PHOTOS: ceremonies marking the unveiling of a monument to Emperor Alexander III, in Moscow (1912)

On 12th June (O.S. 30 May) 1912, Emperor Nicholas II atteded the unveiling and consecration of a magnificent monument of his father Emperor Alexander III (1845-1894), in Moscow.

The monument made by the architect Alexander Pomerantsev and sculptors Alexander Opekushin and Artemy Ober, was installed on the Prechistenskaya Embankment at the southeast corner of the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour.

In December 1894, Emperor Nicholas II appointed his uncle Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich to head a committee to oversee the planning and construction of the monument. More than 2.5 million rubles were donated for the monument’s construction, which lasted from 1900 to 1912.

Made in the style of monumental realism, the bronze statue stood on a stepped red granite pedestal facing the Moscow River. Alexander III is depicted sitting on a throne in a mantle with an imperial crown on his head. In the hands of the emperor were a scepter and orb. The inscription the pedestal read: “To the most pious autocratic Great Sovereign, our emperor Alexander Alexandrovich of All Russia. 1881-1894.” At its corners stood bronze double-headed eagles with outstretched wings. The monument featured a low granite balustrade, and a staircase which descended to the river.

The grand opening of the monument took place on 12th June (O.S. 30th May) 1912, in the presence of Emperor Nicholas II and members of the Imperial Family. At 8 o’clock in the morning, five cannon shots sounded from the Taynitskaya Tower. At 10 o’clock at the entrance to the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, a procession began, led by Moscow Metropolitan Vladimir, Emperor Nicholas II, his mother the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna.

After 360 rounds were fired and the Preobrazhensky Regiment march, the veil was removed from the sculpture, Metropolitan Vladimir sprinkled the monument with holy water. Some 86 wreaths were placed at the monument, and an inspection of the monument by the Emperor and members of the Imperial family. In the evening, the city and the sculpture were illuminated. A 24-hour guard of honour comprised of war veterans stood guard at the monument.

PHOTO (above): Emperor Nicholas II and his mother the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna can be seen in the foreground, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna and members of the Russian Imperial Family are following behind.

Sadly, the monument did not survive for long – a little more than 6 years! Following the October 1917 Revolution, a decree was issued for the demolition of all monuments of the Tsarist era. The decree dated 12th April 1918 ordered that monuments of members of the Roamov dynasty be replaced by those honouring revolutionaries. The monument of Emperor Alexander III was one of the first monuments destroyed during this campaign.

The dismantling of the monument began on 17th July 1918 – the very same day in which Nicholas II and his family were murdered in Ekaterinburg. A plan to establish a monument to Liberated Labour was never realised. The pedestal was demolished along with the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in 1931.

© Paul Gilbert. 12 June 2024