Statue of Caesar in St. Petersburg

On the facade of the Evropa shopping center at 37 Maly Prospekt Petrogradskaya storona, sculptural monuments were installed, the prototypes of which were ancient Roman statesmen and politicians. Among them is a statue of Octavian Augustus, the founder of the Roman Empire. However, the Petersburgers saw in him another person namely, Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“Guys, it’s like, under the guise of Octavian Augustus, they want to sell us someone else. We are talking about the bottom of the most outstanding monuments of the era of capitalist romanticism TC Evropa in St. Petersburg. I am numb from this languid gaze, I compare it with the real August and I cannot understand whom he reminds me of. Help!”.

According to entrepreneur Yuri Zhorno, who oversaw the installation of the monument, the image was based on the statue of Hadrian, which was installed in Rome on the alley of emperors. At the same time, Zhorno noted that the statue is rather “symbolic” and is “a kind of collective image.” “I didn’t want to make portrait resemblances to Caesar, Octavian Augustus, Hadrian or some other emperors. A certain collective image was taken, such a task was set for the author. So that the face was wise and courageous, ”he explained.