/ 11 July 2008

All hands on breast in Russian town

A Russian town plans to unveil a monument that shows a man's hand gripping a nubile female breast.

A Russian town plans to unveil a monument that shows a man’s hand gripping a nubile female breast, which officials say will bring “family happiness” to men who touch it, Russian media reported.

The monument will be opened to the public on Saturday in Bataisk, a town of about 100 000 in the Rostov region of southern Russia, a spokesperson for the Bataisk administration told the Interfax news agency.

“A bas-relief of a female silhouette has been made on a metal plate, with a man’s hand on the breast. It is believed that if a man touches this bust, he will gain family happiness,” the spokesperson said.

Sculptor Anatoly Sknarin was inspired by a similar sculpture he saw in the red-light district of Amsterdam, the Moskovsky Komsomolets daily newspaper reported. — AFP