Aleksandr Pushkin Statue - Washington, DC, USA
N 38° 53.983 W 077° 02.914
18S E 322352 N 4307642
A statue of Russian poet Aleksandr Pushkin is located at the George Washington University in Washington, DC, USA. It was a gift from the City of Moscow, Russia, to the City of Washington, DC, USA.
Waymark Code: WMC1TD
Location: District of Columbia, United States
Date Posted: 07/15/2011
Views: 4
"In 1998, James W. Symington, Chairman of the American-Russian Cultural Cooperation Foundation, proposed the idea of erecting a monument to Pushkin in honor of the poet’s 200th birthday. Symington has a distinguished record of public service which includes serving as a Member of Congress from Missouri (1969 to 1977), working as an administrative assistant to Robert Kennedy in the Justice Department and serving as Chief of Protocol during the Johnson Administration. He obtained support for the Pushkin project from the Governor of the Russian region where Pushkin was born, from former Russian Ambassador to the U.S. Vladimir Lukin, current Russian Ambassador Ushakov, the Russian Academy of Arts, sculptor Alexander Bourganov, GW President Stephen Trachtenberg, and Stephen Strickland, Chairman of the National Peace Foundation, who has served as Director of the project.
"Symington’s idea became reality when an agreement was reached for Symington and the Foundation to locate a site in Washington for the monument and to provide the pedestal, while Bourganov would create the statue and the Moscow City Government would present it as a gift to the City and people of Washington. The issue of finding an appropriate site was resolved when The George Washington University President Trachtenberg, whose parents are from the Odessa region of Russia, offered to dedicate university-owned property at the corner of 22nd and H Streets as a permanent home for Pushkin. On Pushkin’s 200th birthday, June 6, 1999, Symington and Trachtenberg, along with DC Mayor Anthony Williams, hosted a formal groundbreaking at 22nd and H Streets and declared the day “Alexander Pushkin Day” in Washington, DC. President Clinton sent a message of congratulation that was read at the ceremony."
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