Moscow | Nicholas II

Duma Deputy Proposes Monument to Nicholas II for Central Moscow

Posted on December 11, 2019 by Paul Gilbert

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NOTE: All of the articles pertaining to Nicholas II and his family which were originally published in my Royal Russia News blog, have been moved to this Nicholas II blog. This article was originally posted on 19 May 2018 in my Royal Russia News blog – PG

The first deputy chairman of the Duma Committee for Public Associations and Religious Organizations, Ivan Sukharev, has prepared a request to Moscow mayor Sergey Sobyanin for permission to establish a life-size monument to Nicholas II in the center of the Russian capital.

Sukharev believes that perpetuating the memory of the last Russian emperor will help restore historical justice. The parliamentarian noted that a monument was installed in the center of Belgrade in November 2014, while in central Moscow there is not even a memorial plaque [Note: this is not entirely correct, please see my list of monuments to Nicholas II in Moscow and surrounding region at the bottom of this article – PG].

In turn, the Moscow Monumental Art Commission announced that they are ready to consider the proposal to install a monument to Nicholas II in Moscow, if the artist of the initiative can prepare the necessary documents for the Commission to evaluate.

Meanwhile, the head of the Commission on Culture and Mass Communications, Yevgeny Gerasimov believes that a monument to Nicholas II should be established in St. Petersburg instead of Moscow.

“I do not see any significant place in Moscow for this monument, from my point of view, it might be possible to establish it in St. Petersburg,” Gerasimov told RIA Novosti. He noted that the Moscow City Duma had not yet applied for the installation of the monument to Nicholas II in the capital.

Nikolai Svanidze, member of the commission of the Human Rights Council under the President of the Russian Federation for Freedom of Information and Journalists’ Rights, publicist and journalist, also supports the initiative to establish a monument to the last Russian emperor, but noted that it would be more logical to do this in St. Petersburg.

“Nicholas II had no ties to Moscow, but to the capital St. Petersburg. Nicholas II and Moscow are bound only by the Khodynka Field. This is the tragic connection between the two.” Svanidze, however, agrees that Nicholas II, deserves a monument in his honour, even despite the controversy which haunts his reign.

Meanwhile, the monuments has already angered the leaders of radical left-wing groups, such as the Left Front and Yabloko, who spoke out against the idea of perpetuating the memory of the last tsar, who make the absurd comparison towards sympathizers of Nicholas II as “Nazi collaborators”.

There are currently four outstanding monuments to Nicholas II in the Moscow region, they include a magnificent equestrian monument to Nicholas II on the Frunze Embankment (center); another at the Novospassky Monastery (below); and two monuments established in suburban Moscow: at Mytishchi in the north (top left) and Podolsk in the south (top right). There are also a number of busts to Nicholas II: the Petrovsky Palace, the Church of the Outpouring of the Holy Spirit at the former Lazarev Cemetery, the Church of St. Nicolas, Saint Nicholas Berlyukovsky Monastery, situated on the outskirts of Avdotyino, and the Armenian Center in Moscow.

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Russia Marks 150th Anniversary of Nicholas II’s Birth

Posted on December 10, 2019 by Paul Gilbert

On 19th May 2018, members of the All-Russian public movement “National Idea of Russia” and the Kuban Cossacks laid flowers at the monument to Emperor Nicholas II in the village of Taininskoye (Mytishchi), which is situated about 19 km northeast of Moscow.

Like the fate of the Sovereign, the monument has a tragic history, being blown up twice by extremists. However, the monuments’ scupltor Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Klykov (1938-2006) restored it each time.

The monument to Emperor Nicholas II was installed in the suburban village of Taininskoye, on the site of the royal road in May 1996.

The opening of the monument was timed to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the coronation of the last Russian Tsar (held in Moscow on 26 May (O.S. 14 May) 1896. This is one of several monuments to Nicholas II in Moscow and region. The inscription on the monument read: “To the Emperor Nicholas II from the Russian people with repentance”.

Sadly, it did not stand for long: on 1st April 1997, the monument was blown up by the left-wing extremists of the group “Revolutionary Military Council”. Their reason, was their opposition to the removal of Lenin’s corpse from the mausoleum in Red Square.

In November 1998, the monument was restored, however, in the winter of the same year it was again blown up.

Then the sculptor of the monument Vyacheslav Klykov created for the third time a new copper monument, which was unveiled in August 2000. The crowned emperor stands proudly, dressed in an ermine mantle, holding a scepter in one hand, mantel in the other. The sculpture represents him at his highest triumph – his ascension to the Russian throne.

After the second explosion, Klykov donated money from his own pocket to help finance the restoration of his monument to Nicholas II.

He noted at the unveiling: “If in days gone by, the Russian people could not protect their tsar, now, believe me, we can do it.”

The ceremony was timed to coincide with the day of the canonization of the Imperial family by the Moscow Patriarchate on 15 August 2000.

Since the fall of 2004, believers from all over the Russian Land have been drawn to the village of Taininskoye. And the appeal of the Russian people “To the Russian Emperor Nicholas II Russian people with repentance”, seemingly destroyed along with the first monument, turned out to be prophetic! The explosion, which was to erase the very idea of repentance before the Emperor Nicholas II, could not change the Providence of God.

So on 19th May 2018, many Orthodox Christians and monarchists came to the monument to pray, lay flowers, unfurl Tsarist-era flags, all in preparation for the procession. The Kuban Cossacks brought with them the Cossack penitential icon of the holy martyr Tsar Nicholas.

Thanks to the talented Russian sculptor Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Klykov, we have the opportunity to honor the memory of the Emperor. Forgive us, Sovereign!

Paul Gilbert visiting the monument to Emperor Nicholas II
in the village of Taininskoye (Mytishchi) in March 2015