Description of the attraction
The monument to Peter I in the village of Somino, Boksitogorsky district, was opened on July 12, 2012. This is the first monument to the great emperor erected in the countryside. The choice of the site for the erection of the monument was not accidental. Peter I visited these places. After the founding of the new capital on the Neva, Peter understood the importance and necessity of economic ties between the two capitals. He learned that Lake Sominskoye was located three hundred miles from St. Petersburg, two rivers flow out of it in different directions: Sominka, through Chagoda, Chagodoshcha, Mologa, which flows into the Volga, and Valchenka, which flows into the Neva through Syas and Ladoga. At this point, there is a watershed between the basins of the two river systems.
Peter I decided to see this lake himself and came to these places. He examined and walked around all the surroundings before deciding to build the Tikhvin water system here. This happened in 1712, but the ingenious project was brought to life only 100 years later. In memory of the tsar's merits, the temple in the village of Somino is named in honor of the apostles Peter and Paul.
The Tikhvin water system for St. Petersburg was a window to Russia, and the village of Somino with the Peter and Paul Church became a kind of link that connected the two capitals of Russia. 2012 marked the 300th anniversary of Peter the Great's visit to this region. The erection of the monument was timed to coincide with this anniversary.
The idea of the monument to Peter belongs to the rector of the church - Father Gennady Belovolov. It turned out to be not very easy to bring this idea to life. Questions arose: where to get the monument, how to install it. For help, the rector of the church turned to the Alley of Russian Glory charitable foundation, which is engaged in the installation of monuments to the great people of Russia. The chairman of the foundation, Mikhail Serdyukov, found an opportunity to donate a monument to the emperor to the parish.
Members of the Pikalevo association of veterans of Afghanistan and Russia's hotspots "Registan" helped to remove the monument. Vladimir Evgenievich Zagarskikh helped with the installation and purchase of the pedestal. The pedestal was delivered ten days before the opening of the monument. The weight of the pedestal with the bust is about two tons. The total height of the monument with a pedestal is 3 m 20 cm. Peter I looks into the future with an open, determined gaze.
Local residents, pilgrims from the cities of Pikalevo and St. Petersburg, residents of nearby villages, towns and villages, heads of administrations of the Boksitogorsk district and other rural settlements gathered at the opening of the monument. The solemn right to remove the cover with state symbols from the opening monument was given to the assistant of the Sominsky temple of the Zagarskikh V. E., representatives of the administration of the Boksitogorsky district and Pikalyov, Zaborievsky, Efimovsky, Pobdoro rural settlements, the director of the Efimovsky CDC V. S. Yezhov, representatives of the clergy. At the unveiling of the monument, two flags were raised and two hymns sounded - imperial and modern.
The monument is a reminder to the descendants of the great deeds in this region of the first Russian emperor. The monument to the working tsar was opened both in memory of his deeds and in the hope that the Russian people will have more similar rulers who do not spare their lives for the sake of the country.
