Monument to Russian Glory in Belgrade was the world’s first monument to Nicholas II

PHOTO: on 3rd August, members of the National Council of the Russian National Minority gather at the Monument to Russian Glory to honour Tsar Nicholas II and soldiers of the Russian Imperial Army, who died during the Great War (1914-18)

Many readers may be surprised to learn that the world’s first monument to honour Emperor Nicholas II was NOT installed in Russia, but in Serbia. The Monument to Russian Glory was completed and consecrated in January 1936, in the Russian Necropolis of the New Cemetery in Belgrade. The monument also honours soldiers of the Russian Imperial Army who died during the First World War.

It is interesting to note, that Russia’s last Tsarwas canonized as a saint by the Serbian Orthodox Church in 1938 – 43 years BEFORE the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR) in 1981 and 62 years BEFORE the Moscow Patriarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church in 2000.

Russia’s first monument to Nicholas II was installed on 17th July 1993, on the grounds of the Feodorovsky Sovereign Cathedral at Tsarskoye Selo. Since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, more than 125 monuments, busts and memorial plaques have been installed in 46 regions of the Russian Federatuon. The Serbian capital Belgrade, features no less than 3 monuments to Nicholas II.

PHOTO: the Monument to Russian Glory in Belgrade, Serbia.
The Iverskaya [Iberian] Chapel can be seen on the left.

The Monument to Russian Glory, was created on the initiative of the Association of the Former Imperial Officers and other Military Conscripts, with the support of members of the White Russian émigré community in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia (now Serbia) in the interwar period.

The monument is located at the edge of the Russian Necropolis of the New Cemetery. Situated near the monument is the Iverskaya [Iberian] Chapel, designed by Valery Vladimirovich Stashevsky. The design for the chapel is a replica of the original chapel in Moscow which the Bolsheviks demolished that same year, and reconstructed in 1994-95.

The monument itself, was built according to the project of the prominent Russian architect Roman Nikolaevich Verkhovskoy (1881-1968). The foundation stone was laid on 19th July 1934.

King Aleksandar I Karadjordjevic (1888-1934) donated 5,000 dinars for the monument’s construction. The completed monument above the Ossuary with the statue of the Archangel Michel, as well as the Iverskaya [Iberian] was officially unveiled on 24th May 1935. It was consecrated on 12th January 1936.

VIDEO: on 3rd August 2026, members of the National Council of the Russian National Minority gather at the Monument to Russian Glory to honour Tsar Nicholas II and soldiers of the Russian Imperial Army, who died during the Great War (1914-18). Duration: 17 minutes, 23 seconds

On 3rd August 2026, on the the day marking the 112th anniversary of the Russian Empire’s entry into the First World War to defend Serbia and the 110th anniversary of the formation of the First Serbian Volunteer Division, a memorial service and tribute to Tsar Nicholas II and the Russian soldiers who died for the Serbs.

The event was organized by members of the National Council of the Russian National Minority. May this important date of 1st August and the magnificent gathering in Belgrade in 2026 be remembered.

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