The reign of Alexander 3 lasted 13 years. He was called the peacemaker emperor. It was he who, by his decree, initiated the construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway in 1886. He was considered the patron of the Siberian road. He understood the importance and special nature of such construction, so he ordered that it be laid by his son, Tsarevich Nicholas. This happened in May 1891, when the foundation of the future railway station began to be built in Vladivostok.
Planning
The architect F. O. Shekhtel worked on the pedestal, who carved it from red Valaam granite. It was more than 3 m in height. The inscription “To Emperor Alexander III - the sovereign founder of the Siberian Road” was carved on it.
It must be said that from the very beginning, Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich was very dissatisfied with Trubetskoy’s work. He stated that this monument is a caricature of his brother. But the emperor’s widow came out in defense of the sculptor, who saw a clear portrait resemblance to her late husband. It was she who contributed to the completion of the monument. Finally, on May 23, 1909, the monument to Alexander 3 in St. Petersburg was unveiled in a solemn ceremony.
The fate of the monument
In 1919, after the victory of the Bolsheviks, poems written by D. Bedny, entitled “Scarecrow,” were knocked out on the pedestal. Eight years later, when the tenth anniversary of the revolution was celebrated, to decorate the square, the monument was enclosed in a metal cage, and a hammer and sickle with the inscription “USSR” was placed next to it.
20 years after the October Revolution, the monument was completely dismantled. Until 1953, it was kept in the storerooms of the Russian Museum, and then it was raised and placed in the courtyard. In the mid-90s, it was decided to move the monument to Alexander 3 in St. Petersburg. Near the Marble Palace, right in front of its entrance, where a branch of the Russian Museum is now located, stands this monument. Not long ago, the authorities thought about moving it to its previous location, that is, to Vosstaniya Square, but a decision on this issue has not yet been made.
Monument to the Emperor in Moscow
Work on this monument lasted almost 12 years, starting in 1900. In addition to the sculptor A. M. Opekushin, the architect A. N. Pomerantsev worked on the project of the monument as the chief architect and engineer K. A. Greinert, who was responsible for the work. More than 2.5 million rubles were collected for its construction, which was a colossal amount at that time.
The monument to Alexander 3 in Moscow was opened at the very end of May 1912, on Prechistenskaya embankment, on the square near the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. The ceremony itself was very pompous. It was attended by Emperor Nicholas 2 with his wife and children, all members of the State Council and the State Duma, generals, admirals, district and provincial leaders of the nobility, representatives of various public organizations and many others. etc.
Description of the Moscow monument
The monument was made of bronze and depicted the emperor seated on a throne. Here he was in all the royal regalia, including an orb and a scepter in his hands, as well as a crown on his head, with porphyry thrown over his shoulders, that is, the robe of the monarch, which descended onto a pedestal of red granite. The base part of the pedestal was decorated with four double-headed crowned eagles with outstretched wings, cast in bronze. The sculptor A. L. Ober worked on them.
It must be said that the monument to Alexander 3 significantly enriched the overall ensemble of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. A granite balustrade was built next to the statue of the emperor, as well as a magnificent staircase leading to the water itself.
Unfortunately, this beautiful monument stood for only 6 years. It was destroyed in the summer of 1918, when the Soviet leadership moved to Moscow. But still several photos of him have survived. The monument to Alexander 3 in Moscow was perhaps the most majestic. The pedestal that remained after its destruction stood until 1931, when the Cathedral of Christ the Savior itself was demolished.
Monument in Novosibirsk
It is believed that the appearance of this city was predetermined precisely by the decree of Emperor Alexander 3 on the start of construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway. The first railway settlement in these places was named Alexandrovsky in honor of the Tsar. Then it turned into a city and was renamed Novonikolaevsk, since the construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway was supervised by the future Emperor Nicholas 2. Now it is a modern city of one and a half million people.
The monument to Alexander 3 in Novosibirsk turned out to be quite majestic - its height reaches 13 m. The monument was installed on the picturesque Ob embankment. It is made of bronze, and the pedestal is made of granite. Its lower part was decorated with an inscription taken from the Tsar’s highest rescript stating that construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway was beginning. The author of the project is People's Artist of Russia Salavat Shcherbakov.
The opening of the monument to Alexander 3 was timed to coincide with City Day, which turned 119 years old. The ceremony began at midnight from June 23 to 24, 2012. Spectators were presented with photographic documents and newsreels shown on huge screens. They were dedicated to the rich history of this city. About 5 thousand people came to see the monument to Alexander 3 in Novosibirsk and its opening. The great-grandson of Alexander III, who is a citizen of Denmark, was also present here. Eyewitnesses claim that his external resemblance to the emperor is very strong.
In 1894, a nationwide subscription was announced for the monument to Alexander III in Moscow. Along with the sculptor A.M. Opekushin, the author of the monument to A.S. Pushkin, invited the Moscow architect A.N. Pomerantsev, the author of the Upper Trading Rows (current GUM), to carry out the project as the chief architect, and the engineer-architect K.A. Greinert was appointed to carry out the work. After a short break, work on the monument was resumed in 1900 and lasted about twelve years. During this time, almost two and a half million rubles were collected by subscription - a colossal amount at that time.
Photo from the 1910s
When choosing a place for the monument, we proceeded from the fact that “The Sovereigns... act as intercessors before God and eternal reminders that in the world there is no higher school and no moral covenant except God’s temple, and that outside of these covenants there is no right life for Russia” (Ivan Vladimirovich Tsvetaev, 1897). After discussing several locations for installing the monument, including the Kremlin, a site was chosen near the Cathedral of Christ the Savior on Prechistenskaya Embankment, facing the Moscow River, as having an undeniable advantage from ideological, architectural, administrative, economic and other points of view.
The monument, made of bronze, depicted the Emperor seated on a throne in all royal regalia - with a scepter and orb in his hands, with a crown and purple - the robe of the monarch. Porphyra descended at one end onto a pedestal of red granite. The granite pedestal rested on the same granite pedestal. On the ledge of the basement part were placed four bronze crowned double-headed eagles with outstretched wings (the work of the sculptor A.L. Ober). The inscription was carved on the pedestal:
To Our Most Pious, Most Autocratic Great Sovereign
Alexander Alexandrovich
all of Russia.
1881-1894
Photo from the 1910s
The installation of the monument enriched the overall ensemble of the Temple. At the same time as the monument, a granite balustrade and a majestic staircase leading to the water were built. A low wall of gray granite, built on the sides of the monument, did not isolate it from the general area, but at the same time highlighted and emphasized its independent significance.
Photo from 1912. Before the opening of the monument.
On May 30, 1912, the opening and consecration of the monument took place. The ceremony was somewhat more modest and modified in accordance with the secular nature of the celebration, the ritual of consecration of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. At 8 o'clock in the morning, five cannon shots from the Tainitskaya Tower of the Kremlin announced the beginning of the celebration. Troops lined up near the monument. By 10 o'clock the imperial couple and their retinue arrived at the monument. In addition to Emperor Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, there were members of the State Council, the State Duma, senators, generals and admirals, ladies-in-waiting and ladies of state, provincial and district leaders and representatives of the nobility, Moscow, provincial and zemstvo authorities, representatives of estates and public organizations, deputations from educational institutions. Metropolitan of Moscow and Kolomna Vladimir (Epiphany) met the imperial couple in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. A religious procession began from the Temple, led by the Metropolitan and the reigning persons, which was accompanied by the ringing of bells from nearby churches. A thanksgiving service with kneeling took place at the monument. After the eternal memory of Emperor Alexander III, at the command of Emperor Nicholas II, the troops saluted. After 360 salutatory shots and the execution of the Preobrazhensky March, the veil was removed from the monument, and Metropolitan Vladimir sprinkled the monument with holy water, proclaimed many years to the Russian army and loyal subjects, and returned to the Temple. 86 wreaths were laid at the monument from all Russian and foreign delegations. In the evening the city and the monument were illuminated.
Photo from the 1910s
When the Bolsheviks came to power, the monument was destroyed.
Photo from 1918. Demolition of the monument.
Photo 1918
And on his pedestal this was erected:
Photo from 1920. Monument to "Liberated Labor"... popularly called "Vanka the Naked". UPD: the picture shows not the Moscow, but the Yekaterburg monument to Liberated Labor.
This monument was a 10-meter figure of a worker with a single item of clothing: a hammer. This is what the artist V.M. Khodasevich recalled: “The first rows were already entering the square and, completely stunned, stopped in front of the sculpture of the obscenely white, plaster, muscular “Proletary” and slowly walked around it. Such statements began that even though I remember them, it’s awkward to write it, although much of it was even witty.” The sculptor was forced to urgently “dress” the monument in an apron. But the apron covers the front, and since Vanka was naked, he remained so...
At the opening of the next revolutionary masterpiece, the ubiquitous Lukich could not help but notice:
(Comrade Lenin appears on the tribune to a standing ovation from all those present.) Comrades! A monument to the tsar used to stand at this place, and now we are laying the foundation stone of a monument to liberated labor. Capitalists called labor free when peasants and workers were forced to sell their labor to them and as a result were free to starve to death. We call such labor wage slavery. We know that it is not easy to properly organize free labor and work in the conditions of the hard times we are going through. Today's Subbotnik is the first step on this path, but as we go further, we will create truly free labor. (Prolonged, friendly applause. The orchestra plays the Internationale.) Pravda No. 94, May 4, 1920.
Vanka was dismantled in 1925.
Photo from 1930. Shot on September 10, 1930 at 9 a.m. from an airship.
On the right is the pedestal of the monument to Alexander III. Vanka the Naked is no longer there.
Sculptor Paolo Trubetskoy- creator of the famous equestrian statue Emperor Alexander III. This monument has a difficult fate: its projects were repeatedly coordinated and finalized, and Nicholas II personally oversaw this work.
The grand opening took place on June 5, 1909 on Znamenskaya Square in St. Petersburg in the presence of the highest sovereign persons - Nicholas II and members of the imperial family.
The monument was erected at the Nikolaevsky (now Moscow) railway station, which carried a special meaning: Emperor Alexander III was the initiator of the construction of the most important transport artery of our country - the Trans-Siberian Railway. However, the monument did not stand in its original place for long. After the revolution, lines from Demyan Bedny's poem "The Scarecrow" were knocked out on its pedestal, by the tenth anniversary of October they were imprisoned in a metal cage, and then completely dismantled, removed to the storerooms of the Russian Museum. Today the monument stands in the front yard of the Marble Palace.
The collection of the Russian Museum presents not only the equestrian statue by Trubetskoy, which was almost saved in 1939, but also a whole range of materials related to the history of the creation and existence of this in many respects unique monument.
On June 5, 1909, the grand opening of the monument to Alexander III took place on Znamenskaya Square.
Project competition has been announced November 25, 1899, leading monumental sculptors - Alexander Mikhailovich Opekushin, Matvey Afanasyevich Chizhov, Vladimir Alexandrovich Beklemishev, Artemy Lavrentievich Ober, Robert Romanovich Bach, as well as architects Fedor Osipovich Shekhtel, Antony Osipovich Tomishko and others were invited to participate in it. For the first round, Trubetskoy submitted a sketch of Alexander III sitting on the throne. However, then none of the proposed ideas was approved, and the deadline for the competition was extended. The project, which received the highest approval, was prepared by Trubetskoy in collaboration with Shekhtel. It was already equestrian statue, standing on a quadrangular pedestal, which was supposed to be decorated with two bas-reliefs depicting Ermak’s conquest of Siberia and the meeting of the first train by the Siberians.
The history of the creation of the monument to Alexander III was described in more or less detail in many publications; in particular, in 1996, the Russian Museum published a booklet that included a number of historical photographs. A significant addition to the already known materials were documents of exceptional importance preserved in the archives of the Expedition for the Procurement of State Papers - minutes of the meetings of the specially formed Commission for the construction of the monument on Znamenskaya Square. Nicholas II appointed Prince Boris Borisovich Golitsyn as its chairman. The members of the Commission were the inspector for the artistic part of the Ministry of Finance, academician of architecture Albert Nikolaevich Benois, vice-president of the Imperial Academy of Arts, chamberlain of the highest court Count Ivan Ivanovich Tolstoy, director of the department of railway affairs Emilius Karlovich Ziegler von Schafhausen, professor of architecture Antony Osipovich Tomishko and the creators of the adopted implementation of the project - sculptor Pavel Petrovich Trubetskoy and architect Fyodor Osipovich Shekhtel.
By the summer of 1901, first the first and then the second (corrected) “life-size” model of the equestrian statue were ready. The sculpture, small in comparison with the monument, was even supposed to be converted into bronze using the “a cire perdue” (lost wax) method, which Trubetskoy strongly insisted on, proposing to entrust this to the Italian foundry Carlo Robecchi, who cast many easel works for him. The Commission's minutes also indicated that this experience would test Robecchi's ability to carry out a large monumental commission.
Paolo Trubetskoy at the monument to Alexander III. Photo by Karl Bulla, 1909
Meanwhile, Nicholas II, who at first agreed to additional expenses of 20 thousand rubles and even indicated that “if the statue had turned out well, it could have been placed in one of the museums,” after some time he abandoned his previous intention. It is not by chance that we mention this “intermediate” model; the fact is that it is precisely this model that is depicted in some archival and magazine photographs of Trubetskoy’s workshop.
In other words, the “life-size” equestrian statue of Alexander III is sometimes mistaken for the final large model, which documents show was only completed in 1904.
Later, the sculptor told a correspondent of the Petersburg newspaper:
“After my initial design was approved, I sculpted four life-size designs, eight small models and two monument-scale designs one after another from plasticine. Having worked the new model, I destroyed the old one. So I worked until I was satisfied with the model.”
These words help to imagine how hard the sculptor worked, not so much under the influence of the critical comments showered on him, but driven by his own desire to achieve maximum expressiveness of the plan being realized.
It is not surprising that there is a huge distance between most of Trubetskoy’s impressionistic works and the monument to Alexander III. Reflecting on the form, the architectonics of volumes, the rhythms of lines, the sculptor abandoned previous methods of modeling and gradually, step by step, acquired a new, emphatically monumental language of plastic generalizations.
As a result, the horse, almost fabulous in its power, and the equally powerful rider merged into a clear and integral artistic image, giving rise to that feeling of incredible, epic power, which made it not only the personification of one specific person, but also a kind of symbol of the era, of a huge and harsh country. . It is significant that Trubetskoy himself, talking with Vasily Rozanov, said:
“I wanted to represent the great Russian power in the image of Alexander III, and it seems to me that the entire figure of the emperor on my monument embodies my main idea.”
Noteworthy in this regard are the memoirs of Mstislav Nikolaevich Pototsky about the meetings of artists in the Parisian workshop of Ivan Yakovlevich Bilibin:
“I remember once Benoit and Trubetskoy fought over a sculptural portrait of Alexander III, Benoit attacked Trubetskoy and, scolding the monument, even compared it to a Dymkovo toy. And Trubetskoy easily agreed: “Yes, I was inspired by Vyatka toys, they were in my workshop, I love them very much.”
At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, many artists drew inspiration from folk art, creating cutting-edge and even innovative works. This deep creative impulse, as it turns out, also fed Trubetskoy.
Studying the history of the monument, one cannot help but pay attention to the fact that already in 1900, at the very beginning of the work, at meetings of the Commission issues related to the future pedestal, its shape, the specified dimensions, grade and color of granite were constantly discussed. For Trubetskoy, this was also a creative process, during which he made adjustments more than once. A completely new solution for the pedestal, proposed by the sculptor at the 37th meeting of the Commission on October 20, 1903, came as a surprise to everyone.
According to this project, the pedestal was supposed to represent “a natural looking granite rock, low in front, steep in front, and gradually descending to the ground behind, in places covered with earth, in parts overgrown with moss, etc. The statue will depict the Emperor, as if accidentally stopping on the mountain.”.
This is exactly how the monument appears in Trubetskoy’s signature drawing from the collection of the Russian Museum. For a long time it was mistakenly considered to be the original design of 1900. In fact, this sketch was made after the opening of the monument on May 27, 1909, in response to a request from the staff of the newspaper “Novoe Vremya” to talk about a plan that remained unfulfilled.
Correcting the incorrect dating of the drawing that has become traditional, it should be emphasized that the bronze equestrian statue of Alexander III itself should not be dated to the year of the opening of the monument, as has been customary until now. According to archival documents, a large model in clay was completed by Trubetskoy in June 1904; foundry worker Emilio Sperati, specially invited from Turin, was hired to work as a plaster rider on June 31, 1905. Finally, the monumental sculpture, cast in bronze and covered with patina, was accepted from Sperati at the 47th meeting of the Commission, held on March 6, 1907. Even earlier, it was decided to transport it immediately upon completion to Znamenskaya Square and cover it with a “plank cover” until it was placed on a pedestal. The latter was not ready for a long time, because granite blocks for it continued to be supplied and laid until mid-1908. At the same time, the inscription was discussed, which in the version approved by Nicholas II sounded like this: “TO EMPEROR ALEXANDER III, THE SOVEREIGN FOUNDER OF THE GREAT SIBERIAN ROUTE.” On October 16, 1908, the Commission examined “both the pedestal, already completely finished, and the statue placed on it. All these works were found to be completed satisfactorily.” Those present considered it “useful for the protection of both the monument itself and the surrounding area to establish a special police post inside a wooden fence.”
As for Trubetskoy, he last attended a meeting of the Commission on April 15, 1906. Then its members unanimously (of course, with the exception of the sculptor) approved a petition drawn up in the highest name, in which it was proposed that the work on the construction of the pedestal of the monument should be provided “either individually to Prince Trubetskoy, with the entrustment of all financial reporting and technical responsibility for this subject to him,” or “exclusively to the Commission, with the removal of Prince Trubetskoy from any participation in this matter. At the same time, the Commission itself will develop designs for the pedestal and submit them for the Highest approval.” Sergei Yulievich Witte responded to this petition with written consent: “...in view of the fact that the retouching of the wax parts of the statue by Prince Trubetskoy was completed, his role in the construction of the monument should be considered completely completed and the care of constructing the pedestal was entrusted to the Commission.” The final version of the pedestal was designed by architects F.O. Shekhtel and A.A. Polishchuk only with “a slight deviation from the model highly approved on July 3, 1901.”
since 1994 at the entrance to the Marble Palace
Coordinates: 59°56′43.4″ n. w. 30°19′38.8″ E. d. / 59.945389° s. w. 30.327444° E. d.(G) (O) (I)59.945389 , 30.327444
Monument to Emperor Alexander III located in St. Petersburg, at the entrance to the Marble Palace. It was originally installed on Znamenskaya Square near the Nikolaevsky (now Moskovsky) railway station. The monument was dedicated to the “Sovereign founder of the Great Siberian Road,” that is, the Trans-Siberian Railway, starting from the Nikolaevsky station - construction of the highway began under Alexander III.
The customers of the monument were Emperor Nicholas II and members of the royal family, who preferred the project of the Italian sculptor P. P. Trubetskoy, who worked in Russia in 1897-1906. The sculpture model was made in St. Petersburg. The bronze statue was cast by the Italian foundry maker E. Sperati in parts: the figure of Alexander III - in the workshop of the foundry maker K. A. Robecchi, the horse - at the Obukhov Steel Foundry. The pedestal made of Valaam red granite, more than three meters high, was made according to the design of the architect F. O. Shekhtel. On the front side of the pedestal there was an inscription: “TO EMPEROR ALEXANDER III, THE SOVEREIGN FOUNDER OF THE GREAT SIBERIAN ROUTE.”
Work on the monument
In 1899-1909, P. Trubetskoy worked on a monumental monument to Alexander III (the architect of the pedestal was F. O. Shekhtel). For this purpose, a special workshop-pavilion made of glass and iron was built on Staro-Nevsky Prospect, not far from the Alexander Nevsky Lavra. In the preparatory stage, Trubetskoy created eight small-sized models, four life-size and two on the scale of the monument itself.
Reviews about the monument
There is a chest of drawers
There's a hippopotamus on the dresser,
There's a freak on the hippopotamus,
On the back of the hat,
There's a cross on the hat
Who can guess
Togo is under arrest.
In the middle of the square lay a huge red porphyry parallelepiped, something like a titanic chest. And on it, gloomily appearing through the autumn St. Petersburg rain, through the same chilly St. Petersburg fog, through the frosty haze of winter or its thick, sometimes wet, sometimes dry and prickly snow, resting his hand on his heavy thigh, bending his huge the head of a heavy horse with the reins pulled tight, sat an obese man in clothes similar to the uniform of mounted policemen; in a round lambskin hat like theirs; with a short, peasant-looking beard, like many of them, - “Tsar-Peacemaker” Alexander the Third.
The fate of the monument
After the October Revolution, in 1919, the inscription was knocked off the pedestal, and in its place was knocked out the mocking poem “Scarecrow” by Demyan Bedny, reflecting Soviet ideology:
In 1927, on the tenth anniversary of the October Revolution, the monument was used for the festive decoration of the square: it was enclosed in a metal cage, and next to it was attached a helical tower, a wheel, and two masts, on which a hammer and sickle and the inscription “USSR” were suspended.
In 1937, the monument was dismantled and put into the storerooms of the Russian Museum. During the siege, the monument was protected with sandbags. After the Great Patriotic War in 1950, three stones were removed from the pedestal, which were used to create busts of heroes of the Soviet Union and a monument to Rimsky-Korsakov. In 1953, the monument was raised and moved to the courtyard of the Russian Museum. In the 1980s, during the renovation of the Benois building, the statue was removed under a wooden cover and only in 1990 was released from this hiding place.
In 1994, an equestrian statue of Alexander III was installed in front of the entrance to the Marble Palace, which became a branch of the Russian Museum. Previously, the Marble Palace housed the V.I. Lenin Museum, in front of which since 1937 there was an armored car “Enemy of Capital” (moved to the Museum of Artillery and Military Engineering Troops).
Notes
Literature
- Witte S.Yu. 1849-1894: Childhood. The reigns of Alexander II and Alexander III, chapter Appendix // Memoirs. - M.: Sotsekgiz, 1960. - T. 1. - P. 455-463. - 75,000 copies.
- Sokol K. G. Monumental monuments of the Russian Empire: Catalog. M.: Vagrius Plus, 2006.
The monument to Emperor Alexander III is located in St. Petersburg in front of the Marble Palace (branch of the Russian Museum). I specifically went to look at it because I had read comments (usually disapproving) about the monument from many famous people: Uspensky, Bryusov, Repin, Kustodiev, Rozanov, Demyan Bedny, etc.
Other people's opinions are interesting to me, but I always follow the principle of Evgeny Bazarov (“Fathers and Sons”), who said: “I don’t share anyone’s opinions; I have my own.”
So I went to the Marble Palace to look at the humiliated monument and form my own opinion.
I’ll say right away that I liked the monument. He is thorough, reliable and trustworthy. And it stands in the center of the small courtyard of the Marble Palace, so you can walk around and take a close look (not like on the widest Znamenskaya Square).
The figure on the horse made me remember the portrait of the Tsar by Valentin Serov - the same feeling of greatness, dignity and confidence that the main person of the state should have.
Apparently, the author of the monument, the Italian sculptor Paolo Trubetskoy, to whom Nicholas II commissioned a sculpture of his father, also understood this. Trubetskoy depicted not specifically a man on a horse, but the Ruler of a huge country, which during the years of his reign never fought. This is a huge achievement of the policy of Alexander III - it was for maintaining peace that the Russian monarch received the official name Tsar the Peacemaker.
Quote from Yeager's "World History": "Alexander III pursued his policy openly, without resorting to any tricks, maintaining impeccable straightforwardness and unwavering justice in his relations with other powers.."
As a result, “Russia was elevated by Emperor Alexander III to a high degree of European and Asian power.”
According to S.Yu. Witte, these changes in foreign policy were to a large extent connected with the personality of the tsar himself, and in particular, with his honest, noble, truthful, direct and peace-loving character.
The services of Alexander III in foreign policy were highly appreciated by the French and the main bridge across the Seine in Paris was named after him. And the Emperor of Germany, Wilhelm II, after the death of Alexander, said: “This, indeed, was an autocratic Emperor.”
And in the internal politics of Russia during the reign of Alexander III, positive economic changes took place.
The equestrian statue of the emperor speaks of these qualities. Alexander sits calmly and confidently in the saddle, holding the reins with one hand and calmly lowering the other on his hip. The state of relaxation of the king and the horse is only apparent; the entire monument creates a feeling of strength and confidence that the rider will at any moment pull on the reins, and the horse-state, feeling the strength and power of the rider, will walk in the right direction.
Many did not like that the horse stood with his head down and that, in general, he was not a thin-legged, graceful horse worthy of an emperor, but some kind of draft horse. But, if we assume that the horse characterizes the developing Russia of the era of Alexander III, then an obvious explanation arises: the horse-state under the control of the wise tsar is ready to easily raise its head and just as easily step forward, this is evidenced by its elastic neck and strong legs!
These are the thoughts that came to my mind while I was looking at the monument.
When the monument was ready, many members of the royal family did not like it. Of course, they wanted to see a statue similar to the monuments to European sovereigns: a corresponding horse and Alexander himself, decorated with ceremonial attributes, but they saw a working man on a tired horse.
Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich said (according to S. Witte) that “he will never allow a monument modeled after Prince Trubetskoy to be erected, since it is a caricature of his brother.” And Nicholas II, offended by his filial feelings, even wanted to send the monument into exile in Irkutsk, but Maria Fedorovna, the widow of Alexander III, was struck by the extraordinary portrait resemblance, and it was decided to leave and install the monument.
On May 23, 1909, an equestrian statue of Alexander III was solemnly installed in the center of Znamenskaya Square (now Vosstaniya Square) near the Nikolaevsky (now Moskovsky) station, where the pointed obelisk “To the Hero City of Leningrad” now stands.
Thanks to the Bolsheviks, who after the October Revolution did not destroy the monument, as, for example, they did with the monument to Alexander III in Moscow, but the statue on a horse survived considerable ordeals.
In 1919, a historical inscription was knocked off a granite pedestal and the poem “Scarecrow”, offensive to the tsar, was carved out by the popular propaganda poet Demyan Bedny:
My son and my father were executed during their lifetime,
And I reaped the fate of posthumous infamy.
I’m hanging here as a cast-iron scarecrow for the country,
Forever throwing off the yoke of autocracy.
In October 1937, the monument was dismantled and humiliatingly laid on its side in the storerooms of the Russian Museum.
In 1953, the monument was raised and moved to the courtyard of the Russian Museum.
In the 1980s, during the renovation of the Benois building, the equestrian statue was “sewn up” with boards and was freed from this cap only in 1990.
In 1994, the monument was released from “imprisonment” and installed in front of the entrance to the Marble Palace,
In 2013, Minister of Culture Vladimir Medinsky felt that the monument to Alexander III was cramped in the courtyard of the Marble Palace, and he suggested that St. Petersburg deputies consider moving the monument to another location. Three such places were proposed: on Konyushennaya Square, on Trinity Square or on Vosstaniya Square, where the monument was originally installed.
The proposals were not approved: the transfer of the monument to Vosstaniya Square was categorically rejected (the place was already occupied by the obelisk), and the transfer to other squares was considered untimely.
In my opinion, it is good for the monument in front of the Marble Palace, but the bad thing is that it is seen only by art lovers who come to the Marble Palace and participants in various congresses, but the main thing is that the monument has finally been left alone (for how long?).
Until the end of the 1980s, an armored car stood on a pedestal in front of the Marble Palace (a copy of the armored car from which Lenin spoke at the Finlyandsky Station) - in memory of Lenin’s speech. Then the armored car was transferred to the Artillery Museum, and a monument to Alexander III was erected on the vacated pedestal.
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