Nil Stolobensky

Nil Stolobensky (Russian: Нил Столобенский) is a carved and painted wooden sculpture of the eponymous saint, currently housed in the Museum "Legacy of Saint Nil". It is believed to have been created in the 1770s–1780s. The sculptural image of the venerable saint was crafted for the Pokrovsky Church of John the Baptist in the Nilov Monastery, located on Stolobny Island and partially on the Svetlitsa peninsula, 10 km north of the city of Ostashkov, on Lake Seliger. The sculpture is made of wood using carving and tempera painting techniques, with gesso and linseed oil applied.

Tamara Barseghyan, head of the scientific-methodological and pedagogical work sector at the Andrey Rublev Museum of Ancient Russian Culture and Art, Doctor of Art History, suggested that the sculpture's author could be Kondraty Semyonovich Konyagin, a decorator who worked on the embellishment of churches in Ostashkov, Nilov Monastery, and Valaam Monastery. Philosopher Pavel Ivanov posited that the statue of Saint Nil Stolobensky's creation was influenced by local landowner Ivan Chelishchev, an erudite man fluent in foreign languages, who served in Saint Petersburg and was a great enthusiast of theater and theatrical effects. Following a restoration in 2012, the sculpture is displayed in the Museum "Legacy of Saint Nil" at the Nilov Monastery. This museum holds the world's largest collection of images of the saint, with the allegedly miraculous sculpture occupying a central place in the exhibition.