- CountryRussia
- Town:Saint Petersburg
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Year of creation:1800
- Rider(s):Peter the Great
- Sculptor(s):Rastrelli, Carlo Bartolomeo
or Pyotr Alexeyevich (1672–1725) ruled the Tsardom of Russia and later the Russian Empire. With numerous successful wars, he expanded the Tsardom into a huge empire that became a major European power. He created a cultural shift by replacing the traditionalist and medieval social and political system with a modern, scientific, European-oriented and rationalist system. He moved the capital of Russia from Moscow to the city that he created from scratch: St Petersburg.
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Peter himself commissioned the statue to commemorate his victories in the Great Northern War in 1716 and approved the final design before his death in 1725. However it was only after Carlo’s death in 1744, that his son Francesco completed the sculpture’s casting. Empress Catherine reviewed the work in 1763. She disliked it and the monument remained in a local building warehouse. Only in 1800, Catherine’s son Paul installed the monument. He ordered to add the inscription “From great grandson to great grandfather” to the pedestal.
