The abandoned Steve Jobs monument previously erected in St. Petersburg, Russia is to be auctioned off, according to a new report.
The 6-foot-tall iPhone-looking slab was designed by local Russian sculptor Gleb Tarasov and named “Sunny QR Code.” It was assembled in the wake of Steve Jobs’ 2011 death, but removed earlier this year — reportedly as a result of Russia’s anti-gay laws after Tim Cook outed himself in an open letter.
The statue is being sold off by owners the Russian Holdings Company, with a starting price of 5 million rubles (around $95,000). Money from the sale will go to Russian tech developers.
Although some sources previously suggested the disassembling of the statue related to the device suffering a broken screen, the fact that the statue was removed rather than just being fixed suggests this is not the entire story. Adding weight to this theory is the fact that terms of the sale note that it cannot be reerected in Russia, and the buyer must export the statue to a location outside of Russia.
Following news of the auction, the Russian social network VKontakte has said it will consider building another Steve Jobs tribute for display in St. Petersburg. It tried to purchase the existing monument, although its offer was declined.
For anyone reading this with a spare $95,000 to spend on a Steve Jobs sculpture, you can do so here. Despite still being a bit rich for my blood, it’s certainly better than some of the Steve Jobs statues we’ve seen.
