On the morning of March 25, the barber Ivan Yakovlevich, while having breakfast, discovers the nose of Collegiate Assessor Kovalyov in his bread. He shaved Kovalyov every Wednesday and Sunday. He wraps the nose in a cloth and throws it into the water from the Isaakievsky Bridge. Collegiate Assessor Kovalyov, who calls himself a major for greater importance, unexpectedly wakes up in the morning without a nose in his apartment on Voznesensky Avenue. In place of the nose, there is a completely smooth spot. He heads to the chief of police to report the loss.

On the way, he unexpectedly meets his own nose dressed in a gold-embroidered uniform, a civil councilor’s hat, and carrying a sword. The nose jumps into a carriage and heads to the Kazan Cathedral, where it prays devoutly. Stunned, Kovalyov rushes after it.

The collegiate assessor asks the nose to return. But the nose, with all the importance characteristic of a conversation with a junior official, declares that it does not understand what is being talked about and slips away from its owner. Kovalyov goes to the newspaper to place an announcement about the missing nose. But the editorial office refuses, fearing that such a scandalous announcement would damage the publication’s reputation.

Kovalyov rushes to a private bailiff. However, the bailiff, being in a bad mood, only states that a decent person’s nose will not be torn off. Heartbroken, Kovalyov returns home, and then an unexpected joy occurs: a police official suddenly enters and brings the nose wrapped in paper.

According to him, the nose was intercepted on the way to Riga with a false passport. Kovalyov is immensely happy, but prematurely so. The nose refuses to stick back to its rightful place, and even the invited doctor cannot help. Only on the morning of April 7 does the nose again appear on its owner’s face, just as mysteriously as it disappeared.

On Rimsky-Korsakov Avenue at the intersection with Voznesensky Avenue, on the wall of house No. 36/11, you can see the very first nose of Major Kovalyov. The story of this monument to the nose is similar to the story of the tale itself, although it happened in our days. On November 27, 1995, during the satire and humor festival "Golden Ostap" held in Saint Petersburg, the nose of Major Kovalyov was immortalized here by artist Rezo Gabriadze and sculptor Vladimir Panfilov, at the suggestion of actor and director Vadim Zhuk.

Why they decided to decorate the house with the nose specifically on Voznesensky Avenue, and not on Nevsky Prospect, where the runaway nose strolled, is clear. The nose was first discovered by the barber in his bread right here, on Voznesensky Avenue.

For the new monument, pink granite was ordered and brought from the Ukrainian lands native to the writer. The massive nose was embedded in a small gray limestone slab, an explanatory inscription about its literary owner was made, and it was mounted on the wall. The monument turned out to be small — 60x35 cm — but quite heavy, about 100 kg.

The nose of Major Kovalyov hung quietly and bothered no one until 2002, when in September it suddenly disappeared. Many jokes were born among the people of Saint Petersburg about this, saying the nose, as befits, was strolling along Nevsky, or sniffing out various secrets in the alleys, and so on.

The locals were upset by the disappearance of this bright landmark; the police even opened a criminal case, but the nose’s kidnappers were never found. However, a year after the mysterious disappearance, the original was found. The slab with the nose, in a half-ruined state, was discovered in one of the entrances of house No. 15 on Srednyaya Podyacheskaya Street.

The first nose was restored and returned to its former place. This time, more durable fastenings were used, and it was hung higher than before. Moreover, the investigative authorities suggested that the slab fell by its own weight and was then simply taken away by someone. But was that really the case? Or was the monument indeed stolen by criminals? To this day, it remains a mystery.

Source:
https://peterburg.center/story/3-pamyatnika-nosu-mayora-kovaleva-v-peterburge-istoriya-s-ischeznoveniem.html