The History of a Little-Known Monument by Estonian Sculptor Amandus Adamson

Monuments created by Estonian sculptor Amandus Adamson in the early 20th century in St Petersburg, Tallinn, Sevastopol and other places are dominant features of popular architectural ensembles in these cities. Adamson’s creative legacy – which includes a little-known large (more than two metre) sculpture of Peter I, the history of its creation and installation in 1916 and the statue’s subsequent fate – is explored in this article. Over the past century, the sculpture has disappeared and then been installed in a new location three times as a result of social cataclysms that occurred during this time. Each time the architectural community of the Ukrainian city of Poltava (where the sculpture is located) saved Adamson’s creatively successful work from destruction.