Bombardir lieutenant Vasily Korchmin commanded the battery that defended the city during the construction of the Peter and Paul Fortress. It was based on the spit of Vasilyevsky Island, and Peter I, sending orders, signed them simply “Vasily, to the island”. This is how the island got its name.

A monument to this character appeared here recently, in 2001. This is the work of a diploma of the Academy of Arts, who won the city competition for the creation of a monument project.