Moscow, May 28, 2014
The monument to the great Russian poet Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin will be installed on the Parnassus in Delphi, Greece. Its opening is scheduled for June 6, the poet’s birthday, when the Day of Russian language is celebrated, reported author Oleg Volovik, speaking at the Russian Center of Science and Culture in Athens at an evening dedicated to the heritage of Sts. Cyril and Methodius.
The monument was evacuated from Estonia after the local authorities had “outlawed Pushkin”, and it eventually ended up on Mount Parnassus where Apollo and the Muses dwelled, and where lived the winged horse Pegasus—a symbol of poetic inspiration and eloquence. Parnassus is mentioned in many works of Pushkin.
“The monument to Pushkin became unwanted in Estonia several years ago; the Estonian authorities did not grant permission to erect it. I would like to stress that this was the work of several bureaucrats—not of the Estonian people nor the residents of Tartu from which we evacuated the monument,” Volovik said. He is the chairman of the International Federation of Russian-speaking Writers, on whose initiative several monuments to outstanding compatriots were installed all over the world.
There was a plan to install the monument to Pushkin on the territory of the University of Tartu in 1999 when the 200th anniversary of the poet’s birth was celebrated.
“We decided that this monument should stand on the slopes of the Mount Parnassus in Greece, in the town of Delphi. Work is now being carried out in Delphi, and with the help of our Greek friends we will place Pushkin on Parnassus. The opening will take place on June 6—the great poet’s birthday and the Day of Russian Language, and we are inviting everyone to the festive event,” Volovik announced.
The monument to Pushkin in Delphi will be open in the memorial park of great literary figures of the world, related Volovik in his interview with RIA-Novosti. The bust to Pushkin by Stanislav Nechvolodov will be set up near the world-famous sanctuary in Delphi, in a little pine grove.
