Senate Square is a square in St. Petersburg where the Decembrist Revolt took place in 1825. In the square is the Bronze Horseman monument depicting Peter the Great on a mighty steed. Years after the Decembrist Revolution, Alexander Pushkin wrote about the Bronze Horseman. Many speculate to the point of a consensus that this poem is in fact about the Decembrist Revolt. Throughout the poem are classist undertones as well as an overarching theme of disapproval with authority. In the poem we are introduced to a man named Evgeny who desires a better life, more money, maybe even a family. The river Neva, adjacent to St. Petersburg, then overflows and floods the city. After the flood Evgeny wanders into Senate Square in front of the statue where he scolds Peter the Great for even finding the city in the first place. As he turns around he then begins to run as he feels the statue chases him. This poem is rich in symbolism that points itself toward the very ideals that inspired the Decembrists to revolt in the square. The tsar is represented by a mighty monument and the common folk is represented by an unhappy man. There are themes of suppression where one cannot even criticize a statue of a Tsar without consequences. The fact that the Decembrist Revolt took place here where there are such strong symbols, leads one to believe this location was very much chosen intentionally.

References:

1. Belousov M. S. Political Allusions in the Decembrist Revolt. Vestnik of Saint Petersburg University. History, 2018, vol. 63, issue 2, pp. 345–360. https://doi.org/10.21638/11701/spbu02.2018.202

2. Pushkin, Alexander. "The Bronze Horseman" 1833. https://www.poetryloverspage.com/poets/pushkin/bronze_horseman.html. Accessed 11 October 2020