elderly, intellectual person in an old hat, scarf, and coat, sitting on the back of the bench. He has closed himself off from the rain with an umbrella and is attentively reading his smart book.

This angel was conceived and brought to bronze life by the talented artist Roman Shustrov, creator of magnificent author’s dolls. Each doll has character, smart and kind, thoughtful and sad, cheerful and funny. The Petersburg angel is no exception. According to the artist, the sculpture symbolizes elderly Petersburg residents who survived war, hunger, suffering, and hardship, but preserved their zest for life and intellect, remaining childishly pure and bright.

Passersby involuntarily smile when they see this unusual “park visitor.” Children try to peek into his book to find out what angels read. Passersby put coins on his knees: “Maybe someone really, really needs them? Then let them take them from the angel…”

The sculpture is about 70 cm tall, unveiled on October 12, 2012.

The author of the sculpture, a kind doll maker, Roman Shustrov, passed away on May 14, 2020, at Mariinsky Hospital in Saint Petersburg from bilateral pneumonia caused by coronavirus. Blessed memory to the creator of the “Petersburg Angel.”

Sources:

https://www.ptmap.ru/monuments/132

https://iz.ru/1011346/2020-05-14/umer-skulptor-roman-shustrov

Jermaine

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Jermaine

The Noon Gun at the Peter and Paul Fortress

Peter and Paul Fortress, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 191186

Petersburg: Unusual Monuments and Places

“To the cannon! Hand on the trigger! Count – 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 – fire!” For many generations, Petersburgers have synchronized their watches at 12:00 noon with the shot from the Naryshkin Bastion. Interestingly, the crew always loads two cannons, even though only one is fired. Why? The thing is, sometimes there are misfires, old shells are found, and the shot doesn’t go off. That’s why two cannons are kept ready just in case.

Jermaine

The first Soviet nuclear submarine (SSN) K-3 "Leninsky Komsomol"

Island of Forts, Citadel Highway, 14, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 197760

Petersburg: Unusual Monuments and Places

Nuclear submarines today are the foundation of the underwater fleets of all nuclear powers. The first Soviet nuclear submarine, K-3 "Leninsky Komsomol," raised the naval flag on July 1, 1958. Three days later, it was the first in the Soviet Union to operate under its main power plant—a nuclear reactor—and four years later, it was the first in the USSR to surface through the ice at the North Pole. In early August 2021, it was announced that the submarine (nuclear-powered submarine) K-3 "Leninsky Komsomol" would depart from the Northern Fleet to Kronstadt—to its permanent berth at the Museum of Naval Glory, where it is currently located.

Jermaine

S-189 — Soviet medium submarine of Project 613

Lieutenant Schmidt Embankment, 36, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 199034

Petersburg: Unusual Monuments and Places

S-189 is a Soviet medium submarine of Project 613, which was part of the Baltic Fleet. After decommissioning, it was converted into a museum ship in Saint Petersburg.

Jermaine

Submarine D-2 "Narodovolets"

Skippersky Lane, 10, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 199106

Petersburg: Unusual Monuments and Places

D-2 "Narodovolets" (series I, project D — "Dekabrist", factory No. 178) was a Soviet diesel-electric torpedo submarine from the World War II era. During the war, the "D-2" completed 4 combat patrols, carried out 12 torpedo attacks launching 19 torpedoes, sank one ship (4090 GRT), and damaged one ship (2972 GRT). In terms of length of service, no other submarine in the Soviet and Russian fleets matches this vessel. Various winds caressed her naval flag, and the waves of the Baltic, Barents, and Kara Seas closed over her.

Jermaine

Monument to Catherine II

pl. Ostrovskogo, 1, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 191023

Petersburg: Unusual Monuments and Places

The monument to Catherine II in Saint Petersburg is located on Ostrovsky Square, next to the Alexandrinsky Theatre. It was erected in 1873 and is one of the main attractions of the city.

Jermaine

Alliluyev Apartment Museum

10th Sovetskaya St., 17B, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 191144

Petersburg: Unusual Monuments and Places

The Alliluyev Apartment Museum was opened in 1997, based on the former Lenin Apartment Museum. S. Ya. Alliluyev was a worker from Saint Petersburg who participated in the revolutionary events of 1917. His political activity was connected with some of the most important historical figures: V. I. Lenin, I. V. Stalin, G. K. Ordzhonikidze, and many others. The apartment in the former tenement house is famous because in 1917 V. I. Lenin and G. E. Zinoviev hid here from persecution. In the autumn of the same year, I. V. Stalin lived here. Alliluyev’s youngest daughter, Nadezhda, later became his wife.

Jermaine

Horse heads at Kolomenskaya 45

Volokolamsky Lane, 9, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 191119

Petersburg: Unusual Monuments and Places

Walking along Kolomenskaya Street past the corner two-story house No. 45, from the wall of which two horse heads emerge. These two unusual sculptures were cast in the second half of the 19th century and today are among the few surviving artifacts of the Yamskaya part — the carriage drivers' station of pre-revolutionary Petersburg.

Jermaine

The Bulls of Demut-Malinovsky or the Story of "Vzorushka" and "Nevzorushka"

Obvodny Canal Embankment, 102, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 196084

Petersburg: Unusual Monuments and Places

These are two famous bronze sculptures created by the outstanding Russian master Vasily Demut-Malinovsky in 1827. The statues are considered masterpieces of animalistic sculpture. Among the public and specialists, the sculptures are known as Vzorushka (left) and Nevzorushka (right).

Jermaine

The Angel of Petersburg

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