Description of the attraction
The monument to the janitor was erected in Vladimir in June 2004. The monument is an image of a janitor leaning on a broomstick, wearing a cap and with a sad look. The height of the monument is about 2 meters, it is cast in bronze. This is how a monument looks like to a representative of one of the most democratic and necessary professions. The figure of a bronze janitor adorns the quiet Belokonskaya street, located in a public garden next to the city Department of Housing and Communal Services. The watchmen keep an eye on the first bronze janitor in Russia, so that, as usual, he is not stolen or broken.
The monument was unveiled as part of the sectoral interregional forum of the housing and communal services of Russia, organized by the regional administration and the Russian communal systems. As conceived by the authors, the monument should remind the townspeople of the need to maintain order and cleanliness in the city.
Nikolai Vinogradov, the regional governor, noted that it was very good that such a monument appeared precisely on the Vladimir land, which witnessed the imperial order of the emperor Nikolai Mikhailovich, which said: "Each court has a janitor."
The sculptors Alexander Pakhomov and Vladimir Toropov worked on the monument. According to Alexander Pakhomov, the sculpture of a janitor is not a specific person, but a collective image that was inspired by the works of Dostoevsky, Gilyarovsky, Gogol. A sort of philosopher from the street. The artist enjoyed working on this project. Vladimir Toropov, who was engaged in the development of the improvement of the park, noted that this janitor is a modest provincial peasant, a certain Gerasim, he was deliberately placed on this street, where many students pass every day. According to the sculptor, this janitor should always be in society and remind people that they need to clean up after themselves.
Today, the janitor on Belokonskaya Street has long settled down here and has become a familiar element of the street ensemble.
The sculpture was donated to Vladimir by Russian utilities. It is made of special bronze, which is not accepted in the purchases of non-ferrous metals. The weight of the monument is about 270 kg. Many townspeople doubted that the bronze monument would remain intact for a long time. And they were right. The monument is regularly attacked by local hooligans. On the very first night after the installation of the monument, the vandals smashed to pieces the benches, which were temporarily installed for the period of the opening of the monument. At night, they smashed the ceiling of one of the lanterns. And even the watchman did not save the janitor.
It was immediately decided to abandon the benches, and after a while the lanterns were dismantled, since they had to be restored every day. Currently, the question of how to install a fence around the monument is being discussed. But, most likely, a decorative fence will be made near the monument.
This Vladimir Janitor gave rise to a new tradition - to reward the best Russian public utilities with the "Golden Janitor" statuette, which is a miniature copy of the monument in Vladimir.
