On 1st May 2026, a new bust-monument to Emperor Nicholas II was installed and consecrated on the grounds of the Church of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God, in the Russian city of Tver.

The event was attended by Metropolitan Ambrose of Tver and Kashin and members of the clergy, the General Director and General Producer of the Orthodox TV channel “Spas” Boris Korchevnikov, trustees of the “Alley of Russian Glory” project, deputies of the State Duma of the Russian Federation, among others.

Recall that Nicholas II visited Tver on 21st April 1915. He was presented with donations from the city council and clergy, for the needs of the Russian army fighting in the First World War. It was on this day, that the Tsar visited the Transfiguration Cathedral (built in 1689-1696).

PHOTO: Emperor Nicholas II arrives at the Transfiguration Cathedral
in Tver on 21st April 1915

Metropolitan Ambrose of Tver and Kashin first took part in the unveiling ceremony, and then performed the rite of consecration of the monument to the Holy Passion-Bearer Emperor Nicholas II.Before the consecration ceremony, Metropolitan Ambrose addressed the audience:

“Today in the city of Tver an event of deep spiritual meaning is taking place. We are unveiling and consecrating a monument to the Holy Passion-Bearer, the last sovereign of the Russian Empire, Nicholas II. The place for the installation of this monument was not chosen by chance. This Vladimir Church was built in the very years when Russia was under the sovereign scepter of Nicholas II. For his part, the emperor donated 40 thousand gold rubles for the construction of the church,” Metropolitan Ambrose noted in his speech. “For all of us, he (the Holy Passion-Bearer Nicholas – Ed.) showed a truly Christian attitude to the trials that befell him and in everything he strove to fulfill the will of God.”

The Church of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God was built by order of Emperor Nicholas II as one of the standard military churches for the lower ranks of the Russian Imperial Army. As previously noted, Emperor Nicholas II donated 40 thousand gold rubles for the construction of the church. The Great Consecration of the Church was held on 8th September 1904, it was attended by the representative of the Emperor – the Moscow Governor-General, Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich (1857-1905) with his wife, Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna (1864-1918)

Since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, more than 100 monuments, sculptures, busts and memorial plaques to Nicholas II have been installed in cities and towns across the Russian Federation.

© Paul Gilbert. 2 May 2026