Restoration of Sobinov Monument in Yaroslavl Suspended
Restoration work on the monument to the famous opera singer Leonid Sobinov in Yaroslavl has been temporarily halted. This information came from the contractor company «Yardormost».
«Work on the monument was suspended by joint decision with the customer to develop a detailed technological process together with expert restorers. After the repair technology is agreed upon, the work will be completed in full,» the contractor commented on January 21.
The monument, located on Maximova Street in the center of Yaroslavl near the philharmonic, lost its protective coating back in September of last year.
Leonid Sobinov, born in Yaroslavl on May 26 (June 7), 1872, is considered an outstanding representative of the Russian classical vocal school. He held the titles of Honored Artist of the Imperial Theaters and People«s Artist of the RSFSR.
The sculpture was installed in January 2008 on Maximova Street near the philharmonic. Its author is Elena Paskhina.
In September 2025, when work began on the improvement of Maximova Street and the creation of a pedestrian zone, the anti-corrosion coating was removed from the monument.
«In the process of cleaning the monument, which was provided for in the design and estimate documentation, our employees made a mistake,» they commented at «Yardormost» at the time.
In December 2025, information appeared about plans to move the sculpture to a specialized site for restoration. However, the process dragged on due to the need to obtain at least three commercial proposals from potential contractors. Interestingly, among those wishing to perform the restoration was the monument«s creator herself, Elena Paskhina.
The idea of creating a pedestrian zone in the center of Yaroslavl was proposed by Governor Mikhail Yevrayev in 2022. Initially, it was about three streets: Deputatskaya, Nakhimsona, and Andropova. Later, in the autumn of 2023, an expansion of the territory was considered.
Practical implementation of the project started in 2025. First, Maximova Street was improved, and then the work spread to Deputatskaya Street. The total cost of the work is estimated at approximately 450 million rubles (about $4.5 million at current rates). Previously, sketches of the planned transformations were published.
