The monument to Peter the Great (official name is the Monument “To commemorate the 300th anniversary of the Russian fleet”) by Zurab Tsereteli was erected in 1997 by order of the Moscow Government on an artificial island, poured at the division of the Moscow River and the Vodootvodny Canal in Moscow.
The total height of the monument is 98 meters, and the height of the figure of Peter is 18 meters. It is one of the highest monuments in Russia.
The monument to Peter, in technical terms, is a unique engineering structure. The supporting frame of the monument is made of stainless steel, with bronze cladding details hung on it. Separately from each other, the lower part of the monument, the ship and the figure of Peter, forming a pedestal, were assembled; the latter, in finished form, was mounted on a pedestal. The ship’s shrouds are made of stainless steel. Each is woven from several cables and fixed, so their mobility is wholly excluded. The sails have a spatial metal frame inside (to reduce weight). They are made of copper by punching.
The highest quality bronze was used for the monument; it was previously sandblasted, then patinated and covered with a special wax and varnish that protects against adverse weather phenomena. The scroll Peter I holds is gilded, and the St. Andrew’s crosses on the flags, which are structurally made as weathercocks, are also gilded. The reinforced concrete foundation forming an artificial island, on which the monument is located, is framed by fountains that create the effect of a ship cutting through the water. Inside there is a staircase provided for monitoring the state of the monument.
In the wind tunnel of the Institute of Mechanics of Moscow State University, blowing of a model of the monument, created by the employees of the Institute (now in the Museum of the History of Moscow State University), was carried out, which made it possible to improve the aerodynamic characteristics of the monument significantly.
Nearest metro: Park Kultury, Oktyabrskaya, Kropotkinskaya
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