Monument to Anna Akhmatova opposite Kresty
Standing next to the River Neva between Ulitsa Shpalernaya and Naberezhnaya Robespera (Robespierre Embankment), this is one of four monuments in the city to the great 20th century poet Anna Akhmatova. Erected in 2006 to mark the 40th anniversary of the poet's death, this striking statue is symbolically located opposite Kresty Holding Prison, where both Akhmatova's partner, the art critic Nikolay Punin, and son, Lev Gumilev, were incarcerated repeatedly during the 1930s. Akhmatova wrote that she spent "300 hours" among the crowd of wives and mothers in front of the prison, waiting for news and trying to pass provisions to their loved ones inside.
Created by sculptor Galina Dodonova and architect Vladimir Reppo, this three-meter high bronze statue emphasizes the willowy beauty for which Akhmatova was celebrated in her youth and, according to the authors, recalls "Lot's wife, glancing backwards and freezing like a pillar of salt, and Isis travelling the Nile in search of the bodies of her husband and her son".
| Metro: | Chernyshevskaya |
|---|---|
| Getting there: | Turn left out of the metro station and immediately right onto Prospekt Chernyshevskogo. Walk along the avenue around 300m and take fourth turning on the right onto Shpalernaya Ulitsa. The statue is roughly 200m along the street to your left. |
| What's nearby? | River Neva, Tauride Garden (Tavrichesky Sad) |
