VLADIVOSTOK, January 20 (Itar-Tass) — By the summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum Vladivostok will have a new look, also by means of historical, literary and mythological characters’ sculptures. A monument to the song character Katyusha who “set out on the steep bank” and whose prototype was, according to historians, a resident of Vladivostok Yekaterina Alexeyeva will be installed in one of the city streets.
In addition to the statues of real historical figures, there will also be sculptures of a deep sea sailor, sculpture of Stirlitz - lead character in a popular Russian book series written in the 1960s by novelist Julian Semyonov and of the television adaptation Seventeen Moments of Spring, as well as of fairytale character goldfish. The decoration of facades and retaining walls will also be continued. Artists are currently preparing sketches for future paintings, and the painting will begin in spring.
A “sailor with a banjo” sculpture was installed on the roof of a building in downtown Vladivostok on Friday. The unusual and funny sculpture complements the painting of facades made in the form of an old merchant’s house, from the painted windows of which look out coquettish young ladies who are attracted by a “serenade” of the sailor, sitting on the building’s cornice.
The sailor’s sketch was created by St. Petersburg artist Leo Zelenev who now lives and works in Vladivostok, and the figure was cast from steel by Ilya Topchy.
A year ago, it was decided to make the appearance of Vladivostok bright and unique for the upcoming APEC summit in September 2012, and to this end install many new sculptures on the city streets.
The near-term plans include installing the sculpture of American woman Eleanor Pray who lived in Vladivostok at the beginning of the last century and who left behind valuable to historians letters detailing the life of the city, as well as sculpture of warrant officer Nikolai Komarov - the first builder of the Vladivostok military fort and one of the founders of the city.
The capital of the Primorsky Territory is getting a new look for the APEC summit that will be held on the Russky Island in 2012. Under the program, tens of squares are to be reconstructed. Not only historical buildings, but also those that can be seen from the Amur Bay are to be repaired - nearly 900 buildings - most of them are dwelling houses.