Message

To celebrate Father's 100th birthday the City Council of Moscow presented to the city of Montreux a statue of VN, sculpted by the Rukavishnikovs, a father and son who believe they are distantly related to my grandmother's family. The face and figure are very good, considering that they were done from photographs taken at various times. On the other hand, the waistcoat and plus fours were not a typical costume of Nabokov's. I saw them when the statue was already cast and it was too late to make changes. After a gala ceremony at which Moscow and Montreux dignitaries and I spoke, the statue was placed temporarily inside the main (lake) entrance of the Montreux Palace. Now, an underground garage, facing the hotel between the Grand Rue and the lakeside promenade, has been completed, and topped by a small park. It is there that the statue found its permanent home. A letter of presentation from Mayor Luzhkov is on display in the hotel's Bridge Salon.

I thought that my friends at Nabokv-L might like to see this photograph, I believe the first one to be published. It appeared in the May, 2003, issue of the magazine Atmosfera together with other Nabokov-and-Montreux-related materials.