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Reconstruction of the flagstaff of the Winter Palace On 9 June 2006 the flagstaff of the Winter Palace was formally inaugurated after restoration work. The original "mast for a standard" was wooden. In 1885, at the suggestion of the St Petersburg Metal Works, a new flagstaff was produced from conical tubes of boiler-plate (a special sort of thick sheet iron) riveted together. This flagstaff, assembled in the same way as a ship's mast, existed until the present day. With time, however, the riveted seams had been destroyed by corrosion. The reserve pulley blocks at the top and bottom through which the rope runs when the flag is being hoisted were also damaged. Specialists from the Betakom company carried out defectoscopy and X-ray studies in the laboratory of the Bolshevik works. It emerged that of the flagstaff's nine sections only two did not have concealed defects. Examination of the structure that holds the flagstaff in a vertical position revealed traces of later repairs (late 19th - early 20th century). Work on the reconstruction of the flagstaff began in autumn 2005. Repairs were carried out to the supporting structure and pulley blocks. Some sections of the flagstaff were replaced with new ones made from stainless steel. The general contractor for the reconstruction was the Betakom company; the restoration of the staff was carried out by the Karkas Plus firm. All the work took place under the supervision of the State Hermitage's chief mechanic O.V. Tolpygin. |
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