The place of Lermontov's duel, Obelisk on Mount Mashuk, Pyatigorsk, Russia
The place of Lermontov's duel is an 8.3-meter stone obelisk featuring a bronze portrait of the Russian poet on the northwestern slope of Mount Mashuk. Metal chains surround the structure within a natural mountain setting.
The duel between Mikhail Lermontov and Nikolai Martynov took place on 15 July 1841 on a meadow four versts from Pyatigorsk, near the road to the Nikolaevskaya colony. A temporary monument by architect I. I. Baykov was opened on 28 July 1901 and dismantled in 1907. The permanent obelisk, designed by sculptor Boris Mikeshin, was unveiled in October 1915.
The monument bears Lermontov's name and features classical design elements including griffins at its corners. These decorative details reflect the Russian tradition of honoring notable figures through crafted embellishments.
Visitors can reach the memorial by taking marked pathways through Mount Mashuk, starting from Tsvetnik Park in central Pyatigorsk. The ascent follows a mountain trail with varying grades throughout.
The concrete posts of the chain fence have rounded tips, and some visitors read them as stylised bullets; in Lermontov's day pistol bullets were actually spherical. The obelisk itself is cut from Kislovodsk dolomite, and a bronze bust shows the poet in the uniform of the Tenginsky infantry regiment.
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