Day and night, the learned cat... sits on Gelendzhik's picturesque embankment. The bronze cat settled beneath a sprawling old oak by the sea in 2008. Despite its young age for a monument, this sculpture has already become one of the most beloved and well-known in the city.
Perhaps this was helped by the fact that even Dmitry Medvedev was so impressed by the cat that he had his photo taken with it during a visit to Gelendzhik. Today, thousands of tourists bring home photographs with the charming cat from Lukomorye and warm memories of it.
The cat really does look like a scholar: it has lush sideburns, wears a robe with an 18th-century-style shirtfront, and reads a weighty folio. Judging by the look of it, it is reading some extremely important and instructive things aloud from the book, since its other paw is raised in a truly professorial gesture calling the audience to attention.
This very paw raised to the sky has been polished to a golden shine, because according to local tradition all schoolchildren and students run to the learned cat for help in passing important exams. If you give the cat's paw a good rub, you're sure to pass. It's such a convenient and charming tradition; much better than calling grades into your record book through the window at night or carrying a five-kopeck coin under your heel.
A little tip from seasoned visitors: if you want your photos with the cat to turn out well, pose with it early in the morning or at sunset.
