A piece of a sword belonging to the statue of Russian military commander Mikhail Kutuzov was found in the apartment of a 24-year-old man in the Leningrad region town of Vsevolzhsk, who has confessed to damaging the monument, the TASS news agency reported Tuesday.
The statue of Kutuzov, which stands in front of the Kazansky Cathedral in St. Petersburg, was relieved of part of its sword while the man “was trying to take an impressive picture of himself,” a spokesman for the regional branch of the Interior Ministry told TASS.
The monument’s restoration will be complex and will require several stages of work, according to employees at the State Museum of Urban Sculpture.
The unfortunate photographer is accused of damaging an object of cultural heritage, and, if found guilty, may face fine of up to 5 million rubles ($77,000) or a sentence of up to six years in prison, according to the Russian Criminal Code.
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