This year Russia celebrates 400th anniversary of the House of Romanov, the royal dynasty that ruled Russia for just over 300 years until 1917. We all learned something about the Rurikovichs and Romanovs from school curriculum, but we still get confused in a complex chain family ties, unwanted wives, poisoned or killed kings or pretenders to the royal throne.

In the year of the four hundredth anniversary of the election to reign of the Romanov dynasty in Moscow, a interesting monument the first and last tsar of the Romanov dynasty - Mikhail Fedorovich and Nicholas II. Both of them are holding in their hands “unifying” icon of the Feodorovskaya Mother of God, which was especially revered by the Romanov house. It is believed that the call to the kingdom of the young 17-year-old Mikhail Fedorovich after Zemsky Sobor in 1613, it was done with this icon. And since the end of the 18th century, foreign princesses marrying representatives of the Romanov family in honor of this icon they received the patronymic “Fedorovna”. But between these two kings there is a huge time gap, dozens of wars and the most important Russian events, 400 years of life of the family and the state.

It is no coincidence that the monument was erected precisely in the Novospassky Monastery, since this monastery is still from the 16th century it became the tomb of the ancestors of the Romanovs - the Zakharyevs-Yuryevs. And now the burial places of the ancestors of the first tsar of the Romanov family - Mikhail Fedorovich - are located in the tomb of the monastery, which we are visiting On our. Here, under the arches of the ancient Transfiguration Cathedral, rests the ashes of the man to whom the Romanovs owe their surname - Roman Yuryevich Zakharyin-Koshkin. It was his name “Roman” that was first taken as a surname by his grandson Fyodor Nikitovich, the father of the first tsar of the Romanov family, who later became Patriarch Filaret. That is, in fact, Mikhail Fedorovich, the founder of the dynasty, began to bear a surname made up of the name of his great-grandfather. It is no secret that in the old days surnames were mostly formed from the name of the father or grandfather. Like, whose son? - Romanov's son! In order not to get confused in the Romanovs-Zakharyevs-Yuryevs-Koshkins, the simplest consideration turns out to be the following: Andrei Kobyla had a son, Fyodor Koshka - the Koshkins came from him; Koshkin had a son, Yuri - the Yuryevs descended from him; Yuriev had a son, Zakhary - from him came the Zakharyins; Zakharyin had a son, Roman - the Romanovs came from him! Sometimes used double surname named after his father and grandfather.

Vasily Yuryevich Koshkin-Zakharyin, Vasily, Alexander, Mikhail Romanov, nun Marfa - mother of Mikhail Fedorovich, nun Dosifeya - “real” Augusta Tarakanova. The remains of the Grand Duke and uncle of the last tsar of the Romanov family, Nicholas II, were transferred here to the Romanov family tomb in 1995. Sergei Alexandrovich Romanov, killed by the terrorist Kalyaev in 1905.

This monument to two kings and the royal dynasty in made in bronze by sculptors Denis Stritovich and Andrey Golubev and architect Alexey Denisov. It was completed at the family's personal expense Viktor Ivanovich Tyryshkin - current Russian entrepreneur and philanthropist, President of VIT Corporation LLC, engaged in housing construction. As if continuing the good old traditions of the monastery, which previously existed thanks to the effective help of parishioners, modern “merchants” are appearing today, engaged in patronage. In the future, it is planned to install a larger monument in front of the entrance to the Novospassky Monastery. This is the FIRST monument to the tsars erected in Moscow after the Soviet era!

IN anniversary year of the Romanov dynasty for the monastery in the city of Tutaev was made 1000-pound bell (over 16,000 kg), which was cast using donations collected throughout the year, as well as thanks to the head of the memory fund Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna - Olga Nikolaevna Romanova-Kulikovskaya - and the President of Rosserno CJSC Igor Mikhailovich Rudenya. The bell was cast at the bell foundry of Nikolai Shuvalov with a large crowd of people using old technologies. Saints are depicted on it royal martyrs, Archangel Michael, Saint Blessed Alexy and Theodorovskaya Icon of the Mother of God. It is noteworthy that one of the bells of the Novospassky Monastery was cast on the orders of Peter the Great, who was reserved regarding matters of religion and did not have a special “love for monasteries.” That “Petrovsky” bell weighed 1,100 pounds, but was broken as a result of a fire in the 1820s. A new one was cast from the fragments, which was played in the monastery before the revolution. Soon this new bell will be installed on a high bell tower, and it will spread its magical ringing throughout the area!

We recommend that you see all this with your own eyes, walk through this amazing ancient place where all our kings visited and learn many of its interesting secrets that have survived to this day, ! Come and See!

MONUMENTS TO THE TSINGS IN ST. PETERSBURG: FROM NICHOLAS I TO NICHOLAS II.

St. Petersburg is a city not only of three revolutions, but also of a dozen emperors. Royal statues are marked the historical center is just like rivers and canals, and this is a purely St. Petersburg phenomenon - figurative monuments to monarchs first appeared in Russia here. It would never have occurred to the respectable Moscow Tsar to honor his bearded predecessor with a full-length statue. And on the banks of the Neva, an almost complete Romanov line-up gathered: three Alexanders, two Nicholas, Catherine, Pavel. And the culprit of all this is Peter.

to St. Isaac's Cathedral in front, a royal horseman in uniform flaunts

Horse Guards The statue was created by Nikolai’s favorite sculptor - a great horseman

Peter Klodt and the horse is playing here main role. It is often repeated that horse

a statue with two points of support on the hind legs - a unique design; but this

exaggeration, there are similar monuments in the country and the world.

The uniqueness of bronze Nicholas is different - he became and rhyme, and complete

Huge Russia is famous not only for its enviable dimensions and beautiful nature, but also big amount historical monuments, marking all pages of the history of the state.

Russian monuments attract tourists to Moscow and St. Petersburg, forcing passersby to throw back their heads and admire the mighty pedestals and magnificent palaces. In order to see all the monuments, you will have to spend a decent amount of time on a tour throughout the country, because significant cultural monuments installed not only in major cities, but also in tiny “homey” towns. The most famous pedestals are, of course, located in cultural centers Russia, Moscow and St. Petersburg, so tourists most often direct their feet there. This article will list the most famous monuments in Russia, so that those interested can choose the most interesting and create their own tourist route in accordance with their location.

Great Kremlin: Tsar Bell

Here tourists can find two significant monuments: the Tsar Bell and the Tsar Cannon.

These monuments amaze not only with their size, but also with the interesting history of their creation. The Tsar Bell was born with light hand Empress Anna Ioannovna. Perhaps the Empress wanted to fit all her ambitions into the Tsar Bell, since when announcing the desired size of the monument, foreign masters seriously thought that the Empress was deigning to joke. Only the Motorin family took the Empress’s wish seriously. They had a lot of failures with the creation of the bell, since the approval of the project alone took three whole years. The first casting ended in complete collapse, which the elder Motorin could not stand. His son finally completed the job, and now the Tsar Bell proudly rises above the paving stones. However, despite the enormous amount of effort expended, the voice was never heard.

Great Kremlin: Tsar Cannon

Russian monuments such as the Tsar Cannon, located on Ivanovskaya Square, attract tourists to the Kremlin area in any season of the year.

The Tsar Cannon was installed in honor of Russian artillery. Its mass is very impressive - almost 40 tons. It was originally created to guard the Kremlin, but it was then decided that its military power allowed it to savagely destroy walls rather than bravely defend them from the enemy. Like many military cultural monuments of Russia, the mighty Tsar Cannon never took part in hostilities, but still attracts tourists and local residents awe. They came up with this idea a beautiful legend, in which it was said that the Tsar Cannon did fire one shot, but not during combat operations. They say that the Tsar Cannon fired the ashes of False Dmitry, but there is no declared evidence for this assumption. In a sense, this monument has even become a household name, since even residents of the most remote hinterland have heard about it.

Church of the Intercession of the Mother of God

Some Russian cultural monuments can boast of entire collections of legends composed in their honor. For example, people have written many stories about the Temple of the Intercession Mother of God.

All these legends were passed on from mouth to mouth, so they were constantly embellished, and now it is no longer possible to understand which of this is true and which is embellished fiction. Previously, on the site of the Temple, the Church of the Life-Giving Trinity stood. Over time, other small churches were built around it in honor of the victories of the Russian people. As a result, when about ten small churches had accumulated, Metropolitan Macarius suggested that Ivan the Terrible build one large temple in their place. The sanctuary was subjected to brutal attempts at destruction several times, but all of them were in vain. Services were banned there, only to be allowed again after some time. The Church of the Intercession of the Mother of God is located in Moscow and is a must-see for those who want to find out what monuments there are in Russia and what is really worth a look.

Peter and Paul Fortress and pages of the history of St. Petersburg

St. Petersburg is famous for its culture; there are even numerous jokes about it on the Internet.

Visitors expect refinement, politeness and extreme friendliness from St. Petersburg residents and are very indignant when their expectations are not met. There are many in St. Petersburg beautiful monuments Russian culture. One of the most striking is the Peter and Paul Fortress. For tourists who dream of seeing best monuments architecture of Russia, you should definitely visit it. It is located in the very center of the city and is one of the main symbols of the history of the Russian land. The construction of the city began with the Peter and Paul Fortress in 1703, so its walls were witnesses of all historical events that occurred on the territory of the city of Petra. In the center of the fortress you can see the beautiful Peter and Paul Cathedral, which hides the secrets of the history of the House of Romanov. Near the cathedral there is the Commandant's Cemetery, where many commandants of the Peter and Paul Fortress are buried.

"Millennium of Russia"

The monuments and sculptures of Russia amaze not only with their diversity and historical background, but also with the exceptional beauty of their execution.

The “Millennium of Russia” monument, located in Veliky Novgorod, was erected here in honor of the millennium of the calling of the Varangians to the territory of Rus'. The monument was erected in 1862, approximately in September. It is not a sin to say that this monument represents the entire history of Russia, along with its many glorious commanders, statesmen and representatives of the cultural world. Many patriotic Russians believe that the Millennium of Russia monument reflects the spirit of their great country. The monument itself is made in the form of a ball-power, which is installed on a special pedestal in the form of a bell or bell. Each part of this thematic monument symbolizes certain periods of Russian history, and the entire monument radiates pride in the country and symbolizes its greatness.

Polivanovo Estate: estate of famous families

Truly great monuments of Russia appeared on the territory of this state a very long time ago.

For example, the Polivanovo estate has stood on Russian soil since 1779. Next to the estate is the Church of the Annunciation, which witnessed the entire process of building the estate. The church was built in two years, and construction of the estate began after its construction was completed. The estate is located in the village of the same name, which got its name thanks to the glorious noble family Polivanov. Throughout its existence, the estate changed owners many times. The Dokhturovs, Saltykovs, Apraksins, Razumovskys, Davydovs and Gudovichs lived within its walls. Thanks to the fact that such famous families lived within the walls of the estate, the flow of tourists here does not dry out, gaining particular intensity in the warm season. The Polivanovo estate is not only beautiful in itself, but also located in an extremely picturesque area on the banks of the Pakhra.

Monument to Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson in Moscow

In addition to monuments glorifying the great power of Russia, there are also many cultural monuments honoring the masterpieces of the world cultural heritage. The monument to Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson appeared in the Russian capital quite recently, in 2007.

It so happened that it was installed just when Arthur Conan Doyle’s first book about the adventures of the famous detective celebrated its 120th anniversary. The British Embassy building is located not far from the monument, so tourists can experience the cultural authenticity of the monument if they wish. Despite this, the tourist’s attentive gaze will not escape the fact that Vitaly Solomin can also be discerned in the facial features of the characters depicted on the monument. They say that all problems will disappear overnight if you sit between two characters and put your hand on notebook Dr. Watson. Even though this belief was not justified, it is still worth trying to solve your problems so simply.

Great monuments of the great ruler

Monuments were erected in honor of the Russian ruler not only in Russia, but also in many European cities.

The most famous ones in Russia are located in St. Petersburg. Most often, tourists visit the monument with the bright name “Bronze Horseman”, which is familiar even to those who have never been to the city on the Neva. It has towered over Senate Square since 1782. Of course, many legends are associated with the Bronze Horseman, in particular about the St. Petersburg “mystical text.” Because of its duality and apparent surrealism, the imagination of the Russian people created the most incredible stories. The monument received its name thanks to the great writer Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin in accordance with his work of the same name. You can read a lot and for a long time about the monuments of Russia, but it is best to look at them with your own eyes. Words on paper cannot convey the power and grandeur they radiate.

We tell you where you can find monuments to the rulers of Russia - from the largest to the most inconspicuous, from those that cause amazement and laughter, to those that raised the genius of human thought to unprecedented heights.

The sculptor Rastrelli (father of the famous architect) began creating this monument during the life of the first Russian emperor. But due to various circumstances, it was completed by 1747. After which more for a long time the monument was ownerless and was looking for shelter. As a result, Paul the First placed it in front of his Mikhailovsky Castle in 1801. On the pedestal he ordered to write “Great-grandfather - great-grandson” (it is believed that, in contrast to the inscription on Bronze Horseman: “Peter the Great – Catherine the Second”).

Art. Nevsky Prospekt metro station, square near the Engineering Castle, Sadovaya st., 2

The main (but not the first) monument to the first Russian emperor was erected under Catherine the Second, who considered him the main Russian ruler. The pedestal was made from a thunder stone found by a government peasant Semyon Veshnyakov. There is a belief that as long as the monument to Peter is in its place, everything will be fine with the city.

Art. m. Admiralteyskaya, Senate square

A sculpture installed in the Peter and Paul Fortress in front of the former guardhouse building in the early 80s of the 20th century. It is the work of St. Petersburg artist Mikhail Shemyakin. The author managed to achieve incredible similarity with real face Emperor thanks to the use of an authentic wax mask made by Rastrelli himself when creating the monument.

Art. m. Gorkovskaya, Peter and Paul Fortress

One of the main works of Carlo Bartolomeo Rastrelli, a sculptor summoned to St. Petersburg in 1716 by Peter the Great, the author of the first monument to the great emperor. It is believed that the sculpture of Anna Ioannovna is the pinnacle of Rastrelli’s work, one of his most filigree works.

Art. m. Gostiny Dvor, State Russian Museum, Inzhenernaya st., 4

In St. Petersburg, surprisingly, there are no monuments to Elizaveta Petrovna. But there is one in the North-West. The most famous is in Baltiysk, in the Kaliningrad region. This is part of the historical and cultural complex “Elizabethan Fort”. Installed in 2004. The Empress is depicted on horseback in the uniform of the Life Guards Preobrazhensky Regiment (this is exactly how she was dressed during palace coup who brought her to power). The monument was erected in honor of the victories of the Russian army during Seven Years' War, when the territory of East Prussia, where Baltiysk is located, briefly became a region Russian Empire(Peter the Third, a lover of all things German, later returned it to the Prussians for nothing, which caused discontent in Russian society).

Baltiysk, seashore

Grand opening monument great empress Catherine took place in 1873. At the base of the monument, in addition to her, figures of famous figures of Russia of the second half of the 18th century found their place: military leaders Suvorov and Potemkin, Count Rumyantsev, poet Derzhavin, President of the Academy of Arts Betsky, Princess Dashkova, who headed the Academy of Sciences and Russian Academy; Orlov, head of the Collegium of Foreign Affairs Bezborodko and naval commander Chichagov.

Art. m Gostiny Dvor, Ostrovsky Square

There are two monuments to Paul I by master Vitali, absolutely identical. The first one was installed in 1851 opposite the Gatchina Palace, where he spent his youth future emperor. The second is near Pavlovsky. Paul himself was copied by the sculptor Vitali from the most famous ceremonial portrait of the emperor in 1796.

square near the palace of Paul the First in Gatchina

There are also ordinary monuments to Alexander I. For example, in Finland. Moreover, in St. Petersburg itself large monument one of the saddest emperors never appeared on the Russian throne. But there is the Alexander Column. It is believed that the sculptor Orlovsky deliberately gave the angel on its top the facial features of Alexander I.

Art. m. Admiralteyskaya, Palace Square

This monument by Klodt is unique if only for the reason that the horse that carries the emperor has only two points of support. But there were troubles associated with this monument. For example, when they were coming up with a memorial inscription for him, some anonymous person sent a proposal to write “For February 18, 1855” (the day of the death of Nicholas the First): the emperor was so disliked in Russian society.

Art. m. Admiralteyskaya, St. Isaac's Square

This monument, installed on Suvorovsky Prospekt, is a gift from Ukraine to St. Petersburg for its tricentenary, as well as an exact copy famous monument to the Tsar Liberator, which was installed in Kyiv in 1910 and now stands in the courtyard of the local city museum.

Art. m. Chernyshevskaya, courtyard of the Military Academy of Communications, Tikhoretsky Ave., 3

The sculptor Paolo Trubetskoy claimed that he was not involved in politics and simply “depicted one animal on another.” Indeed, the monument to Alexander III, unveiled in 1909 on Znamenskaya Square (the future of the Uprising), was far from the usual ceremonial monuments Russian Tsars: a massive, overweight and formidable imperial body mounted on an equally powerful horse, which does not move anywhere. These are not the rearing horses of Peter and Nicholas, this is not progress, but stability, multiplied by state power ( Alexandra III is still called “the most Russian Tsar” and is praised for the fact that the country did not fight under him). “Hippopotamus on the chest of drawers” ​​- this is from the famous riddle - stood on the square for another twenty years after the revolution. In 1927, it was even used for celebrations, placed in a cage. Now it is installed in the courtyard of the Marble Palace: remarkably, on the site of a revolutionary armored car.

Art. m. Admiralteyskaya, Millionnaya st., 5/1, courtyard of the Marble Palace

In St. Petersburg there is even a monument to the last Russian emperor, to whom monuments were reluctantly erected even after 1991. Moreover, the initiative did not belong to the city authorities and not political party, and to the parish of the Church of the Exaltation of the Cross, near which the bust was installed. The sculptor used only photographic images of the emperor.

Art. m. Obvodny Canal, Ligovsky Prospekt, 128

Another monument to Nicholas II, where he is depicted together with his wife. The monument appeared in 2013, in honor of the 400th anniversary of the House of Romanov and the 120th anniversary of the wedding of the royal family. The location of the building is very symbolic: in 1904, according to a project personally approved by Nicholas II, it was here that the foundation stone of a stone church was carried out on the Obvodny Canal, which was timed to coincide with the tenth anniversary of the royal wedding.

Funds for the creation of the picturesque monument were collected by parishioners of the temple, and it is dedicated not only to the royal couple, but to everyone married couples, whose strength of love and loyalty to each other is worthy of a monument.

Art. m. Baltiyskaya, Church of the Resurrection of Christ (near the Warsaw Station), emb. Obvodny Canal, 116

...should be restored in Samara

In the very heart of Samara - on Alekseevskaya Square, on the pedestal of the monument to Sovereign Emperor Alexander II the Liberator, from 1927 to this day there has been a monument to Lenin.
Since there are still a kind of idols everywhere in Russia - statues of Ilyich, and while he himself lies in the mausoleum on the capital's Red Square, Russia will not rise up - this was repeated to me several times during our meeting at the beginning of this year by the famous Orthodox American, co-secretary of Hieromonk Seraphim (Rose ) Abbot Herman (Podmoshensky - see Blagovest, No. 5, 2003). But isn’t this too simple a recipe: all you have to do is remove the Bolshevik monuments from our streets and society will be freed from the Bolshevik past? I know firsthand with what dedication the Samara residents once sought to return the city to its original name (instead of Kuibyshev). It was a joyful throwing off the shackles of 70 years of Bolshevik captivity, it was an act of repentance. But apparently they didn’t finish something, they became fussy and cool. And Soviet idols still stand in our city, and the main one is the monument to Lenin on the square, which half-heartedly bears two names: the original Alekseevskaya, in honor of St. Alexis, the Heavenly patron of the city, and the Revolution. Worship of the idol of the revolution continues in Samara. They bring flowers to the monument, take children from kindergartens for walks to the park near the monument and tell them about “Grandfather Lenin,” and excursion groups from other cities come here. And Samara residents calmly walk by, thereby silently recognizing the legality of the unauthorized seizure of the Tsar’s pedestal by the self-proclaimed Ilyich. But the little bronze Lenin, and the townspeople know this, like a thief, brazenly took someone else’s place, throwing off the pedestal the majestic monument to the Tsar-Liberator Alexander II, which our ancestors erected for the Tsar using public donations. Immediately after the villainous murder of the Emperor on March 1, 1881, they decided to erect a monument to the Tsar-Liberator in Samara. The commission created by the City Duma settled on the project of Academician V.O. Sherwood, where the Tsar was depicted on a pedestal in a uniform coat and cap, and at the foot there were four emblematic figures representing the four greatest events his reign: the liberation of peasants from serfdom, the conquest of the Caucasus, the liberation of the Slavic brothers from the Turkish yoke, conquests in Central Asia. The acts of the great Tsar-reformer were written in gold on two shields: the annexation of the Amur region, the abolition of corporal punishment, the creation of zemstvo institutions, public legal proceedings, and all-class military service. All figures of the monument were made of chased bronze, the pedestal was made of Finnish granite. Alekseevskaya Square by that time had become the main square of the city. On July 8, 1888, on the day of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, after the Liturgy, the foundation stone for the monument was laid in the Ascension Cathedral on Alekseevskaya Square; it was opened on August 29, 1889. And on November 7, 1927, a bronze figure of Lenin by sculptor M.G. was erected on the pedestal of the monument to Alexander II. Manizer.
Bolshevism, like any totalitarian regime, loved monumental propaganda. Before the revolution, there were few monumental structures; they were erected to glorify kings, outstanding statesmen and significant events in the history of Russia. The erection of sculpture has always been a political matter. The Bolsheviks began by tearing off the monarchical emblems from the obelisk in Moscow in honor of the 300th anniversary of the House of Romanov and writing the names of Marx, Engels, and Plekhanov. They destroyed previous monuments and shamelessly erected their own in their place.
Is the Lenin monument purely historical, as some claim, or is it a political symbol? Is he legally standing in this place and what to do with him next? We addressed these questions to famous people cities.

Leader of the Samara nobility Alexander Yuryevich Chukhonkin:
- On October 21, 2002, the Samara Provincial Noble Assembly adopted an appeal to the Head of Samara G.S. Limansky and deputies of the Samara Provincial Duma with a request to remove the monument to Lenin from the former Alekseevskaya Square. So far we have not received an official response to our letter. But a symbol of godless Soviet power, legally recognized as illegal, cannot stand in the center of the city. I mean the law “On the rehabilitation of victims of political repression” adopted on October 18, 1991, which declares the Soviet government a form totalitarian state, which killed millions of people. No references to what Lenin " an integral part of our history” cannot exist - in Russia they did not erect monuments to Khan Batu and False Dmitry and did not worship their ashes. This is not just a monument, but a symbol of the destruction of Russia. For example, I constantly remember him, I internally disagree with his presence in one of the main squares of the city: it interferes with both living and doing some good things. We are reviving Orthodoxy, but this is hampered by the symbol of godless power. Recently, for Lenin’s next birthday, communists, grandfathers, grandmothers, mostly Russian people, gathered at this monument. I feel so sorry for them, they themselves don’t understand that they come to worship the monument to the destroyer of their state, their faith. After all, it was not those in leather jackets who came who erected this monument. October Revolution was, first of all, anti-Christian. The country was in ruins and starving, and at this time - April 12, 1918, Lenin signed the decree of the Council of People's Commissars "On monuments to the revolution" - on the removal of monuments in honor of the tsars and the establishment of revolutionary monuments. The first monument to Lenin was opened... by Lenin himself in 1918 in the Moscow region. Most of the monuments to Lenin in Russia were erected in 1919 - 1920, during his lifetime and on his initiative. By his order, four monuments to Judas the Traitor were erected, one not far from Samara - in Sviyazhsk. Can you imagine what the people on the ground experienced when the train arrived; they removed the boarded-up monument to Judas from the carriage with instructions to install it. All monuments were cast in Moscow centrally and transported to different places; no one asked the people’s opinion. And before the revolution, monuments in the provinces were usually erected on local initiative and with public donations. The monument to Lenin is a justification for the anti-Christian revolution, the extermination of Russian people, the destruction of churches, execution Royal Family. By removing this monument, we are declaring that Soviet authority was illegal.

Hegumen Veniamin (Labutin), first vice-rector of the Samara Theological Seminary:
- I think it needs to be restored historical justice. We have five monuments to Lenin in Samara: in front of the Metallurg plant, in the Kuibyshevsky district and other places. The statue of Lenin occupies this place illegally, because the monument to Alexander II stood on this pedestal. The Tsar Liberator did a lot for Russia, under him the country became great power. It must be remembered that Russian state began not in October 17, as we have long been told, but more than a thousand years ago. We need to remember our Kings - the outstanding rulers of the past. The change of monuments had a purely ideological significance. In the minds of the people, the memory of the great Orthodox Russia was uprooted; its history itself was viewed as revolutionary movement. Now we see what the socialist experiment has led to in our country. We need to rethink our past, and removing the monument to Lenin will be a very right step. This will not hurt anyone's feelings. We are not talking about destroying this monument. I think it should be installed on an ordinary pedestal in some kind of square or park. Both buildings and monuments must be restored in their original form; this is the tradition in all countries of the world. And in Samara they will be presented different eras: both the era of the Tsar Liberator and the era of the Bolsheviks.

Ivan Ivanovich Melnikov, sculptor, author of monuments to St. Alexy, Metropolitan of Moscow and St. Sergius of Radonezh in Samara, on Alekseevskaya embankment:
- The monument to Tsar-Liberator Alexander II was erected with public money. As far as I know, no one raised money for the monument to Lenin. The essence of the matter is that the monument to Lenin was placed in someone else’s place. The monument to the Tsar was removed because it was associated with Orthodox Russia. But history cannot be rewritten.
The monument to Alexander II is a good sculptural work, everything about it was laconic and harmonious, it fit perfectly into the building. And he was one of a kind, he was the face of Samara. The monument to Lenin is the work of Manizer, famous sculptor Soviet times, I know many of his students. Can't be denied - Manizer good master, there are no complaints about the sculpture itself. But exactly the same monuments to Lenin as ours were erected all over the country. In addition, this monument does not correspond to the pedestal and does not fit into the square. The sculpture of Lenin could be placed in a modest park on a low pedestal - it would look much better.
There are examples when monuments are restored. In St. Petersburg, for the 300th anniversary of the city, a bust of Peter I was restored based on old photographs. Photographs of the monument to the Tsar Liberator have also been preserved, so this is possible. This is an expensive job - casting in bronze, I think, about 10 million in rubles. But our city, if there is the political will of its leaders and the support of its citizens, will be able to handle this amount. If it is true that, as they say, the monument is located at the bottom of the Volga, it is worth looking for it - bronze is preserved in water. Judging by its size, it must have weighed about two tons, and it could not have been carried too far.

Alexander Nikiforovich Zavalny, chief bibliographer of the Samara regional scientific library:
- Much is connected with Alexander II in Samara. In August 1871, he laid the foundation stone here for the Cathedral of the Resurrection under construction. In 1873, a vocational school was founded in Samara, named Alexandrovsky in his honor. Samara public library in 1882 it began to be called Aleksandrovskaya, it had the Alexander II hall, which later grew out of it Museum of Local Lore. The largest bridge across the Volga near Syzran was named Alexandrovsky. The monument to the Tsar Liberator must be returned to its rightful place or restored to its original form. But there is no need to destroy the monument to Lenin. It would be possible to organize an exhibition of monumental Soviet sculpture in the Country Park, moving monuments to Lenin, Kuibyshev and others from the city streets there.

The Samara Provincial Gazette reported that in 2002 in Saratov, a group of residents took the initiative to restore the monument to Alexander II, which stood on the square. The Emperor's monument will be restored. Saratov will become the second city after Moscow where the monument to the Tsar Liberator will be re-erected. The monument to the Tsar Liberator, thrown from its pedestal by the Bolsheviks and drowned in a pond, is being restored in Yuzhno-Kamsk. The monument to Alexander III is being restored in Irkutsk.
Is the monument to the Tsar Liberator still preserved in Samara? They say that the emblematic figures were in a building on the street. Kuibyshevskaya, 131, where there used to be a city museum. Old-timers told A.N. Zavalny that individual parts of the monument were kept in different institutions, in particular, the head of the monument to the Emperor was kept at the military medical faculty of the Kuibyshev Medical Institute. Local historian Galina Rassokhina adheres to the version that the monument was dragged along Zavodskaya Street (now Ventsek Street) to the Volga. There will be no answer to this and other questions until we have the courage to change our lives. Until we want to live in Holy Rus'.

While this publication was being prepared, our editors received several letters on this topic.

I want to tell you about a dream I had in 1970. I was neither a Komsomol member nor a party member, but I respected Lenin and even began to pray for his soul. I really wanted to visit the Mausoleum and see Lenin there. And now I see this dream. Lenin lies in the Mausoleum in a glass coffin, the top glass is missing, and he is all wrapped in bloody bandages, pale, thrashing about, groaning, throwing his arms from side to side. I look at him and think how to help him. Suddenly he opens his eyes and says to me: “How tired I am, you can’t even imagine how tired I am.” He closed his eyes and again began to rush about in delirium. Now, having read Blagovest, all this has become clearer to me. Indeed, why is it not removed from the Mausoleum? He is an atheist, he renounced God, he took down the cross, he and his minions killed so many innocent people, and orphaned children. Before the revolution there were not so many orphans, beggars and hungry people. My grandfather had land and cattle, they took everything away, left him beggars, they didn’t take him to the collective farm - “you’re an average peasant,” he was sent to prison, he returned sick. So let’s all write together to the Government and the Duma to remove Lenin from the Mausoleum and his monuments from the central squares, maybe we’ll stop being under the curse. I'm ready to collect signatures.
L. Kurdina, Astrakhan

It was especially shocking that Abbot Herman began and ended the conversation with the fact that Russia will not rise while, in the words of Igor Talkov, “the main atheist lies on Red Square” while there are monuments to Lenin in the centers of Russian cities. On the eve of the celebration of the 1100th anniversary of the mention of the city of Pskov in the chronicles, the issue of installing monuments to Princess Olga was discussed (there are two of them - Klykova and Tsereteli, and both were gifts for the anniversary). All expert opinions and responses were presented in the Pskovskaya Pravda newspaper. In his letter “Olga - to the central square!” in this newspaper on February 23 this year. I wrote: “Equal to the Apostles Princess Olga is for centuries, she is for centuries. She saw a sign from Heaven over the present Pskov Kremlin. What did you see historical figure, whose monument now occupies the center of the square, except for the supervision of the police and the Iskra newspaper? The history of the founding of the city is in Olga’s vision. Do we want our children and grandchildren to imitate the leader of the revolution? Olga is not only the Equal-to-the-Apostles enlightener of Rus' through Baptism through her grandson, Prince Vladimir. She has long been a symbol of the Pskov land, Russian Woman, Heavenly and Earthly Beauty for many generations of Russian people. And Beauty must be protected. And remember your kinship, and honor such great ancestors. Otherwise, our children and grandchildren will pay dearly for our laziness, for our cowardice!”
Our authorities have not yet decided to remove the monument to Lenin or at least move it to another place. Through the prayers of the holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Princess Olga and all the saints, may the Lord allow us to see His light! I ask for the prayers of everyone who is not indifferent to the fate of Holy Rus'.
Larisa Ivanova, Pskov

Ghost of communism

We have already written more than once about the 94-year-old prayer book from Samara, Nikifor Abakumov. The editors are friends with this elderly man, who has lived all his life in the world, but has carried deep faith through all life’s hardships and trials. Now grandfather Nikifor, as Orthodox Christians colloquially call him, lives in a wooden house in the center of Samara, where believers often come to see him different generations for advice and requests for prayer.
“About seven years ago,” Grandfather Nikifor tells our employee, artist Irina Evstigneeva, “Ilyich appeared to me in a dream.” With echoing footsteps he announced his presence to me. It seemed that all this was happening not in a dream, but in reality. His appearance was depressing. The face is black, all darker than night, not a single bright spot...
“Did you find out?...” Ilyich asked him. “I found out,” answered Nikifor Abakumov. - Volodya?!.” “Remember me,” Lenin asked. “Otherwise everyone rustles papers, but I don’t get anything for it.” After these words, the dream ended.
Irina suggested in a conversation that the words about “papers” could mean memorial notes in the church, which for obvious reasons do not include the name of Vladimir Ulyanov-Lenin, the destroyer of the Orthodox Empire. But grandfather Nikifor explained these words differently: everything written by Ilyich, all these multi-volume collections of his works are still read by people, but do not give their author any relief... Probably, both explanations are possible.
Since then, grandfather Nikifor began to remember his historical visitor in cell prayer. And at the same time I felt some kind of spiritual heaviness. But he soon stopped praying for Ilyich. It turned out that Ilyich was not the only one who appeared to him... An old church woman he knew, already lying on her deathbed, told him that in her vision, Ulyanov-Lenin asked for prayers. “At least give me some water!” - he told her frantically. According to Russian compassion, she wanted to give him a mug of water, but could not do this, since she was already bedridden with a fatal illness. With horror, she saw how Ilyich began to greedily drink from the garbage can... Then she, feeling pity for him, decided to pray for him in the short time that she had left to live. But, having prayed to God, she suddenly saw the terrible hellish tartar and heard the cries of suffering sinners, and realized that, having dared to pray for Lenin, she herself might end up there...
“Having learned about this, I also stopped praying for Ilyich,” grandfather Nikifor summed up the conversation. “It’s not within our power to beg for it... And as for the monument to Lenin in Samara, there’s nothing to think about: it needs to be removed,” and the ninety-year-old old man made a characteristic jerking movement with his foot... There, they say, it’s there, there, away from our eyes...

From the editor: By publishing these letters and memoirs, we do not want to cause pain to those Russian people who sincerely believed and continue to believe in the false ideas of Leninism. We would not reopen old wounds if the blood of hundreds of thousands of tortured Orthodox Christians did not stand behind these outdated ideas. That is why Lenin in our country is not just a historical figure, but a certain symbol that divides people of the same nation, the same language, the same culture - into people of different faiths.