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Home » Lifestyle » Entertainment

Meet Sigismund, The Creepy Cat Mascot of the Russian Hermitage Museum

By Hannah Rex | December 10, 2021 | Leave a Comment
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Perhaps you’ve heard of Saint Petersburg’s State Hermitage Museum and the 50 or so cats that live underneath the floors. But, the king of them all is Sigismund the Puppet Cat.

Yes, aside from the Hermitage Museums’s robust art collection that spans decades and glitters with jewels that surely weren’t acquired using questionable methods during a Tsar’s reign, the real attraction is this terrifying orange tabby who haunts delights the museum’s halls and visitors.

Sigismund Puppet Cat of Russian Hermitage Museum
Photo Credit: Russian Hermitage Museum

What Is Sigismund the Hermitage Cat?

Sigismund the St. Petersburg Hermitage Museum cat is a puppet who represents the real cats that live below the museum. He “assists” the marketing and media team by talking about the many exhibits and special features of the museum and knocking over cups of tea.

With enormous green eyes that seem to be on the verge of popping out of his head, a serial killer smile, questionable proportions, and his ability to walk on two legs, Sigismund looks like he was created by someone who consulted the Medieval bestiaries instead of you know, looking in the basement.

Like all puppets, he’s propped up and controlled by strings that disappear into the space above, and he moves with swift jerks and sudden spasms.

And for better or worse, Sigismund doesn’t actually speak. We thought that as the museum’s cat mascot he might, but instead, he just emits a disturbing combination of grunting and meowing. Clearly, Gritty needs to take him under his orange wing.

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A post shared by Эрмиты. Петербургские домовые (@hermits_spb)

 

What Else Do We Know About Sigismund?

It’s hard to tell exactly how long our orange, bug-eyed, feline friend has been terrorizing, err…educating, visitors. He seemed to really hit his stride around March 2021 with not one, not two, but three video features in a row on Instagram.

Sigismund appears on the official Hermitage Museum Instagram account around 2019, but he may have been around even earlier. In full transparency, we stopped searching their account at that point, because man, does that social team work hard. Someone might want to tell them that they don’t need to feature every single piece of artwork on their page.

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A post shared by Эрмитаж / Hermitage Museum (@hermitage_museum)

Over the past year, this maniacal marionette has walked viewers through the theater, taken a deep dive into how Dutch artists portray winter, and has even stopped by the post office.

Does he enjoy these adventures? Does he ever get to hang out with his kind in the basement? There are so many questions left unanswered, including who makes that stylish bandana he sports.

Until we learn to speak Russian, we’ll be left to to wonder. For now, we’ll just be obsessively checking for more Sigismund Cat content. It may be creepy, but at least it makes us feel something.

Sigismund Puppet Cat of Russian Hermitage Museum - on swing
Photo Credit: Russian Hermitage Museum

Because You Didn’t Ask, Here’s More Photos of Sigismund, Our Favorite Creepy Cat Mascot Doing Cat Things

1. Uh, singing?

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A post shared by Эрмиты. Петербургские домовые (@hermits_spb)

2. Climbing on Furniture He Doesn’t Belong On

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A post shared by Эрмиты. Петербургские домовые (@hermits_spb)

 

3. Hiding Under Tables

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A post shared by Эрмиты. Петербургские домовые (@hermits_spb)

 

4. Thinking About Shredding a Priceless Work of Art

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A post shared by Эрмиты. Петербургские домовые (@hermits_spb)

 

5. Literally Getting into the Artwork

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A post shared by Эрмиты. Петербургские домовые (@hermits_spb)

 

6. Doing Whatever This Is

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A post shared by Эрмиты. Петербургские домовые (@hermits_spb)

 

7. Stealing Mail

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A post shared by Эрмиты. Петербургские домовые (@hermits_spb)

 

8. Plotting

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A post shared by Эрмиты. Петербургские домовые (@hermits_spb)

 

9. Whatever This Is.

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A post shared by Эрмиты. Петербургские домовые (@hermits_spb)

 

We haven’t been able to find any YouTube vidoes of Sigismiund, but we did find this somehow more frightening puppet with a similar name. Sleep tight!

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Hannah Rex
Hannah Rex
Hannah Rex is a true renaissance women in that she loves half marathons and inverted yoga poses just as much as she enjoys copious amounts of wine and pizza. Her years of living in L.A. led her to try hip trends like kombucha, blonde hair dye, and aggressive driving, while making her so soft that she immediately gets frostbite anytime the temperature drops below 70 degrees. She has experience as a writer and editor for sites like Beachbody, Openfit, Let's Eat Cake, and is also an RYT 200. Follow her on Instagram @hannah_rex for an unrealistic portrayal of her very average life.
Hannah Rex
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