Maxim Gorky is everything to us; it’s not for nothing that the city bore his name for almost 60 years. In the center of the square there is a monument to Maxim Gorky by Vera Mukhina, a famous Soviet sculptor, who also made the famous Worker and Kolkhoz Woman sculpture in Moscow. Interestingly, she was against putting the monument to Maxim Gorky in this location; you can see the writer’s hair and cloak flying, because the original intention had been for the sculpture to be placed on Grebeshkovsky Slope or Fedorovskogo Embankment or even at the top of the Chkalov Stairs.

Take note of the local flora: there are cork trees, tigernut trees, and pedunculate oak trees, making the square a recognized cultural heritage site of regional importance. After the renovation, the place was decorated with luminous openwork designs bearing Maxim Gorky’s quote as well as his cyclopean autograph. Make sure to have your photo taken next to his famous quote: 'Человек — это звучит гордо! ’ (Man — how proud that sounds!).