The decision to create a monument to Alexander II was made by the Olonets provincial zemstvo (local government) assembly in 1881, a few months after the emperor’s tragic death. Alexander II was assassinated on March 1, 1881. Nikolay Rysakov, one of the attackers who dropped the first of two bombs, was born in the Olonets province.
The decree of the provincial zemstvo said, “To erect in the town of Petrozavodsk at the expense of the provincial zemstvo a monument to the late Emperor Alexander II and to establish the amount of money in His name, with the aim of using interest from this sum to pay state taxes for the poor.”
The Town Council decided to build the monument on the square near the Holy Spirit Cathedral. The ceremony of laying the foundation took place on July 15, 1884. The grand opening of the monument took place on August 30, 1885. The image of Alexander II was cast according to the model of the sculptor Ivan Schröder, the pedestal was built according to the drawing of Academician Anthony Tomishko.
The emperor was portrayed in a general’s uniform, with his head uncovered. There is a royal robe on his shoulders — it reaches the pedestal. Above it is a chain of the Order of St. Andrew the Apostle the First-Called. With his left hand, Alexander II supports the robe, and in his right hand, he holds a scroll which features the date “February 19, 1861”. This was the day when the Emancipation Manifesto was issued. Thanks to this decision, the emperor became known in history as the “Liberator”.
The pedestal was made of dark green marble at the Tivdia Marble Factory. The monument has not survived to this day as on October 27, 1918, according to the decision of the Executive Committee of the Petrozavodsk Town Council on the destruction of all monuments to the representatives of the Romanov dynasty, the sculpture was dismantled and sent for recycling. A few days later, a regional newspaper published an article with the headline “Enough! It stood — now let another do it!” Nowadays, not far from the location of the monument to Alexander II, you can see another monument dedicated to the Bolshevik revolution hero Sergey Kirov.
The decree of the provincial zemstvo said, “To erect in the town of Petrozavodsk at the expense of the provincial zemstvo a monument to the late Emperor Alexander II and to establish the amount of money in His name, with the aim of using interest from this sum to pay state taxes for the poor.”
The Town Council decided to build the monument on the square near the Holy Spirit Cathedral. The ceremony of laying the foundation took place on July 15, 1884. The grand opening of the monument took place on August 30, 1885. The image of Alexander II was cast according to the model of the sculptor Ivan Schröder, the pedestal was built according to the drawing of Academician Anthony Tomishko.
The emperor was portrayed in a general’s uniform, with his head uncovered. There is a royal robe on his shoulders — it reaches the pedestal. Above it is a chain of the Order of St. Andrew the Apostle the First-Called. With his left hand, Alexander II supports the robe, and in his right hand, he holds a scroll which features the date “February 19, 1861”. This was the day when the Emancipation Manifesto was issued. Thanks to this decision, the emperor became known in history as the “Liberator”.
The pedestal was made of dark green marble at the Tivdia Marble Factory. The monument has not survived to this day as on October 27, 1918, according to the decision of the Executive Committee of the Petrozavodsk Town Council on the destruction of all monuments to the representatives of the Romanov dynasty, the sculpture was dismantled and sent for recycling. A few days later, a regional newspaper published an article with the headline “Enough! It stood — now let another do it!” Nowadays, not far from the location of the monument to Alexander II, you can see another monument dedicated to the Bolshevik revolution hero Sergey Kirov.
