Description of the attraction
Monument to Stepan Osipovich Makarov is a monument located in Kronstadt. Erected in 1913 in honor of the Russian naval commander, polar explorer, oceanographer, vice-admiral and shipbuilder S. O. Makarov. The author of the project of the monument was the sculptor Leonid Vladimirovich Sherwood. The monument was erected on Anchor Square in front of the Naval Cathedral of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker.
In 1910, a meeting was held dedicated to the memory of Stepan Osipovich Makarov. At the meeting, a committee was formed to collect donations for the construction of the monument, which amounted to 1/4 of all types of salaries for crews and teams during the year. The project of the sculptor L. V. Sherwood. The Kronstadt Anchor Square was chosen as the site of the monument.
The sculpture of Vice Admiral Makarov was cast in bronze at Karl Robekka's St. Petersburg plant. Bas-reliefs were also made here.
The rock made of granite, on which the sculptural portrait of Makarov was installed, was intended for the monument to Paul I, but the barge that brought it from Vyborg to St. Petersburg sank in the Vyborg Bay. The rock weighed 160 tons. She has been in the water for over a century. And only in 1911, by order of Nicholas II, it was pulled from the seabed. During transportation, the upper part of the lump broke off.
In the early summer of 1913, the rock was erected in Petrovsky Park near the Winter Pier. The consecration ceremony was conducted by Protopresbyter V. I. Shevelsky is the head of the military and naval clergy. During the fall of the cover from the monument, seventeen volleys were fired from the ships in the roadstead (Oleg, Admiral Makarov, Pavel I, Aurora). Thirty-two wreaths were laid at the monument. Then a parade was organized, received by Emperor Nicholas II.
For the installation of the pedestal, a marble-faced base was prepared. Anchors and anchor chains that make up the fence of the monument were released from the warehouses of the military port of the city of Kronstadt.
The opening of the monument took place on July 24 (August 6), 1913 with the participation of Emperor Nicholas II. The height of the sculpture is 3.55 meters, the height of the pedestal is 5 meters.
The monument is made with extraordinary expression. There is a feeling that Stepan Osipovich Makarov is about to take a step and walk with a quick, decisive gait.
Bas-reliefs can be seen on three sides of the pedestal. They are dedicated to the stages in the life of a vice admiral. The bas-relief on the left side shows the explosion of a Turkish ship during the Russo-Turkish War. On January 14, 1878, Makarov carried out the first successful in the history of mine weapons attack by torpedo boats on the outer Batumi roadstead. As a result, the enemy ship "Intibach" was destroyed. On the second bas-relief, the viewer will see the Arctic voyage of the Yermak icebreaker, which was designed and built under the direction of Makarov. The third bas-relief depicts the explosion of the battleship "Petropavlovsk", which was blown up by a mine. Here Stepan Osipovich died.
The vice admiral stands against the wind. The developing floors of his overcoat speak eloquently about this. A bronze sea wave rises at Makarov's feet. She symbolizes the Japanese dragon and carries him into the depths of the sea. Makarov's right hand is lowered into the pocket of his greatcoat, and his left, frozen in the air, seems to show the target of his squadron or the course of the ship.
On the right side of the monument there are verses in bronze. At first, their author was unknown, but later from the correspondence of Ts. A. Cui, it was established that it was E. Dmitriev, although the cadet O. Lobanovsky from the Vladimir Kiev Cadet Corps is currently applying for authorship.
At the foot of the monument to Makarov, young sailors take the oath.
