A 16-year-old cat Osya, named after Brodsky and who lived in the Anna Akhmatova Museum almost all his life, died in St. Petersburg. The museum announced this on social media.
Photo: Maksim Danilov/Twitter
“Axis the cat, our talisman and guardian, is gone. For more than a decade and a half, he lived in the Fountain House,
met guests, took strokes, walked around the garden and for many became a symbol of the museum. The Axis had a long and good life. Thanks to everyone who took part in his fate,” the message reads.
Last autumn, Osya disappeared – according to the video surveillance camera, he was taken by an unknown girl. Museum staff put up ads and organized a public company in social networks and the media. Four days later, Osya returned to the museum.
In 2018″ New in St. Petersburg” told about the cats-inhabitants of the Akhmatova Museum. Osya, as well as Red or Ryzhik, appeared there around 2008 and became the first cat «mascot» of the institution. According to the museum staff, he had a very calm and accommodating character: the cat even allowed himself to be stroked. Osyu was also considered the most popular of the three cats living in the museum — he was most often photographed.
“Usual scene: Red is stretched out on a red ottoman near the wardrobe and receives strokes. In ten minutes five people can touch him, and he won't even open his eyes. They say that visitors even approached the employees with the words: “Oh, your cat died there.” Those who came simply did not know that Ryzhiy did not react to anything, because he was sure that he would not be offended here, ”said Alexander Leonov, museum security guard.