The making of Emperor Putin Behind the scenes of one of Russia’s most unusual monuments

A few weeks ago, a town not far outside St. Petersburg became the site of one of the most curious monuments in Russia’s modern history: a statue dedicated to Vladimir Putin, depicting Russia’s sitting president as a Roman emperor. The bust was reportedly commissioned by the head of a local Cossack society, and installed on his private property as a “symbol of our Russian democracy.”

As Meduza later learned, the bust was actually based on a diptych by sculptor Pavel Greshnikov, who envisioned a stand-off between Russia and the United States, represented by portraits of their respective leaders, Vladimir Putin and Barack Obama. Greshnikov’s depiction of Vladimir Putin appealed to the local cossacks, who later had the bust constructed not in bronze, as they planned initially, but of “less valuable metals.”

Photographer Sergey Petrov was present at the making of now-famous statue in Pavel Greshnikov’s workshop. He was also on hand to photograph some of the finishing touches added after the bust was erected.