A russian friend told me about this interesting monument from her hometown "Yoschkar-Ola" (the Capital of the Mari El republic).
So who is Yoskin the cat and what is the monument about?
“Yoshkin cat monument” is a sculptural composition that was erected in June 2011 in the center of Yoshkar-Ola. It was made of bronze by the sculptors Sergey Iandubaev, Anatoliy Shirnin and Aleksey Shirnev. The weight of the monument is about 150 kg.
“Yoshkin kot” is a symbol of the modern Yoshkar-Ola. Its a good tradition for local residents and visitors of the city to take a photo next to it and rub the cat's bronze nose for good luck. In addition, local students scratch his nose before each exam for good marks.
So it can be said that Yoshkin lives a good life. He has always some fish to eat, some newspaper to get out of the rain and much attention among local students and visitors.
Next to the animal is a newspaper "Golaya Pravda" - “Unvarnished truth”and a fish skeleton. The letter "ё" ("yo") in the name of the monument symbolizes the first letter of the name of the capital of the Republic of Mari El.
On the Arkhangelskaya Sloboda street is the girlfriend of the Yoshkin kot. Not so far from the Square of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Background to Yoshkin
According to Slavic mythology, Yoshkin Kot is a cannibal with a magical voice. With his voice he mesmerizes wanderers and then eats them.
His mother is Mother Raw Earth (Mokosh - the supreme Slavic goddess, one of seven primordial gods in Slavic mythology). Thats why the cat can move above and below the ground. He carries and kills travelers in the underground. But the cat is afraid of open plazas.
Once the cat was invited to visit Baba Yaga. Baba Yaga is a supernatural being from slavic folklore who is a deformed / cruel-looking old woman with drooping breasts, a long nose, and sharp iron teeth. Baba Yaga told Yoshkin that she wants to show him her cellar. There she fed him human remains. Since then he often visits her for some treat.
Yoshkin the cat also appears in russian folklore as "Bayun the cat". Here its been said that Bayun can either make people calm and fall asleep or rob and eat them. This behaviour is supposed to represent the good and evil inside us. If Bayun would choose to help somebody he can also cure illness with his voice. Though many soldier tried to capture Bayung none of them had success. The only way to be safe is to way an iron helmet. The helmet helps to block out Bayuns cat chimes.
Finding this folklore really interesting i decided to write my own little story/poem about Yoshkin the cat. I set the focus of my poem to Yoshkin sitting on the bench and what he might thinks of us humans passing by his spot. Thats why i decided to write the poem from Yoshkins point of view. I hope you enjoy my little poem.
Yoshkins Thoughts
I'm sitting here smiling,
the sun from above keeps shining.
Come and sit next to me and lets have a word,
I will be there for you - you wont be unheard.
I see day and night pass by and look at life with a mischievous smile,
I have wonderful stories to tell why dont you stay for while?
I watch all your lifes as you pass my spot,
some tell me nothing - some say a lot.
I listen to everything no matter what you have to say,
you can come here any time I never go away.
Dont rush through life all the time with no rest,
takes us cats, we never are too stressed.
Look in my eyes and dive deep into another universe,
lets travel through different galaxies with every verse.
Life is beautiful and so are you,
no matter what we are going through.
You see the moon and sun reflecting in my eyes,
A lot of wisdom is hidden in disguise.
Even if we can find answers to all our questions,
I'm there to give you suggestions.
It is nice meeting you i'm Yoshkin the cat,
please dont forget,
I'm always there to have a chat.
If you want to know more about Yoshkin here are the sources:
https://chemodan-tour.ru/obzor/skulptura-joshkin-kot/
https://byvali.ru/russia/yoshkar-ola/dostoprimechatelnosti/yoshkin-kot
https://lemiki.ru/kto-takoj-eshkin-kot/
https://theculturetrip.com/europe/russia/articles/10-of-russias-most-badass-cats/