In terms of the number of monuments erected, few historical figures can compare with the personality of the Tsar of Russia Peter I. One of the most interesting compositional solutions can safely be called the sculpture “King Carpenter”. This is not a huge monument, but rather a small statue on the Admiralteyskaya embankment in St. Petersburg.

The statue shows the Great Tsar in his youth, in those years when he still comprehended all known and unknown sciences, in order to subsequently make Russia the greatest power in the world.

The composition represents the figure of Peter, bending over the stern of a small boat, and hewing wooden details for further construction. It is impossible not to notice a certain disproportion in the composition, the body of the king looks disproportionately larger in relation to the boat, as if recalling what a giant growth this carpenter became famous for.

The sculpture of the tsar-carpenter was located on the embankment in the 90s, although Emperor Nicholas II was its original customer. In 1910, two monuments were opened on the Admiralteyskaya Embankment depicting Peter on a marine theme: “The Carpenter Tsar” and “Peter Saving the Drowning Fishermen”. A copy of the first one was donated to Holland, since the young ruler comprehended the intricacies of shipbuilding there.

The famous sculptor of that time, Leopold Adolfovich Bershtam, was the author of the sculptures on the embankment. But although the master was distinguished by fame, the same cannot be said about his recognition by the people. Things got even more aggravated after the Revolution, when the monuments that did not find a response in the hearts of the people were demolished because of their anti-artistic nature.

And already in the early 90s, a copy was made from the monument to Peter I, once donated to the Netherlands, and donated by the Dutch to Russia on the occasion of the celebration of the tercentenary of the Russian fleet