The
Chesme Column is a
victory column in the
Catherine Park at the
Catherine Palace, a former Russian royal residence in
Tsarskoye Selo, a suburb of
Saint Petersburg. It was erected to commemorate three Russian naval victories in the 1768–1774
Russo-Turkish War, including the
Battle of Chesma in 1770. The column is made from three pieces of white-and-pink marble; decorated with the
rostra of three ships' bows, and crowned by a triumphal bronze statue depicting a Russian eagle trampling a crescent moon, the symbol of Turkey. Bronze plaques on three sides of the pedestal depict scenes from the battles, and the campaign is described on the plaque on the fourth side.
Photograph credit: Andrew Shiva