The Learned Cat

The idea to erect a monument to the scientist cat based on the poem by Alexander Pushkin "Ruslan and Lyudmila" belongs to Oleg Golubentsev, the manager of the Orenburg branch of Sberbank of Russia. For some time, the bank occupied a building with an old oak tree, whose scientifically established age is about 250 years old. Accordingly, this tree caught the arrival of A.S. Pushkin in Orenburg, and given its central location and the practical absence of trees within the fortress at that time, the poet could not help but see it.

Lukomorye has a green oak.;
The golden chain on the Tom oak:
Both day and night, the cat is a scientist
Everything goes around in a circle...

Initially, the scientific cat was planted on a granite pedestal under an oak tree. He was wearing glasses and was reading a book open in front of him containing the first lines of this poem. However, shortly after the monument was unveiled, the cat's glasses were stolen. And some time later, Sberbank, by the way, invited professionals to care for the tree, surrounded the oak with a "golden chain", complementing the image of the cat according to the poem. The fact that this monument is loved by both residents and visitors of the city is evidenced by the brilliantly polished nose of the cat.

Text and photo from the book "In memoriam… Monuments of Orenburg" / I.V. Khramov. Orenburg: Orenburg Book Publishing House named after G.P. Donkovtsev, 2023