A total of 3,000 Moscow monuments include 68 bronze and stone figures of Lenin, 4 memorial images of his wife Nadezhda Krupskaya, and 4 of tsar Peter the Great.

The city inhabitants have lately tried to diversify the official monumental environment. Some of their efforts (like a suggestion to erect a statue of a pickle, a traditional Russian snack) have failed. Others, like a monument to Kuzya Bee (a favorite insect of the city mayor, who is a part-time beekeeper) have materialized.

The bronze Kuzya Bee got his funny name thanks to his location in Kuzminki Park in the southeast of Moscow. "It`s not just a compliment to a bee as an insect, it`s a monument dedicated to the diligence it personifies," its authors say. The winged bronze creature is 40 cm long and 25 cm wide. Kuzya`s pedestal is shaped like a honeycomb.

Kuzminki Park. Metro: Kuzminki

A Monument to Processed Cheese Druzhba (Friendship). The legendary product appeared in 1964 and during the period of deficit remained one of the most democratic and available sorts of cheese. These days it is less popular but still can be found in supermarkets. The monumental group includes heroes of the famous fable by Ivan Krylov A Crow and a Fox (in the fable the fox managed to steel a piece of cheese thanks to its eloquence). The animals hold a cheese briquette with the inscription "Friendship".

Crossroads of Rustaveli Street and Ogorodny Lane. Metro: Dmitrovskaya

Monumental Ecology. If you happen to pass Sivtsev Vrazhek Lane you can see a group of statues in a small public garden. One of the incomprehensible objects is a big metal palm on a thin base crowned with a ragged-winged butterfly. Ironically, the whole composition, called Ecology, is placed in the most polluted central district of the city.

Sivtsev Vrazhek Lane,

Metro: Kropotkinskaya

Matroskin Cat statue was erected in the city park of Ramenskoye, Moscow region. The cat who likes to embroider became famous in the early 80s after the release of Kanikuly v Prostokvashino (Holidays in Prostokvashino) cartoon.

Ramenskoye City Park, Ramenskoye station, from Kasansky railway station.

The Moscow News
sections: Society, Region News, Celebrities
areas: Central region