On September 5, 1997, a monument "To commemorate the 300th anniversary of the Russian fleet", also known as the "Monument to Peter the Great" by sculptor Zurab Tsereteli, opened in Moscow. Almost immediately after the completion of installation work, the monument gained very dubious fame.
The history of the creation and design features of the monument
The height of Tsereteli’s creation reaches 98 m. Thus, it is one of the highest monuments not only in Russia, but throughout the world. Even the famous Statue of Liberty is inferior to him. For the manufacture of sculptures were used materials of the highest quality. The frame is made of stainless steel, and the lining is made of bronze. The weight of the monument exceeds 2000 tons. The sculpture consists of 3 parts, each of which was made separately: a pedestal, a ship and the figure of Peter the Great. It took about a year to create the monument at Tsereteli.
In some Russian media, publications appeared that initially this grandiose building was a monument to Columbus, which the sculptor planned to sell to Spain, the United States and Latin American countries for the 500th anniversary of the discovery of America. However, Tsereteli's proposal did not arouse interest in any of the countries.
According to historians, the inaccuracies were made when creating the sculpture. So, rosters - the noses of enemy ships - are not installed correctly. They are crowned by the St. Andrew flag. It turns out that Peter fought against the Russian fleet created by him. The official name of the monument turned out to be inappropriate. The fact is that it could not be dedicated to the 300th anniversary of the Russian fleet, since it opened only a year after this event.
