Monuments

The Cross of Worship near the Chudskoe Lake

One evening Valentine had got home and his wife told him that they had called and asked him to be an author of a memorial cross devoted to Ledovoe Poboishche, a fateful battle in Russian history happened in 1242. In spring of 1992 it was decided to erect a wooden memorial cross near The Chudskoe Lake where the battle took place. The very fate led initiators of this project to The High School of Arts and Design where they met a future author of the memorial. Valentine stood in front of incomprehensible task - in two short weeks he had to fulfill both a project and executing of The Cross. A needed idea came to his head immediately. The first - The Cross had to be based on a well-known prototype The Alexeevsky Cross from The Novgorod Sophia Cathedral (a famous example of ancient Russian monumental art). The second - the monument had to be grand in any sense of the word. Father Gennadiy a dean of The Pushkinskaya Sophia church confirmed the project. By this time material for the memorial (fir) already was prepared. It was delivered to a building of The Izhorsky College where the memorial birth was to happen. A working place was a foyer of the College. Valentine did not make any intermediate model or designs. There was no nether time or force for paper. So the artist drew The Cross shape with a coal right on a specific floor of the College foyer. After that he started the memorial in wood. Valentine had four assistants - a carpenter Peter Samsonov, two graduators from The College and Ivan Rushchenko, administrative organizer of the project. The work went easy and slightly in spite of awful weariness and hurt in hands after all they had the mutual aim. Though there were short happy moments, for instance bania. This dill seamed to be God's will and bystanders could see how beauty appears. Finishing of the monument looked very mysterious. Valentine was on the point of blackening The Cross with a candle but then Ivan made a torch for this. Outside it was seen fires dancing in windows throughout all the night. Next morning the monument expected to go in a long way. It was loaded on a lorry then - in an airplane, then it moved to Pskov and finely it was delivered to a setting place Kobylie Gorodishche. By the memorial arrival creating of a bas was started in Kobylie Gorodishche (heap of boulders). The original setting place chosen was an island in The Chudskoe Lake but in the last moment weather played its weird role. It was raining throughout all the week and a helicopter pilot refused to take off in non-flying weather. The Cross had to be set by the road on entering to Kobylie Gorodishche. This place turned to be successful because to erect a cross by a road is according to Old Russian tradition and this place was to become a place of pilgrimage. The very havens indicated this holy place. It was a wander. On March 29 of 1992 while the monument opening another wander occurred. That day was cloudy as weather forecast predicted but after consecration ceremony sky cleared up and the first ray of spring sun appeared. Weather was wonderful and bright after.

Скульптуры в храме Св. Екатерины на Невском проспекте