Monument to the Boatman

Another monument that recalls the history of the city is a monument in honor of the workers who provide backbreaking assistance to riverboats. After all, a century ago Rybinsk was the All-Russian capital of boatmen! It was through their labor that the bread grown in the southern regions of the Russian Empire was sent through Rybinsk to St. Petersburg and further for export abroad. The only monument in Russia, erected in 1977 by the sculptor L. Pisarevsky, depicts a strong man, a courageous hero of a difficult profession. A tired boatman, "zimogor" in Volga, sits on a large stone and looks thoughtfully at the Volga expanses. For him, the Volga River is both a breadwinner and endless work. It's hard to imagine now, but once upon a time these ordinary men, most of them peasants or tramps, literally pulled huge loaded barges on their shoulders! Their lives are depicted in books by writers and on canvases by many Russian artists, including Repin's famous painting "Boatmen on the Volga".