PHOTO: the clay model of the monument to Nicholas II by sculptor Ilya Shanin

A new monument to Emperor Nicholas II will be installed later this year on the grounds of the Church of the Life-Giving Trinity in the Russian city of Vladimir.

The monument is created by the famous Vladimir sculptor Ilya Shanin. The pedestal will be created by Nikolai Andrianov, and the memorial plaques by Yuri Tumarkin and artist Olga Rozanova.

The emperor will be presented from the waist up wearing a ceremonial uniform, with a ribbon over his shoulder, crosses, orders and medals. The height of the sculpture without a pedestal is 125 centimeters [app. 4 ft.]. According to Shanin, the sculpture has been completed, the removal of the mould from the clay model will be done next. The monument will be cast from bronze at a plant in Smolensk.

The monument will be erected on the grounds of the Vladimir Trinity Church on Museum Street, to the left of the entrance. A pedestal will be erected for the sculpture, the area around monument will be landscaped.

It is planned that funds for the casting and installation of the monument will be collected with the help of donations. According to Ilya Shanin, the project will cost about 1.5 million rubles [$20,000 USD]. The sculptor estimates that the monument will be unveiled in the summer of 2022.

PHOTO: the wall of the cell of the gatekeeper of the Church of the Life-Giving Trinity in Vladimir, is decorated with a mural of marking the 100th anniversary of the death and martyrdom of the Imperial Family. The Russian caption reads 1918 прости нас государь 2018 / 1918 Forgive us Sovereign 2018

According to Shanin, the idea to install the monument of the Emperor near the Church of the Life-Giving Trinity, belongs to Father Eugene. During divine liturgies, he often prays for Nicholas II and his family, who were murdered in Ekaterinburg on 17th July 1918.

Ilya Shanin is a parishioner of the church. He believes that the numerous troubles and catastrophes of the Russian people during the 20th century are partly a punishment for the bloody murder of the Imperial Family in the Ipatiev House. The sculptor hopes that the monument to the emperor will give people a purpose to delve into history or start discussions about the life and reign of Nicholas II, but will also help people look into themselves, repent and to pray for forgiveness.

The installation of the monument to Nicholas II in Vladimir will be a first for the city. The only monument to a Russian monarch was that of Emperor Alexander II, which was installed in 1913 on Cathedral Square, in front of the bank building. After the February Revolution of 1917, it was removedfrom the pedestal, and replaced with a sculpture of the Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin.

Note that Nicholas II visited Vladimir once, on 16th May 1913. Together with members of the Imperial Family, he visited the ancient city in the year marking the 300th anniversary of the House of Romanov. It was on this day, that a solemn meeting was organized on the platform of the Vladimir railway station, after which Nicholas II visited the Assumption Cathedral.

© Paul Gilbert. 10 January 2022

On 15-16 [O.S. 2-3] July 1891, Tsesarevich Nicholas Alexandrovich [the future Emperor Nicholas II], visited Achinsk on his journey across Siberia to St. Petersburg.

Achinsk is a city in Krasnoyarsk Krai, located on the right bank of the Chulym River near its intersection with the Trans-Siberian Railway, 184 kilometers (114 mi) west of Krasnoyarsk.

On 10th December, a planning committee met to discuss plans to install a bust-memorial of Nicholas Alexandrovich to mark his historic visit to the city 130 years ago.

“Nicholas II was not only a political leader, under which our country became one of the three most advanced countries in industrial production, but also became one of the spiritual centers of the world,” says Viktor Barykin, an Achinsk ethnographer, one of the members of the initiative group. “The bust should become a symbol of our spiritual unity and the reconciliation of all forces in the name of the future of Russia,” he added.

Having considered various options, the participants in the initiative group agreed that the bust must be made of bronze, and the pedestal must be granite. As Achinsk lacks the technical ability to fulfill such an order, specialists from Moscow will be consulted.

According to preliminary calculations, together with the pedestal, the work will cost about 900 thousand rubles [$12,300 USD]. It is unlikely that the city’s budget will be able to allocate that kind of money, therefore bringing the project to fruition will depend on the financial support of patrons and private donations. If every resident of Achinsk contributes at least 10 rubles, this will be enough. In the near future, a special account will be registered to which a person can make a donation for this good cause. The option of participation in the city program, which provides for the financing of initiative projects, is also being considered, but the application cannot be submitted until March of next year.

If all goes according to plan, the bust can be opened for the 340th anniversary of Achinsk, which will be celebrated in 2023. The bust is planned to be installed in Trinity Park, next to the Poklonny Cross on the site of the Holy Trinity Cathedral, where the future Emperor went to pray, and later destroyed by the the Communists in the 1930s.

A preliminary sketch of the proposed bust-monument has already been made: Nicholas II is depicted as a young man – that year when he visited Achinsk, he was only 23 years old.

“It should not be a monument for the sake of a monument,” – said the artist and Honorary Citizen of Achinsk Pavel Batanov, who was unanimously elected as the chairman of the initiative group. “First of all, the bust-monument should combine royalty, humanity, and holiness. The main thing is that it should be created at a high professional level.”

© Paul Gilbert. 13 December 2021

VIDEO: in Russian. DURATION: 2 minutes, 11 seconds

On 14th September, a new monument to Emperor Nicholas II was opened in the Russian village of Sanino, situated in the Petushinsky District of the Vladimir Region. The new monument is the first in the Vladimir region, and the country’s second largest monument to Russia’s last Tsar.

The bronze monument was made by the Moscow sculptor Rovshan Rzayev. It was installed on the grounds of the Church of the Chernigov Icon of the Mother of God in the village of Sanino. The opening of the monument was timed to coincide with the patronal feast day. A Divine Liturgy was led by Metropolitan Ambrose of Tver and Kashin. About 500 people took part in the service, procession, unveiling and consecration of the monument.

PHOTO: Metropolitan Ambrose of Tver and Kashin performs the act of consecration

PHOTO: more than 500 people attended the unveiling and consecration ceremony

The height of the monument [with pedestal] is 3 meters [nearly 10 ft.]. The Tsar is depicted in uniform, wearing his coronation mantle, a sword on his left side. He is holding an orb in his left hand, while the fingers of his right hand are poised to make the sign of the cross. The figure stands on a massive pedestal with the inscription “Nicholas II Tsar and Passion-Bearer.”

PHOTO: “Nicholas II. Tsar and Passion-Bearer.”

PHOTOS: front and rear views of Russia’s second largest monument to Nicholas II

During the Soviet years, Nicholas II was vilified and forgotten. Not a single memorial of any kind existed in the Soviet Union, however, during the last 30 years more than 100 monuments, busts and memorials in honour of Nicholas II have been erected in more than 30 regions of the country.

© Paul Gilbert. 16 September 2021

PHOTO: The obelisk erected in memory of the visit of Emperor Nicholas II to Kaluga
in 1904, was erected in 1908, and demolished by the Bolsheviks in the 1920s.

By the late spring of 1904, the Russo-Japanese War was already in full swing. In an effort to boost morale, Emperor Nicholas II personally went to Kaluga to inspect the garrison.

The Emperor arrived on the Imperial Train in Kaluga on 20th (O.S. 7) May 1904, accompanied by his brother Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich, and their uncle Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich.

Upon arrival, the Emperor stepped off the Imperial Train and mounted a horse given to him by the Kaluga military. Accompanied by the Grand Dukes and his retinue, they proceeded to the town’s military field, where the Kaluga garrison had assembled for inspection, before being sent to defend Russia during the Russo-Japanese War. The garrison included the 9th Ingermanland Infantry Regiment, the 10th Newlingermanland Infantry Regiment and the 31st Cavlary Artillery Brigade.

PHOTO: Emperor Nicholas II arrives on the Imperial Train
in Kaluga on 20th (O.S. 7) May 1904

Nicholas II headed for the line of troops who awaited him. The commander of the division presented the Emperor with his combat report, the troops stood at attention, music played, and the military slowly lowered their banners in front of their Sovereign. Nicholas followed the front line with his retinue and greeted each military unit separately. The orchestra played the Imperial anthem God, Save the Tsar!, which prompted enthusiastic shouts of “Hurrah!” from the regiments.

The Emperor then stood in front of the pavilion, at which point the troops marched past in front of him in a ceremonial march. Then the officers were gathered, the Sovereign questioned those who had already participated in the war. After that he granted each with an icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker and made a parting speech to the troops.

The tsar wrote in his diary that night: “We arrived at a field near Kaluga, where the 9th Ingermanland Infantry Regiments, the 10th Newermanland Regiments, the 31st Cavlary Artillery Brigade. and two flying artillery regiments were lined up. Due of the rains over the past few days, the field had turned into a swamp. Despite this, it did not deter the troops.”

PHOTOS: Emperor Nicholas II, Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich, and Grand Duke
Sergei Alexandrovich, leave the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Kaluga

In 1907, Kaluga Governor Alexander Alexandrovich Ofrosimov proposed to erect a monument- an obelisk in honour of this event. The laying took place on 29th June 1907, the unveiling and consecration was held three days later on 30th July 1908. The monument to Nicholas II was the first monument to appear in the Kaluga region.

The fourteen-meter obelisk was made of granite blocks, and crowned with a bronze double-headed eagle made of bronze by S.A. Pozhiltsov). The pedestal featured a commemorative plaque, which included the names of the Kaluga officers who participated in the Russo-Japanese War. Many of these men died during the war, therefore, the monument became a memorial to those Kaluga officers and soldiers who perished in 1904-1905. The composition was complemented by two cast-iron cannons at the base.

The obelisk was demolished by the Bolsheviks in the 1920s, who regarded the monument as a reminder of Tsarism.

The idea of restoring the obelisk for the 400th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty in 2013 was considered, but it was not implemented. Instead, a bust of Nicholas II was installed in the Central Park of Culture and Leisure in Kaluga on July 31, 2016.

© Paul Gilbert. 17 April 2021