The HSE Crow: Mascot Now Lives on Myasnitskaya Lamppost
A weather vane in the shape of a big-beaked bird has appeared near the HSE building on Myasnitskaya Street in Moscow. The Crow’s ceremonial unveiling coincided with the 85th birthday of HSE Academic Supervisor Evgeny Yasin, who initiated it as our university’s mascot.
The idea of installing the Crow on a lamppost received the support of Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin at a meeting with HSE students and staff during his walk around the city’s reconstructed historical streets.
To look at the long-expected Crow, a small crowd gathered near the HSE building, including Academic Supervisor Evgeny Yasin, Rector Yaroslav Kuzminov, Vice Rector Valeria Kasamara, and the Acting Head of Moscow Basmanny District Municipality Elena Ezhova, as well as HSE students, teachers and staff.
The Crow’s history dates back to 1996, when artist Anna Arenshtein, who is also the creator of the weather vane design, sketched the picture ‘Faculty Meeting,’ featuring HSE’s patriarchs as wise birds. In fact, they were not so much crows yet, but some other certain ornithological species. The picture found a home in Prof. Yasin’s office, and, according to the legend, the Academic Supervisor referred to these birds the ‘crows’.
Today, the Crow is featured on HSE’s merchandise and is an honorary guest at key university events. Moreover, winners of the annual Golden HSE award receive a special figurine of the mascot.
‘When HSE University was founded, many young architects and sculptors started creating different figures. And the Crow was one of them,’ Prof. Yasin said, adding: ‘We decided that it would be a very good mascot for HSE’.
According to Prof. Yasin, the Crow is both a wise and mischievous bird. It has good manners, lives with a flock, helps its peers, and has serious intellectual capabilities. At the same time, the Crow can be very straightforward and is quick to remind us humans how to behave in today’s society.
I would like to congratulate my peers on the creation of this Crow. It is my wish that it will be useful for our country and help foster the qualities I mentioned: wisdom and audacity
The weather vane was funded by Sergey Pavlovsky, a 2003 alumnus of the HSE Faculty of Economics. Students of the Moscow campus also expect to see some new traditions with this weather vane: the Crow will help you get high grades if you grab its beak or rub its leg for luck!