The Rostral Columns at the Spit of Vasilievsly Island with the white columned Stock Exchange to the left. The Rostral Columns have ships' prows along them and served as oil-fired navigation beacons in the 1800s (on some public holidays gas torches are still lit on them). The figures represent the four major rivers of Russia - the Volga, Dnieper, Neva, and Volkhov.