They were also distinguished from ordinary versts by their “height” – they were significantly higher than ordinary signs. This is where the expression “верста Коломенская” (“Versta Kolomenskaya”) or “Kolomenskaya verst” came from. Public domainIn the novel ‘Peter the Great’ by Alexei Tolstoy even the emperor, who was distinguished by his great height, got it: "He was already going on 15. He was as tall as a Kolomna verst." By the way, it was under Peter the Great that they began to install verst poles indicating the distance when laying roads.