The Kokushkin Bridge () is a bridge across the

Griboedov Canal The Griboyedov Canal or Kanal Griboyedova () is a canal in Saint Petersburg, constructed in 1739 along the existing ''Krivusha'' river. In 1764–90, the canal was deepened and the banks were reinforced and covered with granite. The Griboyedov ...

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

History

The bridge got its name from the merchant Vasily Kokushkin, whose house was located at the corner of Kokushkin Alley and Garden Street. From 1786 to 1796, the name was spelled ''Kokushkinov Bridge'' and from 1801 to 1853 the bridge was mistakenly called ''Kukushkin Bridge'' (meaning ''Cuckoo Bridge'' in Russian). Until 1872, the official name of the bridge could be written both as Kokushkin and as Kakushkin. The first wooden bridge at that location was built in 1790. It underwent major restoration in 1872, when, the span of the bridge was replaced with an exact replica, so the bridge preserved the same appearance. In 1946, the bridge was replaced with a new one, by engineer B.B.Levin and architect L.A.Noskov. The old supports were completely dismantled, and the new ones were set in their place. The wooden span was replaced with a steel one consisting of eight welded beams. New cast iron railings were installed on the bridge. The

abutment An abutment is the substructure at the ends of a bridge span or dam supporting its superstructure. Single-span bridges have abutments at each end that provide vertical and lateral support for the span, as well as acting as retaining walls ...

s of the railings resemble these on the canal's embankment.

The bridge in literature

While the bridge is not the most famous or picturesque, it is connected with some of the most prominent authors in Russian literature. In 1829,

Alexander Pushkin Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin () was a Russian poet, playwright, and novelist of the Romantic era.Basker, Michael. Pushkin and Romanticism. In Ferber, Michael, ed., ''A Companion to European Romanticism''. Oxford: Blackwell, 2005. He is consid ...

mentioned Kokushkin bridge in a famous

epigram An epigram is a brief, interesting, memorable, sometimes surprising or satirical statement. The word derives from the Greek (, "inscription", from [], "to write on, to inscribe"). This literary device has been practiced for over two millennia ...

. For the first edition of ''Eugene Onegin'', the poet commissioned an illustration depicting himself and Onegin walking together along the quay. Upon receiving the illustration, which represented him leaning on a parapet with his back turned towards the

Peter and Paul Fortress The Peter and Paul Fortress () is the original citadel of Saint Petersburg, Russia, founded by Peter the Great in 1703 and built to Domenico Trezzini's designs from 1706 to 1740 as a star fortress. Between the first half of the 1700s and early ...

, he was exceedingly displeased with the result (which had little in common with his own preliminary sketch, illustrated to the right) and scribbled the following epigram underneath:

Fyodor Dostoevsky Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky. () was a Russian novelist, short story writer, essayist and journalist. He is regarded as one of the greatest novelists in both Russian and world literature, and many of his works are considered highly influent ...

's ''

Crime and Punishment ''Crime and Punishment'' is a novel by the Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky. It was first published in the literary journal '' The Russian Messenger'' in twelve monthly installments during 1866.

'' starts with a mention of the bridge: ''K. bridge'' here means Kokushkin bridge. In

Mikhail Lermontov Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov ( , ; rus, Михаи́л Ю́рьевич Ле́рмонтов, , mʲɪxɐˈil ˈjʉrʲjɪvʲɪtɕ ˈlʲerməntəf, links=yes; – ) was a Russian Romanticism, Romantic writer, poet and painter, sometimes called ...

's unfinished novel ''Shtoss'', the main character, the artist Lugin, looks for ''Shtoss House'' near Kokushkin Bridge. It is conceivable that Lermontov took the actual ''Zverkov House'' as the prototype of Shtoss House. Zverkov House was a famous apartment house near Kokushkin Bridge. In 1829, the then young and unknown

Nikolai Gogol Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol; ; (; () was a Russian novelist, short story writer, and playwright of Ukrainian origin. Gogol used the Grotesque#In literature, grotesque in his writings, for example, in his works "The Nose (Gogol short story), ...

rented a room in that house, where he wrote ''

Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka ''Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka'' () is a collection of short stories by Nikolai Gogol, written in 1829–1832. They appeared in various magazines and were published in book form when Gogol was twenty-two. The collection's frame story takes pl ...

'', as commemorated by a plaque on the house. Gogol liked to place the characters in his writings in real locations that he had visited. In " Diary of a Madman", Gogol sends Poprishchin over the Kokushkin Bridge to the Zverkov House.

References

{{coord, 59.9258444544, N, 30.3135944544, E, source:ruwiki_region:RU_type:landmark, format=dms, display=title Bridges in Saint Petersburg Bridges completed in 1790 Bridges completed in 1946 1790 establishments in the Russian Empire Bridges completed in 1872