Monuments to Bear in Russia

Bear on the bench. Monument in Veliky Novgorod (Novgorod the Great), Russia. Nizhegorodsky bear, residents of the city say that according to legend, a bear came to the city from the surrounding dense forests that once surrounded Novgorod, wandered around and decided to stay. Painfully he liked the hospitable and cordial Novgorodians. In winter, the monument is moved to the building of a shopping center nearby, and in summer a whole line is lined up to it for a joint photo. The monument is located on the embankment of Alexander Nevsky.

According to some authors, Monuments to Bear in Russia is a materialization of the good old stereotype of foreigners about Russia, where “bears are walking along the streets”. Most monuments to a bear in the world are located in Russia, which is naturally, as the bear symbolizes our country. Russian Bear – the personification of Russia, “the attribute of the Russian state and substitute its supreme ruler”. Bear is seen on the first maps of the Russian state. On the “Sea map”, compiled and equipped with a commentary by the Swedish priest Olaus Magnus (1490-1557) in 1539, there is a bear – a marker of the Russian state.