Fedorovsky Embankment, Upper Oka Embankment — an embankment in Nizhny Novgorod running along the Otkos in Nizhegorodsky District, between the undeveloped areas of Dyatlov Hills and the Kremlin.
History
There was no proper embankment here until Nicholas I's memorable visit to Nizhny Novgorod in 1834. Incensed by the residents' and officials' barbaric treatment of the city, the emperor personally drew up 88 points for its redesign. One of them called for the construction of descents and embankments in Nizhny Novgorod.
Following a design by architects I. E. Yefimov and P. D. Gotman, the upper Oka embankment — known in some sources as the Upper Oka Embankment — was laid out on the site in question. The local historian N. Khramtsovsky described the spot in the mid-nineteenth century as follows: "To the right of the Church of the Nativity begins the Uspensky Embankment, which the new plan proposes to extend by means of bridges built on arches across the Uspensky and Sergiyevsky ravines to Gremyachaya Gora, or as far as the Pokhvalinsky Descent."
This was never carried out. Only in the 1960s did construction begin here — a hotel, a bridge over the ravine, and residential buildings. Among them were the very high-rises that are today recognized as a town-planning mistake, since they distort the city's appearance as seen from the river. The embankment itself was named after Nikolay Mikhailovich Fedorovsky, Doctor of Geological and Mineralogical Sciences.
"The Monument to the Seated Gorky"
The monument to Gorky that stands today on the square named after him was originally conceived by its creator, Vera Mukhina, to be erected on what is now Fedorovsky Embankment. As it happened, however, the Oka slope is today graced by an entirely different sculpture of Gorky.
Its author is Honored Artist of Russia I. P. Shmagun. Before settling permanently on Fedorovsky Embankment in 1973, the sculpture had to do a bit of "traveling."
In 1957, the work was shown at an art exhibition in Moscow. Someone from the regional leadership of Gorky (as the city was then called) noticed it and had it transported to Zelenyy Town, to the Teachers' House. In 1972 it was decided to install the Gorky monument on Fedorovsky Embankment. A year later, the cast-iron, life-size figure of the seated writer leaning on a cane became one of the embankment's landmarks. Gorky is expressive yet serene, his gaze directed toward the distant Trans-Volga horizons.
Following the design of architects B. Nelyubin and S. Timofeyev, the lower terrace of the slope was divided into squares for planting flowers. To the right of the flower bed below stands a granite stele in the form of an open book bearing the writer's words:
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"My joy and pride is the new Russian person, the builder of a new state. Comrade, know and believe that you are the most essential person on earth. In doing your small deed, you have begun to create a truly new world." M. Gorky
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An exact replica of this Gorky sculpture, crafted in wrought copper, has been installed in Magdeburg. This gift was presented by Nizhny Novgorod residents to their European twin city.