It is difficult to imagine a modern city without all kinds of monuments and monuments. Street sculptures are usually set in honor of famous figures of art and culture, politicians or scientists. A separate genre among the monuments is collective personified images - “Unknown Soldier”, “Mother Motherland”. And only a few decades ago, monuments depicting "mere mortals", representatives of professions that can hardly be called prestigious, began to appear on the streets. Did you know, for example, that in Russia there is a monument to plumbing, and not one?
"Stepanych" from Omsk
In 1998, the city of Omsk received a very unusual gift for its next birthday. In its very center, on Lenin Street, a monument to the plumber was erected. Residents of the city very quickly called him “Stepanich” or “Stepan”. The sculpture is an image of a man leaning out of the hatch to the middle of the chest. "Stepanych" rests on his elbows and looks thoughtfully towards the roadway (the monument itself is on the sidewalk). A helmet is on the plumbing head, and a key lies near the hands.
Omsk residents eventually got used to such an unusual sight, but it’s a pleasure to watch the reaction of tourists who do not expect to see the original sculpture literally under their feet. Today, Stepanych is considered one of the symbols of Omsk. If you ask where the monument to plumbing is located, any resident of the city will tell you the way. The exact address of the attraction: Omsk, Lenin Street, then you just have to walk a bit along the sidewalk.
What is the first monument to plumbing in Russia?
In fact, there are a lot of monuments to plumbers and workers in related industries in our country. Several street sculptures are fighting for the title of the very first. But still, most often the oldest monument to plumbing is considered a monument installed in Yekaterinburg. This attraction appeared in 1995 near the central office of Uralenergoserviskomplekt, it was this organization that ordered the manufacture and installation of such an unusual street decoration. Externally, the monument in Yekaterinburg is very similar to his brother from Omsk. It is also a bust of a worker in a helmet protruding from the hatch.
The most original sculptures
Most often, plumbers are depicted sticking out chest or waist from a hatch. But there are several unusual and original sculptures in our country dedicated to workers of water utilities. In Perm, near the city bath, a sculptural composition was installed, consisting of a sculpture of a plumber sitting on a pipe with an
adjustable wrench in his hands.
The expression on this person is very thoughtful, it seems, another moment and he will return to his difficult work. There is an unusual monument to plumbing in Ussuriysk. The sculpture is installed near the central water utility building. The monument depicts a man in full-length workwear, it is believed that the plumber Yury Rubanov, who actually exists in the city, became the prototype of the monument.
How many plumbers are immortalized in Russia?
In total, about 20 monuments dedicated to locksmiths and other workers whose professions are somehow related to water supply have been installed in our country. There is a monument to plumbing in such cities as Chelyabinsk, Volgograd, Moscow, Prokopyevsk, Saransk, Rybinsk, Tyumen and many others. There are many sculptures dedicated to communal services in Ukraine, today there are such monuments in many other countries.
And yet, despite its spread, such sights are still considered unusual. If you come to a city where there is a monument to plumbing, you must make a photo with it. It is also considered a good sign to appease a locksmith - treat him with vodka and a cigarette. Such an offering, according to urban legends, will save plumbing in your own apartment or house from breakdowns.