Although this monument has many detractors, as much for how it looks as for who it honours, it certainly makes its presence felt. Set down upon the water, this gigantic work is 96m tall and depicts the great tsar scanning the horizon from the deck of a caravel. It was made by Zurab Tsereteli, and the work to be seen today in Moscow was initially envisaged as a tribute to Christopher Columbus for the city of Miami! He is also the artist behind the monument to Pope John Paul II (7m high) in Ploërmel.