Why is Chelyabinsk full of camels?

by Katherine on September 10, 2019 with No Comments

Famous camel sculpture on Kirovka Street.

I just finished reading an interesting article called A bear splitting an atom? A camel? The weird world of Russian coats of arms. Out of the five cities featured in that article, Chelyabinsk has perhaps the most straightforward symbol, left over from the city’s earliest trading days…

…but I still love it. Why do I love camels so much?? I even have this photo as my backdrop most of the time. And as silly as it is, Chelyabinsk’s obsession with camels is definitely a reason why we moved there. It seemed like a sign from the universe. 😉

Behold Chelyabinsk, city of camels:

One of my goals is to see this guy up close. So far I’ve only seen him through car windows.

The coat of arms + 1736, the year the city was founded. Chelyabinsk just celebrated its 283th “City Day” last week with a performance by Timati.

But my favorite camel so far (well, expect for this real one) is called Памятник символу города, Monument to the City Symbol.

His bronze hide is tattooed with other symbols of the city: tanks, tools, and trains.

Not everyone is so impressed, though. One Google reviewer wrote: Верблюд как верблюд. Если руки откуда надо растут то можно смастерить такой “памятник” даже в гараже. 🤣 Well, I still like this camel.