How the peasant Telushkin surprised the whole Petersburg by bringing back to life an angel on the spire of Peter and Paul

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

In 1837, the artist Grigory Chernetsov completed the commission of Nicholas I - a large-scale canvas depicting a parade that took place on Tsaritsyno Meadow in St. Petersburg in October 1831. The emperor's desire was dictated by the desire not only to perpetuate the fateful event in the history of Russia - the suppression of the Polish uprising of 1830-1831, but also to portray prominent personalities of the era. It is noteworthy that in the list of three hundred celebrities approved by the Tsar personally, there was a native of the peasant class - Pyotr Telushkin.

Where was Pyotr Telushkin born and what he did

In 1829, the public of St. Petersburg was concerned about the emergency condition of the spire of the tallest building in the northern capital - the Peter and Paul Cathedral. The swept squall damaged its pommel - a cross with a weather vane in the shape of an angel, who was considered the patron saint of the city. It seemed to Petersburgers that a few more gusts of wind - and the city would lose God's blessing. Contractors ready to take on the repair were found, but the cost of the 122-meter scaffolding was simply astronomical. In addition, according to preliminary calculations, the work could take years. Time passed, the solution was still not found, and the angel continued to sway sadly with a wing torn off by the wind. At this moment, Providence sent to the city on the Neva a native of the Yaroslavl province, the state peasant Peter Telushkin, who arrived in St. Petersburg with the aim of collecting money for the ransom of the serfs of his beloved girl.

A short, cleanly dressed young man who appeared at the office of the palace department introduced himself as a roofing master. He told about himself that he is 23 years old, he himself is from the village of Myagra, Mologsky district, he lives by repairing the domes of churches and bell towers and has extensive experience in high-rise work. He also added that a single, non-drinking person can easily lift a weight of 13 pounds and undertake to fix the damage on the spire of the Peter and Paul Cathedral.

Bet on life, or how the peasant was going to repair the angel on the spire of Peter and Paul

The first question that was asked to Telushkin was how much money he would require for the construction of the scaffolding. The answer was stunned - no scaffolding would be required at all: Peter repeatedly climbed the church domes, securing himself only with a rope. And for the work, he agrees to take any offered amount.

Some suspected that the roofer was cheating in an attempt to extort money. There were also those who doubted Peter's mental health and offered to hide him for a year or two away from people. And yet it was decided to let Telushkin to the repair work. According to the laws of the time, when receiving an order, construction contractors had to pay a certain deposit. Pyotr Telushkin did not have that kind of money. As the newspaper Sankt-Peterburgskie vedomosti put it, the life of a brave man became the guarantee of the accomplishment of the deed.

Risk is a noble cause, or how much time and effort it took Telushkin to repair the spire of the Peter and Paul Cathedral

The ascent of Peter Telushkin to the heights of glory lasted three days. Early in the morning he began to climb the rafters inside the building. Difficulties began when Peter reached the spitz - the needle-shaped end of the tower. As the space narrowed, it became more and more difficult to move upward. Squeezing between the beams like a snake, the roofer got to the hatch-window in the lining of the spitz. The crowd watching the actions of the daredevil gasped when they saw how he got out and hung at a deadly height, holding only on his fingers.

The spitz of the cathedral was lined with copper sheets, connected by seams protruding 9 centimeters from the surface and spaced apart by the width of the arms span. Holding on to these protrusions with his fingers, Telushkin, girded with a rope, began to bend around the structure in a spiral. His path was marked by blood oozing from under his nails. Finally, he walked around the entire Spitz, fixed the rope on it and returned along it to the window.

The whole next day was devoted to improving the conditions of ascent and descent. The day before, Peter discovered metal hooks sharpening from the casing. I made long rope loops and began to tie them to hooks to use as a kind of stirrups for the feet. On the third day, the decisive moment came - the storming of the ball crowning the spitz cathedral, the so-called apple. Performing this task was akin to a risky acrobatic stunt under a circus dome. At the height of a bird's flight, it was necessary to break away from the spire in order to be able to swing and throw a rope onto the base of the cross. For this, the fearless steeplejack tied himself with a rope around the waist and ankles, after which he pumped out of the spitz, hung in a horizontal position under the "apple" and began to throw up a previously prepared skein of rope until it wrapped around the angel's legs. Exhausted to the limit, the exhausted roofer, with an effort of will, made the last dash and embraced the gilded angel …

For a month and a half, day after day, Peter climbed up the rope ladder tied to the base of the weather vane. During this time, he strengthened the rickety cross, repaired the figure of the angel and secured the torn sheathing sheets.

A disastrous gift, or how the further fate of Pyotr Telushkin developed

When the difficult and full of dangers task was completed, Nicholas I wished to meet with the brave steepler. The Emperor warmly received Telushkin and was very cheerful when, when asked how to check the work of the master, he received an offer from him to send one of his ministers to the top. The Tsar awarded Peter five thousand rubles and a medal "For diligence". There is a version that Telushkin was also awarded a certificate, upon presentation of which the owner of any inn was supposed to pour him alcohol free of charge. Peter allegedly lost this document, after which he asked to put a corresponding stigma under his cheekbone, which he famously clicked on, demanding a drink (hence the gesture meaning a desire to drink).

The story of Telushkin's feat was published by the magazine "Son of the Fatherland", after which the village guy received the nickname "heavenly roofer" and became one of the capital's celebrities, began to receive many orders and live well. Unfortunately, the news of this reached the owner of his beloved Peter, and he broke the sum for the girl's ransom, which was too much even for a rich master. Out of grief, Telushkin began to abuse the granted privilege of free drinks, and less than a year later, the first Russian industrial climber died of unrestrained drunkenness.

There was also another outstanding peasant, with whom even the great dukes considered it an honor to dine.