History of the Savior on Blood (Church of the Resurrection of Christ). Monuments and temples in honor of Alexander II Temple of Emperor Alexander II in Crimea

It is impossible not to notice the golden domes of the main Orthodox cathedral of Yalta when walking along one of the most picturesque streets of the city - Sadovaya. The Cathedral of the Holy Prince Alexander Nevsky is not only one of the most beautiful churches in the Crimea, it is also a monument of national history associated with the names of three Russian emperors.

By the whole world

The construction of the golden-domed Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Yalta is associated with the tragic death of the Russian Emperor Alexander the Liberator, who died at the hands of the People's Will. In honor of the tenth anniversary of the death of Alexander II, the Yalta people's community decided to perpetuate his memory by building a new cathedral. At this time, churches were built throughout Russia in honor of the Holy Prince Alexander Nevsky, who is the heavenly patron of the Romanov dynasty. This idea was supported by Emperor Alexander III. With his blessing, on March 1, 1890, a construction committee was established, headed by the famous engineer and scientist A.L. Berthier-Delagard. The composition also included thirty respected Yalta residents: among them, Prince V.V. Trubetskoy, Count N.S. Mordvinov, baron chamberlain, engineer A.L. Wrangel, Privy Councilor P.I. Gubonin, Dr. V.N. Dmitriev, famous architects P.K. Terebenev and N.A. Stackenschneider. Funds for the construction were collected from all over the world. Significant sums were donated by noble townspeople B.V. Khvoshchinsky and I.F. Tokmakov, and a plot of land for construction was presented by Baron A. L. Wrangel. The ebb of the bells for the temple, which took place in Moscow, was paid for by the Crimean wine merchant and philanthropist N.D. Stakheev. As a result, the belfry was decorated with 11 bells, one of which weighed 428 pounds, which is more than 6 tons.

The initial project was developed by the architect K. I. Ashliman. However, this option was not approved. The sovereign noted that "there was little Russian element" in it. On the contrary, the project of the well-known architect in the Crimea P. K. Terebenev was to everyone's taste. A two-tier, five-domed building, equipped with a three-tier bell tower, generously decorated with open outdoor galleries and an abundance of colorful Russian patterns in the form of pilasters, porches, hearts and icon cases - this is how the future temple appeared in the latest version. It was decided to build something fabulously beautiful in the old Russian style.

The implementation of the implementation of the plan and the general management of the construction was taken over by the military engineer, the builder of the Yalta pier A.L. Berthier-Delagard. Construction supervision was entrusted to the famous architect N.P. Krasnov.

It took more than 10 years to build. During this time, two floors were built, which included two churches: the lower one in the name of the Holy Great Martyr Artemy, and the upper, main one, in the name of Grand Duke Alexander Nevsky.

The extraordinary beauty of the outer appearance of the temple was not inferior to its interior decoration. The best craftsmen were invited to carry out murals and mosaics. In 1901, an all-Russian competition was held, the winner of which was entrusted with the design of the Holy of Holies Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. The first place was taken by the architect S.P. Kroshechkin. The iconostasis was made according to the designs of N.P. Krasnov, painting of the dome and walls in the Byzantine style was done by Kyiv artist I. Murashko. On the outer side of the temple, in a granite frame-kiot, a mosaic panel with the image of the Holy Prince Alexander Nevsky was placed. This filigree work was done by the students of the Venetian master Antonio Salviati.

And so, after a long and painstaking work, the miracle church was ready. In December 1902, Emperor Nicholas II himself, along with his retinue, arrived to illuminate it. It was a significant event for the Crimea, which brought together a huge number of people. The rite of illumination was conducted by Archbishop Nikolai, who was assisted by the archpriest of the Nazarevsky Cathedral, Archpriest Ternovsky and Yalta priests Serbinov, Shchukin, Krylov and Shcheglov.

“The construction of the temple was excellent, fundamental, durable and stylish: the Russian style is remarkably well maintained,” such was the opinion of the selection committee and all those present and those who saw the new Yalta shrine for the first time. Empress Maria Feodorovna was unable to attend the ceremony, but she sent a telegram that read: “I rejoice with all my heart at the consecration of the cathedral, at the laying of which I was present in 1891, remembering all those who worked at its foundation and thinking with joy about the prayers that from now on are for everyone in it they will ascend.” Later, the newspapers will write: “Nicholas II and Alexandra Feodorovna kissed the holy cross, then the emperor lit the lamp. Then a procession was made around the cathedral and to the lower church for the holy gifts. After the liturgy, all the clergy went to the middle of the temple and proclaimed many years to the House of Romanov, and then eternal memory to the emperors Alexander II and Alexander III, Empress Maria Alexandrovna and Grand Duke George Alexandrovich, who died in the Caucasus ... ".

Later, a two-story clergy house was built next to the temple, resembling a Russian tower. Its author was M.I. Kittens. In 1903-1908, another three-story building was built on the church grounds; there was an assembly hall for the Alexander Nevsky Brotherhood. It also housed a parochial school named after Tsarevich Alexei and a shelter for people suffering from lung diseases. The first archpriest of the cathedral was Alexander Yakovlevich Ternovsky, who had previously served in the church of St. John Chrysostom.

Alexander Nevsky Cathedral has become a favorite place of the Crimeans. In one of the letters of A.P. Chekhov described the cathedral as follows: "Here, in Yalta, there is a new church, big bells ring, it's nice to listen, because it looks like Russia." Both on holidays and in sorrowful moments, the doors of the church were open to people. Here they were baptized, married, held funeral services.

Troubled times

The temple shared the suffering and sorrows of its parishioners in the hard times of the revolution and civil war. Like an island surrounded by a raging ocean, it has become a refuge and consolation for the afflicted. The cathedral guarded, supported the faith, protected the lives of people. In 1918, during the shelling of Yalta, residents of the city hid within its walls.

During the revolution, the building survived, but not all of the rich decoration. Under shouts: "religion is an opium for the people!", the bells were unceremoniously thrown down and sent to be melted down. In 1938, the cathedral was closed, and a sports club was organized in its building. It is still unknown where the iconostasis is located. Later, its reconstruction was carried out according to photographs from the personal archive of the architect N.P. Krasnov.

Services were resumed in 1942. In the post-war years, an outstanding doctor, philosopher and theologian, now known as St. Luke, confessor, Archbishop of Crimea (V. F. Voyno-Yasenetsky), served in the cathedral, and the rector, from the beginning of the 50s, was his associate and friend, the mitered archpriest Mikhail Semenyuk.

In 2002, Crimeans celebrated the 100th anniversary of the consecration of the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. By this significant date, with the blessing of Metropolitan Lazar of Simferopol and Crimea, with the participation of the city mayor's office, as well as the heads of all health resorts and enterprises of Greater Yalta, entrepreneurs and ordinary people, the domes of the church were gilded and the iconostasis painting was restored. In 2005-2006, with the direct participation of parishioners and city authorities, the facade of the cathedral was restored. Currently, services are held in the cathedral, as in the good old days. Since 1995, a general education school has been operating at the temple, in which about 100 children study.

February 19 (March 3) marks the 150th anniversary of the signing by Emperor Alexander II of the Manifesto on the abolition of serfdom and the Regulations on peasants leaving serfdom.
March 1 (13) - 130 years since the death of Alexander II at the hands of a terrorist.
Let's look at the current state of the St. Petersburg monuments to the Emperor-Liberator

On Suvorovsky
This monument was unveiled on May 31, 2003 in front of the building of the former Nikolaev Academy of the General Staff at 32b Suvorovsky Prospekt. It is a gift from Ukraine for the 300th anniversary of St. Petersburg and an exact copy of the statue created by the sculptor Mark Antokolsky (1843-1902).
The newspaper "Kyivlyanin" dated November 23, 1910. reported: "Yesterday, November 22, the Kyiv mayor received a notification from Baron V.G. Ginzburg that he intends to donate to the city of Kyiv a statue of Emperor Alexander II, the model of which was made by the famous sculptor Antokolsky. This statue will be made of bronze and on will be cast in Paris in a few days, after which it will be sent to Kyiv. Baron Ginzburg expresses his desire that the statue of Emperor Alexander II be installed in the hall of the public city library"(now - the Parliamentary Library in Kyiv).

The original statue was erected in 1910. in the lobby of the city public library, and now resides in the courtyard of the Kyiv Museum of Russian Art.

This is the only one of the 3 monuments to Alexander II in Kyiv that has survived to this day. The plaster author's version of the sculpture, made in the late 1890s, is in the collection of the State Russian Museum in St. Petersburg.

Near the Central Bank
The monument to Emperor Alexander II on Lomonosov Street near the Main Directorate of the Central Bank for St. Petersburg was opened on June 1, 2005. The red ribbon was cut by the then head of the Russian Central Bank Viktor Gerashchenko. Alexander II is considered the founder of the State Bank of the Russian Empire (1860), from which the current Central Bank of the Russian Federation traces its history.

The bronze bust of the Emperor, according to available information, was cast before the revolution and is a copy of the work of the sculptor Matvey Chizhov (1838-1916), the original of which is also in the State Russian Museum. The plaque on the pedestal bears the inscription: "... The State Commercial Bank, in accordance with the Charter approved by Us, to give a new structure and the name of the State Bank ...".
The architect of the project is Vyacheslav Bukhaev, corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Arts from St. Petersburg.

In the courtyard of the University
The bronze composition by the sculptor Pavel Shevchenko was installed in the courtyard of the Faculty of Philology of St. Petersburg State University on March 1, 2008.

According to the author, it recreates a tragic moment - a terrorist act. The semantic center of the composition is a copy of the death mask of the martyr king. Next to the figure of Alexander II, there is a cross, a wing of the Guardian Angel, as if turning away from him, and a torn coat of arms of the Russian Empire.
The building of the Faculty of Philology was erected by decree of Alexander II, who also transferred to the University the neighboring Colleges - the current administrative building. During the reign of the tsar-reformer, the charter of the Imperial University was adopted.
You can see what the whole monument looks like.

I really don't like this statue. I consider the idea blasphemous, and the execution and place of installation - not corresponding to the scale of the personality and the historical significance of the Sovereign.

Ruin
On the Fontanka Embankment, 132, there is a dilapidated pedestal covered with snow

This is all that remains of the monument to Alexander II, opened here in 1892. Sculptor - N.A. Lavretsky, architect - P.A. Samsonov.

In house 132 there was the Alexander Hospital for laborers in memory of February 19, 1861. It was opened in 1866. at the personal expense of the Emperor. The hospital building was built in 1864-66. according to the project of arch. I.V.Shtroma.

The bronze bust of the Emperor was mounted on a figured stand and a high stepped pedestal made of blocks of colored granite. He was depicted in a hussar uniform, with a ribbon and an aiguillette, in shoulder straps, with the St. George Cross, orders and stars. Inscriptions on the pedestal: on the front side: "To Emperor Alexander II. Founder of the hospital"; on the side faces: "The hospital was founded in memory of February 19, 1861, built by the City Public Administration in 1892."

The monument was destroyed in 1931. For a long time, the leader of the world proletariat flaunted on its pedestal. Then he disappeared, but the inscription appeared - "The Invisible Man". With this name, the object entered the urban folklore.

According to the newspaper "My District"
over the reconstruction of the monument since 1996. sculptor Stanislav Golovanov works.

However, for 15 years, the 2 million rubles required for the manufacture of the bust were never found. I would very much like to reach out to the city authorities in this anniversary year. Although I do not believe in such a possibility.

Now let's go through the nearest suburbs of St. Petersburg.

This is how the monument to the Tsar-Liberator in the village of Murino, opened in 1911, looked like. next to the chapel of St. blgv. Prince Alexander Nevsky

This is a modern view of the chapel. The tree has grown, and the snow-covered mound on the left is, apparently, the remains of the monument's pedestal.

Disappeared
In the same 1911 busts of Emperor Alexander II were opened:
- in Pargolovo, also in front of the chapel. Under Soviet rule, both the monument and the chapel were destroyed.

In the Old Village, destroyed

In Ropsha, destroyed.

In Yalta there is a beautiful cathedral in the name of Alexander Nevsky. He is truly admired by everyone who sees him.

In the 80s of the 19th century, churches were built throughout Russia in memory of the martyr Tsar Alexander II, who died on March 1, 1881 from a bomb that exploded at his feet. They were consecrated in honor of Alexander Nevsky, who was the heavenly patron of Russian tsars. In the Crimea, temples were built in Simferopol and Feodosia in honor of this saint. The people of Yalta also decided to build a large cathedral, especially since the city grew and the church of St. John Chrysostom became cramped. The intention of the townspeople was supported by Emperor Alexander III.

Portrait of Emperor Alexander II

On March 1, 1890, a construction committee was established, headed by the famous engineer, scientist, local historian A.L. Berthier-Delagard. The committee included thirty respected Yalta residents: among them, Prince V.V. Trubetskoy, Count N.S. Mordvinov, baron chamberlain, engineer A.L. Wrangel, Privy Councilor P.I. Gubonin, Dr. V.N. Dmitriev, famous architects P.K. Terebenev and N.A. Stackenschneider, son of the architect who built the palace in Oreanda.

The Committee appealed to the Yalta City Council with a request to allocate a site near the Livadia Bridge for construction. But it turned out that this place brought a good income to the city, so they offered another one, in the city center, at the intersection of Sadovaya and Morskaya streets at the foot of Mount Darsan. A large plot of land located nearby was donated by Baron A.L. Wrangell. Different people donated to the temple: the city government allocated 6,000 rubles for the construction, the same amount was donated by Major General Bogdan Vasilyevich Khvoshchinsky, wine merchant I.F. Tokmakov 1000 rubles. And ordinary Yalta residents brought as much as they could.


The first project of the temple was developed in 1889 by the architect K.I. Ashliman, but it was not approved. The new project was commissioned to be done by N.P. Krasnov, who worked in collaboration with P.K. Terebenev. On March 1, 1891, on the day of the tenth anniversary of the death of Emperor Alexander II, a solemn laying of the foundation of a new temple took place. Archbishop Martinian served a prayer service right at the construction site. Empress Maria Feodorovna laid the first stone in the foundation of the future temple.

For the temple, the architect chose the Old Russian style, using many decorative architectural elements: pilasters, portals, chests of drawers, hearts. The cathedral was built in two tiers, with open galleries and a hipped porch. Painted in white and pink tones, which made it elegant, festive. Icons for the temple were made in Mstera, Vladimir province.

11 bells for the three-tiered bell tower of the cathedral were cast in Moscow, the main bell weighed 428 pounds. All the bells were donated to the temple by the Crimean wine merchant and philanthropist N.D. Stakheev.

Cathedral of Alexander Nevsky. Yalta

The consecration of the cathedral took place on December 4, 1902, by Archbishop Nikolai, who was assisted by the archpriest of the cathedral Nazarevsky, Archpriest Ternovsky and Yalta priests Serbinov, Shchukin, Krylov and Shcheglov. The new temple struck with its originality: "The construction of the temple is excellent, fundamental, durable and stylish: the Russian style is remarkably well maintained", - such was the opinion of the commission that accepted the temple.

At eleven o'clock the imperial family arrived from Livadia. Empress Maria Feodorovna was unable to attend the ceremony, she sent a telegram: “I rejoice with all my heart at the consecration of the cathedral, at the laying of which I was present in 1891, remembering all those who worked at its foundation and thinking with joy about the prayers that from now on for everyone in it will be offered ". Nicholas II and Alexandra Feodorovna venerated the holy cross, then the emperor lit a lampada. A procession was made around the cathedral and to the lower church for the holy gifts. After the liturgy, all the clergy went to the middle of the temple and proclaimed many years to the House of Romanov, and then eternal memory to Emperors Alexander II and Alexander III, Empress Maria Alexandrovna and Grand Duke George Alexandrovich, who died in the Caucasus. They proclaimed many years to the builders of the temple and to all Orthodox Christians.

The splendor and extraordinary beauty of the outer appearance of the temple had to be combined with the interior design. Therefore, in 1901, an all-Russian competition was held, the winner of which could decorate the interior of the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. The first place was taken by the architect S.P. Kroshechkin. According to the projects of N.P. Krasnov, Kyiv artist I. Murashko painted the iconostasis, he also made a continuous painting of the dome and walls in the Byzantine style. On the outer side of the temple, in a granite frame-kiot, a mosaic panel with the image of the Holy Prince Alexander Nevsky was placed. The mosaic was made by the students of the Venetian master Antonio Salviati.

The temple is double-altar: the upper altar was consecrated in the name of St. Alexander Nevsky, and the lower one in the name of St. Artemy, this saint is honored by the church on October 20, on this day Emperor Alexander III died. All the domes of the cathedral were covered with gold. And eleven bells were a special pride, their crimson chime spilled over Yalta, the surrounding mountains and the sea.


In one of the letters of A.P. Chekhov said of the new cathedral: "Here, in Yalta, there is a new church, big bells are ringing, it's nice to listen, because it looks like Russia."

In the same style with the temple, a two-story house of the clergy was later built, resembling an ancient Russian tower. Its author was M.I. Kittens. In 1903-1908, another three-storey house was built; there was a large assembly hall for the Alexander Nevsky Brotherhood. This house housed a parochial school and a shelter for weak-breasted patients. The school was named after Tsarevich Alexei.

The Orthodox Brotherhood of the Holy Prince Alexander Nevsky was created by decree of Emperor Alexander III and the Tauride Spiritual Consistory at the Simferopol Cathedral on November 23, 1868. The founder of the brotherhood was Archbishop Gury (Karpov). The tasks of the brotherhood were varied: to create parochial schools, provide them and churches with material assistance, build new churches, take care of the poor, the elderly and orphans, fight schisms and sectarianism. During the First World War, the Alexander Nevsky Brotherhood and the community of sisters of mercy of the Red Cross collected gifts, medicines, medicinal herbs for soldiers, set up infirmaries and sanatoriums for the wounded. The Brotherhood enjoyed well-deserved authority, it was distinguished by the spirit of mercy and piety.


The first archpriest of the cathedral was Alexander Yakovlevich Ternovsky, who previously served in the church of St. John Chrysostom. The cathedral became the favorite temple of the Yalta residents. They came here on holidays and in days of grief. The temple shared with the parishioners the hardships of the revolution and the civil war, here they not only supported faith in people, the cathedral guarded, protected people's lives. In 1918, during the shelling of Yalta by the Red Guards, residents of the city took refuge in its walls.

In June 1918, the wife of F.M. Dostoevsky Anna Grigorievna. She was buried at the cemetery in Autka, and only many years later her ashes were transferred to the Alexander Nevsky Lavra in St. Petersburg, where F.M. Dostoevsky.

In 1938 the cathedral was closed. The bells were removed and sent for smelting. A sports club was organized in the temple.

Divine service in the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral was resumed in 1945 and has not stopped since then. The building of the parochial school, where the teacher's house used to be, was returned to the temple. Now here again the priests are talking with the children, there is a children's choir at the school.

In this post, we will talk about creation history temple-monument Savior on Spilled Blood, or Church of the Resurrection of Christ: we will find out why it got such a name, what architects and in what style it was built, how the construction and finishing works were progressing, and also how the fate of this unique monument temple was after the revolution, in the 20th and 21st centuries. Savior on Spilled Blood on an old postcard (from the site):

Architecture in detail this brightest example of the "Russian style" in St. Petersburg can be found in the article "The Savior on Spilled Blood: the architecture of the temple". Descriptions and photos of the interior of the Savior on Spilled Blood can be found in the note "Interior decoration". Practical information about visiting the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood(how to get there, opening hours, ticket prices, etc.) .

Background. Murder on the Catherine Canal

To erect church buildings in honor of important historical events or in memory of the dead is an ancient tradition of Russian architecture. Examples include the Church of the Intercession-on-the-Nerl, the Church of St. Demetrius-on-the-Blood, or, say, St. Basil's Cathedral, with which the Savior on Blood is sometimes compared (although their actual similarity is not so great). True, if the Moscow temple was built on a joyful occasion (the capture of Kazan), then the St. Petersburg one is dedicated to a far from cheerful event: Savior on Spilled Blood stands in the place where March 1, 1881(according to the old style) as a result of a terrorist act was mortally wounded Emperor Alexander II.

Alexander II entered the history of Russia as liberator king, the initiator of many reforms, however, terrorists did not hunt for any other ruler for so long and mercilessly.

The reign of Alexander II from the very beginning was marked by ominous omens. The first happened already during the coronation: at the celebrations in the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin on August 26, 1856, the elderly courtier suddenly lost consciousness and dropped the pillow with the orb. The symbol of autocracy, ringing, rolled across the stone floor...

Under Alexander II, a real restructuring of the state began, numerous reforms unparalleled in the history of Russia: the liquidation of military settlements, the introduction of a jury, the organization of zemstvo self-government, the reform of censorship, the reform of education, the military reform (the transition from recruitment to universal military service) and, most importantly, the reform, abolition of serfdom.

However, in fact, the reform turned out to be half-hearted. For many peasants, it came down to the fact that they ceased to be formally called "serfs", but nothing has changed in their position. The great reforms did not affect the very organization of power. Public discontent grew. Peasant riots broke out. Many protest groups also appeared among the intelligentsia and workers. The radical intelligentsia called on the country to the ax, threatening to exterminate the landowners and the royal family itself. On April 4, 1866, the first assassination attempt on Alexander II: Dmitry Karakozov shot at the emperor at the bars of the Summer Garden in St. Petersburg, but missed. In memory of the salvation of the emperor, a chapel was erected on that place (now demolished; photo source):

About a year after that, on May 25, 1867, in Paris, Alexander II was shot unsuccessfully by the Polish emigrant Anton Berezovsky. These failed assassination attempts put an end to the era of the "Great Reforms". A period of police repression began. The latter, in turn, further spurred public indignation and laid the foundation for terrorist activities. If until then the majority of anti-government groups were engaged in propaganda and agitation, then from the mid-late 1870s a clear tilt towards terrorist acts began. In 1879, the organization " People's Will”, which set as its goal an open struggle with state power and declared a real hunt for the autocrat.

Emperor Alexander II in his study (photo source):

So, on April 2, 1879, Alexander Solovyov, a populist revolutionary, shot at Alexander II almost point-blank on Palace Square. The terrorist missed. Then, on November 19, 1879, members of Narodnaya Volya made an attempt to blow up the imperial train near Moscow, but a confused route accidentally saved the tsar. Already on February 5, 1880, the Narodnaya Volya organized a new assassination attempt on the emperor: Stepan Khalturin blew up the Winter Palace, but Alexander II at that time was at the other end of the palace and was not injured. Soldiers on guard were killed.

A. Solovyov's attempt on the life of Alexander II (source of illustration):

Assassination attempt on March 1, 1881, which became fatal for the emperor, was prepared by the People's Will, led by Andrei Zhelyabov. But a few days before the assassination attempt, Zhelyabov was arrested, and the operation was headed by Sofia Perovskaya.

This time, too, it was not without ominous omens: on the eve of the emperor, several times he saw dead pigeons under the windows of his palace. It turned out that a huge kite settled on the roof, which killed pigeons. The kite was caught, but in St. Petersburg they started talking that this was not good.

Having previously studied the emperor's usual route from the Mikhailovsky Manege, the terrorists dug a tunnel to Malaya Sadovaya (Ekaterininskaya) Street and laid a mine. However, on that day, Alexander II unexpectedly changed the route and, after the guards were raised in the arena, went to visit his cousin, Grand Duchess Ekaterina Mikhailovna, the mistress of the Mikhailovsky Palace. Having learned about this change, Sofia Perovskaya quickly got her bearings and transferred the "bombers" to Catherine's Canal(now Griboyedov Canal) .

After tasting tea with his cousin, Alexander II returned to the Winter Palace along the embankment. Catherine's Canal. Sofya Perovskaya, who was standing at the lattice of the Mikhailovsky Garden, saw the royal carriage, waved her handkerchief, after which a member of the Narodnaya Volya party, a student N. Rysakov rushed after the carriage and with force threw a bundle with a bomb under the carriage. There was a deafening explosion. The back of the carriage was torn apart, and on the pavement, in a pool of blood, two Cossack escorts and a peasant peddler boy were writhing in their death throes.

Bomb-damaged royal carriage (illustration source):

The killer was captured. The king was not hurt. Leaving the carriage, he wanted to look at the criminal, and then went along the canal to the wounded, but suddenly a figure of another "bomber" unnoticed by the guards separated from the canal grate. It was a people's Ignatius Grinevitsky.

The bomb thrown by Grinevitsky tore off both of the emperor's legs. Here it is appropriate to recall another creepy legend: as if even at the birth of the future Russian emperor, a certain city holy fool Fedor predicted that the sovereign " will be mighty, glorious and strong, but will die in red boots» .

Shortly before his death, Alexander II signed the constitutional draft of M. T. Loris-Melikov (introduction to the State Council of elected delegates from cities and provinces). And so, on the eve of the publication of the decree, which was supposed to mark the beginning of constitutional government in Russia, on March 1, 1881, the tsar-liberator was killed.

The seriously wounded Alexander II is placed in a sleigh (source of illustration):

This eighth attempt was fatal. How can one not recall the French fortune teller who predicted to the emperor that he would die from the eighth of the assassination attempts made on him.

Alexander II and his assassin died almost simultaneously, a few hours after the explosion. The emperor died at 15:35 in the afternoon in the Winter Palace, and Grinevitsky - in the court hospital, which was then located in house number 9 on the embankment of the Catherine Canal (;). The remaining participants in the assassination attempt - Rysakov, Kibalchich, Mikhailov, Zhelyabov and Perovskaya - were sentenced to death by hanging, which took place on April 3, 1881 on the Semyonovsky parade ground.

It was said that, rising to the platform of the scaffold, Sofya Perovskaya suddenly seemed to grab a white handkerchief from somewhere and waved it over the assembled crowd, as when she was giving a signal to the bombers. Since then, there has been a legend about the most famous ghost of St. Petersburg - a ghost Sofia Perovskaya. Like, every year on the first of March before dawn on the bridge across the Griboedov Canal appears the silhouette of a young woman in a shroud, with a scar on her neck and with a white handkerchief in her hand.

Savior on Spilled Blood: the history of the creation of the temple

The very next day after the tragedy, on March 2, 1881, a temporary monument appeared at the site of the death of Alexander II, where people brought flowers. On the same day, the City Duma of St. Petersburg, at an extraordinary meeting, decided to ask the Emperor Alexander III, who ascended the throne, " allow the city public administration to erect ... at the expense of the city a chapel or a monument» to the deceased sovereign.

Temporary monument on the Catherine Canal (photo from the site):

The new emperor approved the idea, but replied that it would be desirable to have on the site of the regicide not a chapel, but a whole church. He commanded to build temple, which would resemble soul of the viewer about the martyrdom of the late Emperor AlexanderII and evoked loyal feelings of devotion and deep sorrow of the Russian people» .

First design attempt

Competition on the creation of a memorial church was announced by the City Duma commission to perpetuate the memory of Alexander II on April 27, 1881. Thus, the construction of the temple on the site where " the sacred blood of the Sovereign was shed' was only a matter of time.

Until then, they decided to build a temporary chapel. temporary chapel on the project of a young L. N. Benois was erected on April 4, 1881 and consecrated on April 17 - the birthday of Alexander II. The chapel replaced the former temporary monument. It was a small wooden pavilion with an octagonal roof topped with a gilded cupola with a cross. As A. N. Benois recalls, the chapel “ for all her unpretentiousness, she possessed some special grace, which aroused general approval» .

Temporary chapel on the Catherine Canal (photo source):

The well-known St. Petersburg merchant and timber merchant I. F. Gromov allocated money for this construction, and the merchant Militin (Militsyn) paid for the construction work. Memorial services for the repose of the soul of the murdered servant of God Alexander were served daily in the chapel. Through the glass of the door one could see a link of the embankment fence and part of the pavement with traces of the murdered emperor's blood. The chapel was installed on special rails, so that it could be moved to the side to perform prayers over the site of the tragedy. On the Catherine's Canal the chapel stood until the spring of 1883 - before the construction of the stone church began. After that, it was transferred to Konyushennaya Square, and in 1892 it was finally dismantled.

Meanwhile continued memorial church project competition, which it was decided to erect on the embankment of the Catherine's Canal. Projects were submitted under a conditional motto (so that the authority of the participant does not dominate). The deadline for submitting the drawings was December 31, 1881. By this time, the jury, chaired by the rector of the Academy of Arts in architecture A.I. Rezanov, received 26 projects, including works by leading St. Petersburg architects: I.S. Kitner and A.L. Gun, V.A. Shreter, A. O. Tomishko, I. S. Bogomolova and others. L. N. Benois also presented his version (unlike most projects in the spirit of the “Byzantine style”, he proposed a version of the Baroque church) (source of illustration):

The results of the competition were summed up in February 1882. The first prize was awarded to the project under the motto "To the Father of the Fatherland" by the architect A. O. Tomishko(known as the author of the Crosses prison project) (source of illustration):

He lost to the version of A. L. Gun and I. S. Kitner under the motto "March 1, 1881", and the third place was taken by the project of L. N. Benois "Caesar Caesar's".

In total, 8 projects were selected for presentation to the emperor. However, none of them received the highest approval.

Line of power: "Russian style"

Alexander III unexpectedly rejected the "Byzantine style". He acknowledged the work of the participants " gifted works of art", but did not approve a single one, expressing a wish," so that the temple was built in a purely Russian styleXVII century, samples of which are found, for example, in Yaroslavl» . The king also wished that the very place where Emperor AlexanderII was mortally wounded, it must be inside the church itself in the form of a special chapel» .

The conditions put forward by Alexander III became indispensable for the participants in the subsequent competition. As you can see, already at the initial stage, the creation of the temple-monument was carried out under the vigilant control of the emperor. It was that exceptional case when the creative process was strictly regulated by the authorities (;) - this monument was so important, primarily from a political point of view.

Choice architectural style was due to very specific factors. After March 1, 1881, a period of counter-reforms began, accompanied by increased Russification. The manifesto of April 29, 1881 on the steady saving of the beginnings of autocracy, drawn up by the chief procurator of the Synod, K. P. Pobedonostsev, became a reflection of the new course. Along with the revision of the political program, the official trend " Russian style". Now in Russia the style of architecture was asserted " Great Orthodox Russia», « style of the era of Moscow tsars”, which, in accordance with the instructions of the monarch, was now to be followed. The priorities of the authorities were unambiguous: architects had to focus on a specific range of prototypes.

The new tsar, who loved pre-Petrine antiquity, perceived Petersburg almost like a hostile city, the focus of terrorist activities. In addition, too much here reminded of the difficult relationship with his father and of the former reformist course, which was now announced as the result of "foreignness." It is no coincidence that in the spring of 1881 there were even rumors about the return of the capital to Moscow.

The creation of a temple-monument in the traditions of the 17th century would serve as a metaphor for joining St. Petersburg to the precepts of old Muscovite Russia. Recalling the era of the first Romanovs, the building would symbolize the unity of the king and the state, faith and people. That is, the new temple could become not just a memorial to the murdered emperor, but monument to Russian autocracy generally.

The second competition and the intrigues of the archimandrite

The second competition of projects of the temple-monument was hastily carried out in March-April 1882. The haste of the competition once again proves the increased attention of the authorities to the development and selection of projects.

Now the projects were drawn up with the obligatory consideration of the stylistic preferences of the monarch. So, the projects of L. N. Benois, Alb. N. Benois, R. A. Gedike, A. P. Kuzmina, N. V. Nabokov, A. I. Rezanov and other authors were inspired by Moscow monuments of the middle of the 17th century. In the projects of N. L. Benois, N. F. Bryullov, V. A. Kossov and V. A. Shreter, the features of Yaroslavl architecture were more pronounced. Project by L. N. Benois (source of illustration 15]):

The future builder of the temple also took part in the second competition - A. A. Parland. AT project under the motto "Starina" he repelled from the Moscow church of John the Baptist in Dyakovo (XVI century), but his version had significant design differences. The central part of the temple was cut through by a high window with a semicircular top - this detail will then go to the facade of the bell tower of the completed building. On the western side, Parland designed a vestibule with two chapels, one of which marked the place where Alexander II was mortally wounded. (Just on the model of these symmetrical pavilions, Parland then built a sacristy chapel near the Savior on Spilled Blood).

Parland's project under the motto "Old Man" (source of illustration):

When his own competition project under the motto "Starina" was already ready, the architect was approached with a proposal to develop a joint project Archimandrite Ignatius .

Archimandrite Ignatius(in the world I. V. Malyshev) (1811-1897), a native of the townspeople of the Yaroslavl province, in 1857 became the rector of the Trinity-Sergius Hermitage near St. Petersburg, the successor of the famous ascetic and spiritual writer Ignatius Brianchaninov. Ignatius was not a stranger to art: in his youth he studied painting at the Academy of Arts, studied ancient Russian architecture.

Feeling like an "architect by vocation", Ignatius launched a large construction project in the desert. In 1881 he was awarded the title of honorary free member of the Academy of Arts. At the request of Ignatius, Parland also completed a number of works in the Trinity-Sergius Hermitage: for example, according to his project, the now non-existing Resurrection Cathedral (a church in the name of the Resurrection of Christ) was built there.

During the second competition Church on the Catherine's Canal Ignatius suddenly " came up with the idea to draw a project”, and then there was confidence that it was his proposal that would be accepted. Having made the first sketches, he completely devoted himself to the fulfillment of his cherished dream - to become the builder of a temple intended to serve as an eternal monument to the Tsar - Liberator and Martyr» .

The archimandrite was well known at court and skillfully played on the religious moods of the royal family. According to the memoirs of the mosaicist V. A. Frolov, through the pious Grand Duchess Alexandra Iosifovna, who often visited the desert, Ignatius brought “ to the knowledge of the king about the appearance of the Mother of God to him in a dream, allegedly showing him the main foundations of the temple» .

However, it was hardly possible for the archimandrite to develop a project for such a large and complex structure on his own - that's why he turned to A. A. Parland, whom he knew well from joint work in the desert. The offer of cooperation from such an influential person as Ignatius was tempting. True, at first the architect was skeptical of him (especially since his own project was already ready), but in the end he agreed, apparently counting on the fact that the name of Ignatius would play a role.

Joint competition project of Parland and Ignatius (source of illustrations):

And so it happened. June 29, 1883 Alexander III deigned to approve joint project of archimandriteIgnatius and architect Parland(this was just one of the three projects submitted later than the others).

The personality of the archimandrite played an almost decisive role in choosing this particular option. It was officially announced that the emperor singled out this project " mainly due to the special decoration of the place where the king was mortally wounded» . The political background of this choice is understandable: in the first place for the authorities were not so much the artistic merits of the project as "divine inspiration" and, in general, the religious and symbolic aspect.

Refine the project!

The version chosen by the emperor, developed by A. A. Parland together with Archimandrite Ignatius, remotely resembled the tripartite type of churches of the 17th century, planned by the “ship”. The place of the fatal assassination attempt on Alexander II stood out as a memorial hipped bell tower, to which hipped porches adjoined. The lower tier of the facades of the three-nave temple was surrounded by a gallery. The central tower was inspired by the church in Dyakovo, while the side chapels resembled gate churches of the late 17th century.

Joint competition project of Parland and Ignatius (source of illustration):

Authorship Archimandrite Ignatius served as a guarantor of the correct ideological orientation of the building. It was he, and not Parland, who was perceived in the early years by the public as the main character. However, Ignatius was not a professional architect, although they tried to mitigate this circumstance by calling him " experienced home builder" and emphasizing the clergy's penchant for the arts.

The choice of this particular option caused some bewilderment among the architectural shop. Many professionals rated the artistic merit of the winning project extremely low. A. N. Benois recalled: “... the architect Parland penetrated the sovereign with his project (using connections with the clergy and lower employees), and his monstrous invention, presented in a very spectacular coloring, found himself the highest approval. Already during the construction of the “Temple on the Blood”, the Academy of Arts insisted that the too obvious absurdities and shortcomings of the Parland project be corrected.» .

And indeed, the emperor accepted the project only “as a whole”, with the condition of further refinement, “ so that the project is reviewed and what should be changed for execution Professor of the Imperial Academy of Arts D. I. Grimm» . Professor tried to take advantage of the situation I. V. Shtrom, who in January 1883 proposed his own candidacy to develop the idea of ​​​​Ignatius. He proposed to build a structure of multi-colored brick with majolica, gilded and enameled domes and internal painting, reminiscent of St. Basil's Cathedral. Shtrom's candidacy was rejected, but his proposals significantly influenced the composition of the completed building.

In March 1883, a Construction Commission was formed, chaired by the President of the Academy of Arts, Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich. It included architects R. A. Gedike, D. I. Grimm, E. I. Zhiber, R. B. Bernhard. On the recommendations of the commission, Parland and his assistants were just finalizing the project. They came up with several alternatives, one of which was approved June 29, 1883, however, this project was not destined to become final.

This new project assumed the construction of not just a single temple, but a grandiose complex like a monastery. The complex included a church, a memorial zone, a museum, a bell tower and a procession gallery, the corners of which were marked by small buildings with folded domes (a copy of the chapels from the competition project "Starina"; these corner pavilions are reproduced by the implemented sacristy chapel of the Savior on Spilled Blood). The bell tower was supposed to stand on the other side of the canal and be connected to the temple by a gallery thrown over the bridge. The temple itself in this project was a five-domed structure with a central tent and facade kokoshniks, as well as a pillar-shaped tower adjoining the main volume. As the subsequent course of events showed, this composition turned out to be quite self-sufficient - from here the image of the Savior on Spilled Blood, known to us today, crystallized.

Large-scale project of 1883 (illustration source):

Apparently, at this stage of the design, Ignatius' participation in the development of the project was already purely nominal, and "in the final version" the project moved so far away from the joint competitive version that A. A. Parland could rightly call himself the sole author the building being created. Details of the project were specified already during construction. The final approval of the project took place only May 1, 1887.

Final draft (source of illustration):

As you can see, both Parland's competitive projects - both "Starina" and the joint one with Ignatius - ultimately turned out to be very far from the implemented version. It is for the best, since the final temple turned out to be incomparably more complete and artistically integral. As a result, the structure lost the scale that the alternative project of June 1883 was distinguished by, but it became more solid and compact. The pillar-shaped tower over the place where the emperor was mortally wounded retained the function of a monument and at the same time turned into a bell tower.

The name of the temple and the symbolism of the Savior on Spilled Blood

Although a different name has taken root among the people - Savior on Spilled Blood, the canonical name of the cathedral - a temple in the name of the Resurrection of Christ at the site of the mortal wound in Bose of the deceased Emperor AlexanderII.

Consecrate the future temple in the name of the Resurrection of Christ proposed by none other than Archimandrite Ignatius. It happened at the very first meeting of the Construction Commission. The dedication of the church to the Resurrection of Christ had a deep meaning: this name sounded the idea of ​​overcoming death. In the Christian consciousness, death is not the end of being, but only a transition to another form. Therefore, there is no contradiction in the construction of a festive, “provocatively beautiful” temple: the bright temple, located on the site of a tragic event, expresses faith in God and in the Russian people.

The dedication of the church to the Resurrection of Christ also confirmed the connection between the martyrdom of Alexander II and the expiatory sacrifice of the Savior, crucified and then resurrected. I.V. Shtrom wrote: “As the Savior died for all mankind, so<...>AlexanderII died for his people» . The association of the death of the king with the death of the Savior on the cross can also be found in the folklore of that time: “ Sovereign's life passed away / The second time Christ was crucified". Such a parallel found additional confirmation in calendar coincidences: the emperor was born on April 17, 1818 during Easter week and was killed on the first Sunday of Great Lent.

Thus, the memorial temple was built as an expiatory sacrifice for the martyrdom of the liberator king. It was created to perpetuate the memory of his death and was intended to express the protective principles of autocracy and Orthodoxy, as well as the idea of ​​overcoming death through the Resurrection. The place where Alexander II was mortally wounded should have been perceived as " Golgotha ​​for Russia» .

As in the common name Savior on Spilled Blood”, and in the whole symbolism of the church there is a parallel between the death of Christ on the cross and the death of Alexander II.

Savior on Spilled Blood: construction history

Solemn bookmark temple Resurrection of Christ on the Catherine Canal took place on October 6, 1883 in the presence of Metropolitan Isidore and the royal couple. The first stone was laid personally by Emperor Alexander III. An engraved plaque with an inscription about the co-authorship of Archimandrite Ignatius with the architect Parland was placed at the base of the temple.

Bookmark of the temple (photo source):

Before that, a fragment of the canal grating, granite slabs and part of the cobblestone pavement, stained with the blood of Alexander II, were removed, placed in boxes and transferred to storage in the chapel on Konyushennaya Square. Subsequently, these relics were returned to historical sites, and a memorial was erected over them in the form canopy in the spirit of ancient Russian architecture.

Although the final project, as we know, had not yet been approved by 1883, construction had already begun. In 1883-1886, preparatory and earthworks were carried out. Interestingly, during the construction of the cathedral, the usual method of driving piles under the foundation of the building was abandoned: for the first time in the history of St. concrete foundation under the entire area of ​​​​the structure (; ). A solid foundation made of rubble slab on a solid concrete pad has a thickness of 1.2 m. The outer plinth of the cathedral was faced with granite by craftsmen who worked in the workshop of Gaetano Botha, well-known in St. Petersburg. Then the laying of brick walls began, supplied by the Russian plant Pirogranit, and then - pylons from rubble slabs on granite bases.

Construction of the temple (photo source):

It was planned that the construction would be completed by 1890, but the work was delayed.

In 1889, a scandal broke out related to the misappropriation of state funds by the conference secretary of the Academy of Arts A. Iseev. The embezzlement was allowed by the president of the Academy and the chairman of the Construction Commission, Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich. In 1892, a new commission was assembled, which included architects E. I. Zhiber, M. T. Preobrazhensky and A. A. Parland. But construction and finishing work progressed more slowly than expected. V. A. Frolov explained this by the bureaucracy that prevailed in the work of the commission, as well as Parland's unwillingness to part with the prestigious position of architect-builder.

In 1890-1891, the sculptor G. Botta and the master Andreev made a large, “irreproachable in all respects” painted alabaster temple model 3.5 m high, it was exhibited at the construction site.

A. A. Parland at the temple model (photo source):

The construction of vaults, arches and sails began only in 1893. The following year, the main volume of the building was completed and a granite ring was laid out at the base of the central drum. The walls and facade details were faced with durable durable materials: Estonian marble (supplied by Kos and Dürr), glazed bricks made at the Siegersdorf factories ( Siegersdorfer Werke) in Germany, as well as colored tiles ordered by the Imperial Porcelain Factory. The structures of the domes and the iron frame of the tent were mounted at the Petersburg Metal Plant. In 1896, the casting of bells began at the plant of P. N. Finlyandsky.

Details about the architecture of the temple can be read in the article "The Savior on Spilled Blood: a description of the architecture".

The original innovation was the covering of the chapters with enameled copper plates. Bright polychrome domes were created in 1896-1898 at the factory of A. M. Postnikov in Moscow, gilded crosses were also made there. The middle dome above the altar was at the suggestion of P. P. Chistyakov lined with gilded smalt (the work of the Frolov mosaic workshop). The heads of the side apses and the bell tower were covered with gilded copper in 1897-1900. True, the dome of the bell tower quickly darkened, and in 1911-1913 the gilding was replaced with cantar plating (gold smalt) under the supervision of V. A. Frolov.

In 1900, the building began to be gradually cleared of scaffolding. The porches were built in 1900-1901. At the same time, enamel tiles sparkled on the facades, created in the workshop of M.V. Kharlamov (colored glazed tiles for apses, the central tent, as well as tents and slopes of porches were also created there).

In 1905-1907, according to the drawings of I. I. Smukrovich, entrance doors (gates) made of copper inlaid with silver ornaments. This unique work was made by the workshop of the Kostroma jeweler Savelyev in 1905-1907. On the silver bas-reliefs of the gates, the patron saints of the ruling house of the Romanovs were depicted (only 33 out of 80 plates have survived to this day). At the same time, interior decoration was carried out using more than a dozen types of gems. The best domestic and Italian factories participated in the decoration of the interior.

At whose expense is this temple

It is generally accepted that Savior on Spilled Blood built with public money. In fact this is not true . The main source of financing was the proceeds from the State Treasury: the treasury allocated 3 million 600 thousand silver rubles for the construction - huge money at that time. In addition, a significant amount was donations from institutions, from the imperial family and officials. Private contributions played a rather symbolic role.

General the cost of the ensemble of the Church of the Resurrection and its artistic decoration, including mosaics, amounted to more than 4.6 million rubles. The cost of construction was exceeded by 1 million rubles due to the replacement of painting with mosaics, the high cost of the canopy and cases of financial abuse.

In the future, the state took over the maintenance of the temple. At that time, only St. Isaac's Cathedral in St. Petersburg and the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow were in such a special position: they were financed directly from the state treasury.

In the Savior on Blood, sermons were read daily, requiem services were served, and services dedicated to the memory of Alexander II were held. However, they did not baptize and did not marry here, since the temple " due to its special significance as a national monument» was not a parish (; ). For believers, a place was allotted near the western facade, in front of the mosaic "Crucifixion", where church services were held.

History of the Savior on Spilled Blood after the Revolution

Temple under the new government

After the revolution, the fate of the Savior on Blood developed dramatically. In 1918, the temple came under the jurisdiction of the People's Commissariat of Property of the RSFSR, and from January 1920 it became a parish. The entrance to the temple was open to everyone.

From July 1922 to July 1923, the Church of the Resurrection of Christ, being a parish, belonged to the Petrograd autocephaly under the control of Bishop Nikolai (Yarushevich) of Peterhof, after which it passed to the pro-Soviet group " renovationists"(July 5 to August 9, 1923). From August 1923 to December 1927 the temple had the status cathedral diocese. From the end of 1927 to November 1930, the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood was the center josephism in Leningrad - a trend in the Russian Church that arose as an opposition to the "renovationist" group loyal to the communist regime.

Naturally, the new government soon stopped this activity. On March 3, 1930, the Presidium of the Council of the Central City District, at the request of the Leningrad branch of the All-Russian Society for the Memory of Political Prisoners and Exiled Settlers, decided: “ In order to stop the ongoing Black Hundred agitation in the church, and also taking into account the abuses of a criminal nature found in this church, in pursuance of the order of the voters, to initiate Len before the Presidium. Council petition to close the specified church and transfer the building for cultural and educational needs» . Decree of the Presidium of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee of October 30, 1930 No. 67 Church on Blood was closed. Attempts to arrange here a museum of the revolutionary struggle of the People's Will failed.

The cathedral was used as a warehouse. For some time, a crushing workshop for obtaining granite chips was located within its walls. Due to the lack of proper supervision and protection, many valuable interior elements were lost.

But even after the temple was closed, it remained a place of worship for many believers. People did not forget the legends about the deceased monarch and came here to pray. Many Leningraders remember how pious grandmothers walked from the western side to the icon " crucifixion, kissed it and prayed (now the passage to this part of the temple is closed).

Due to the ideological significance of the temple as a monument to the autocracy, in the official assessments of the Soviet era, the Savior on Spilled Blood was assessed at best with caution, and sometimes openly negatively. Rejection was also due to a negative attitude towards the entire architecture of the eclectic period, including samples of " Russian style". The building was seen as a gross dissonance among the classical ensembles of the city on the Neva.

Since it was believed that the temple had no historical and artistic value and its architecture was alien to the appearance of the city, in the 1930s, decisions were made to dismantle the Savior on Spilled Blood, transfer fragments of decoration to museums, and use rare minerals for new construction. In the 1930s, the bells were thrown from the temple. The question has been repeatedly raised about demolition building. A special commission with the participation of V. A. Frolov, created in March 1941 by the Department for the Protection of Monuments of the Leningrad Executive Committee, advocated for the preservation of the monument " as a building unique, characteristic of a certain period of Russian architecture» .

Thanks to the skill and great work of the restorers, engineers and architects who worked on the restoration of the temple, this unique work of art shone again in all its glory.

Currently Cathedral of the Savior on Spilled Blood opened as a museum (cm. practical information about visiting), but worship services are held on weekends and major holidays.

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190 years ago, on April 17, 1818 (April 29, according to the new style), at 11 am, a son was born in the family of Grand Duke Nikolai Pavlovich and Grand Duchess Alexandra Feodorovna. He was born and already by this he largely influenced the further course of Russian history. Emperor Alexander I, who had no sons, having learned from the appearance of an heir with his younger brother, decided to transfer the throne to Nicholas, and not to his brother Konstantin, who followed Alexander in seniority. This became one of the reasons for the interregnum at the end of 1825 and the reason for the Decembrist uprising.

“If the art of ruling consists in the ability to correctly determine the urgent needs of the era, to open a free outlet for viable and fruitful aspirations lurking in society, to pacify mutually hostile parties from the height of impartiality by the force of reasonable agreements, then it cannot be denied that Emperor Alexander Nikolayevich correctly understood the essence of his vocations in the memorable 1855-1861 years of his reign.
Professor Kiesewetter

Lavrov N.A. Emperor Alexander II the Liberator. 1868
(Artillery Museum, St. Petersburg)

Since 1826, Alexander's mentor was the famous Russian poet Vasily Andreevich Zhukovsky. For six months, Zhukovsky developed a program for the education and upbringing of Alexander. The program did not allow concessions and indulgence. Emperor Nicholas regretted that he had not received the education necessary for the monarch, and decided that he would raise his son worthy of the throne. He entrusted the selection of teachers to the court poet, who once wrote heartfelt poems addressed to the mother of the newborn Alexander. There were lines like this:

May he meet an age full of honor!
Yes, there will be a glorious participant!
Yes, on a high line will not forget
The holiest of titles: human...

The purpose of education and training of the heir Zhukovsky proclaimed "education for virtue." Here is the routine of the usual school day "royally". You have to get up at six in the morning. After finishing the morning toilet, go to the palace chapel for a short prayer and only then - for breakfast. Then - textbooks and notebooks in hand: at seven in the morning the teachers are waiting in the classroom. Until noon - lessons. Languages ​​- German, English, French, Polish and Russian; geography, statistics, ethnography, logic, God's law, philosophy, mathematics, natural science, chemistry, physics, mineralogy, geology, national and general history... and even a course on the history of the French Revolution of 1789, which is banned in Russia. And besides, drawing, music, gymnastics, fencing, swimming, horseback riding, dancing, handicrafts, reading-recitation. In the afternoon - a two-hour walk, at two o'clock in the afternoon lunch. After lunch, rest, go for a walk, but at five in the evening - classes again, at seven - an hour, tasted for games and gymnastics. At eight - dinner, then - almost free time, which nevertheless is supposed to keep a diary; write down the main events of the day and your condition. At ten o'clock - sleep!

Alexander Nikolaevich Tsarevich in the uniform of a cadet. Engraving. 1838

Alexander Nikolaevich Tsarevich with mentor V.A. Zhukovsky. Engraving. 1850s

On April 22, 1834, the St. George Hall and the large church of the Winter Palace were decorated in honor of Alexander Nikolayevich. The day of his coming of age is celebrated. From the Diamond Room they brought a "power" - a golden ball, strewn with diamonds and the rarest precious stones, a scepter crowned with the Orlov diamond (bought in Europe for a lot of money, long before that it adorned a Buddha statue in India), and on a red pillow - a golden crown. The solemn part ended with the singing of the imperial anthem "God Save the Tsar!" shortly before. On that day, an amazing precious mineral was mined in the Urals. In the sun, it was bluish-greenish, and under artificial lighting it became crimson-red. They called it alexandrite.

In 1841, Alexander married Princess Maximilian Wilhelmina Augusta Sophia Maria of Hesse-Darmstadt, in Orthodoxy Maria Alexandrovna (1824-1880). Children were born from this marriage: Nikolai, Alexander (future All-Russian Emperor Alexander III), Vladimir, Alexei, Sergey, Pavel, Alexandra, Maria. Alexander II ascended the throne on February 19, 1855, in an extremely difficult period for Russia, when the exhausting Crimean War was nearing its climax, during which economically backward Russia was drawn into an unequal military confrontation with England and France.

Kruger F. Portrait led. book. Alexander Nikolaevich, around 1840.
(State Hermitage, St. Petersburg)

Coronation celebrations were held in Moscow from 14 to 26 August 1856. For their holding, the Big and Small crowns, a scepter, orb, porphyry, crown signs of the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called, the State seal, a sword and a banner were delivered to the old capital.

For the first time in the history of the state, the ceremonial entry into Moscow was carried out not by a solemnly slow motorcade consisting of carriages, but quite modestly - by rail. On August 17, 1856, Alexander Nikolayevich, with his family and a brilliant retinue, drove along Tverskaya Street to the sound of numerous Moscow bells and the roar of artillery salute. At the chapel of the Iberian Mother of God, the tsar and the entire retinue got off their horses (the empress with the children got out of the carriage) and venerated the miraculous icon, after which they walked to the territory of the Kremlin.

Botman E.I. Portrait of Alexander II. 1856

Makarov I.K. Portrait of Empress Maria Alexandrovna, wife of Alexander II. 1866
(State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg)

Timm V.F. The Most Holy Chrismation of Emperor Alexander II
during his coronation in the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin on August 26, 1856

At the coronation, something happened that is commonly called a bad omen by the people. The old man M.D. Gorchakov suddenly lost consciousness and fell, dropping the pillow with the symbol. The spherical “power”, clanging, rolled on the stone floor. Everyone gasped, and only the monarch calmly said, referring to Gorchakov: “It doesn’t matter that he fell off. The main thing is that he stood firmly on the battlefields.
Alexander well understood that the crushing defeat of Russia in the last Crimean War, the fall of Sevastopol and the subsequent complete political isolation of Russia in Europe were a direct consequence of his father's pernicious domestic policy. Radical and immediate change was required. Already in 1856, Alexander II signed the Treaty of Paris with Turkey, and in 1861 he took one of the most significant domestic political steps in the history of the country - he abolished serfdom. While still the heir, Alexander Nikolaevich came to the conclusion that fundamental reforms of the existing system were necessary. Soon after the coronation, the new tsar, in his speech addressed to the nobles of the Moscow province, clearly said that serfdom could not be tolerated any longer. A secret committee was set up to develop a peasant reform, which in 1858 became the Main Committee.

Alexander II calls on the Moscow nobles to proceed with the liberation of the peasantry. 1857.
Engraving. Early 1880s

Emperor Alexander II, photo, mid-1860s

Lavrov N.A. Portrait of Emperor Alexander II in the cape of the Life Guards Hussar Regiment of His Majesty. 1860
(From the collection of the Regimental Museum until 1918, Tsarskoye Selo)

February 19, 1861, the day of accession to the throne, the "Regulations" on the liberation of the peasants were delivered to the Winter Palace. The manifesto about this act was compiled by the Metropolitan of Moscow Filaret (Drozdov). After an ardent prayer, the Sovereign signed both documents, and 23 million people received freedom. Then, judicial, zemstvo and military reforms follow one after another. Alexander approved the "Rules" about the Old Believers. Old Believer sects, loyal to the secular authorities, were allowed to freely conduct worship, open schools, hold public positions, and travel abroad. In essence, the “schism” was legalized and the persecution of the Old Believers that took place under Emperor Nicholas I ceased. During the reign of Alexander II, the Caucasian War (1817-1864) was completed, a significant part of Turkestan was annexed (1865-1881), borders with China were established along the Amur rivers and Ussuri (1858-1860).

Sverchkov N.E. Wheelchair ride (Alexander II with children)
(Yaroslavl Art Museum, Yaroslavl)

Kustodiev B.M. Reading the manifesto (Liberation of the peasants). 1907
For the publication of I.N. Knebel "Russian history in pictures"

Thanks to the victory of Russia in the war with Turkey (1877-1878), in order to help the fellow-believing Slavic peoples in their liberation from the Turkish yoke, Bulgaria, Romania and Serbia gained independence and began a sovereign existence. The victory was won largely thanks to the will of Alexander II, who, during the most difficult period of the war, insisted on continuing the siege of Plevna, which contributed to its victorious end. In Bulgaria, Alexander II was revered as the Liberator. Sofia Cathedral is a temple-monument of St. blgv. led. book. Alexander Nevsky (heavenly patron of Alexander II).

The people greet the Tsar-Liberator on Palace Square, February 19, 1861, lithograph Rozhansky B.

The popularity of Alexander II reaches its highest point. In 1862-1866, at the insistence of the emperor, a transformation of state control took place. In April 1863, the Imperial Decree "On the Limitation of Corporal Punishment" was issued. People called him the Liberator. It seemed that his reign would be calm and liberal. But in January 1863, another Polish uprising broke out. The flame of the uprising spreads to Lithuania, part of Belarus and the Right-Bank Ukraine. In 1864, the uprising was crushed, Alexander was forced to carry out a number of progressive reforms in Poland, but the authority of the king had already been undermined.

Svrchkov N.E. Portrait of Emperor Alexander II
(Museum-Estate "Ostankino", Moscow)

Alexander II has long lived under the tormenting sign of a prediction given as if even at his birth by the holy fool Fyodor. The incomprehensible, enigmatic words of Blessed Fyodor have been passed from mouth to mouth among the people for several decades now: "The newborn will be mighty, glorious and strong, but he will die in red boots." The first prophecy came true, as for the words about “red boots”, their meaning was still understood literally. Who could have imagined that the tsar's legs would be torn off by a bomb explosion, and he, covered with blood, would die in terrible agony a few hours after the diabolical assassination attempt.

Makovsky K.E. Portrait of Emperor Alexander II. 1860s
(Nizhny Novgorod Art Museum, Nizhny Novgorod)

Sons of Alexander II and photo of Alexander II's wife Maria Alexandrovna, 1856

Emperor Alexander II with his wife on the day of the 25th anniversary of marriage, 1866

Emperor Alexander II with his second wife, Catherine Dolgoruky and children

The first assassination attempt on Alexander II was made on April 4, 1866, during his walk in the Summer Garden. The shooter was 26-year-old terrorist Dmitry Karakozov. Shot almost point blank. But, fortunately, the peasant Osip Komissarov, who happened to be nearby, took the killer's hand away. Russia praised God with songs, who prevented the death of the Russian emperor. In June of the following year, 1867, the Russian emperor, at the invitation of Napoleon III, was in Paris, on June 6, when Alexander, in the same carriage with the French emperor, was driving through the Bois de Boulogne, the Pole A. Berezovsky shot the tsar with a pistol. But he missed. Seriously frightened, Alexander turned to the famous Parisian soothsayer. He did not hear anything comforting. Eight assassination attempts will be made on him, and the last one will be fatal. I must say, the people have already told a legend about how once, in his youth, Alexander Nikolaevich met with the famous ghost of the Anichkov Palace - the “White Lady”, who, in a conversation with him, predicted that the tsar would survive three assassination attempts. But eight?! Meanwhile, two of the assassination attempts predicted by the Parisian prophetess had already taken place by that time. The third will take place on April 2, 1869. The terrorist A. Solovyov will shoot at the tsar right on the Palace Square. Will miss. On November 18, 1879, terrorists will blow up the railroad track, along which the imperial train was supposed to follow, but it managed to pass earlier, before the explosion.
On February 5, 1880, the famous explosion in the Winter Palace, carried out by Stepan Khalturin, will take place. Several guard soldiers will be killed, but the king, by a lucky chance, will not suffer.

Dining room of the Winter Palace after the assassination attempt on Emperor Alexander II. Photo 1879

In the summer of the same year, the terrorists Zhelyabov and Teterka laid dynamite under the Stone Bridge across the Ekaterininsky Canal in the alignment of Gorokhovaya Street, but fate again turned out to be favorable to Alexander II. He will choose a different route. This will be the sixth assassination attempt on the king. New attempts were expected with constant unrelenting fear.
A couple of weeks before the last, fatal attempt on his life, Alexander drew attention to a strange circumstance. In front of the windows of his bedroom every morning several dead pigeons are lying around. Subsequently, it turned out that a kite of unprecedented size settled on the roof of the Winter Palace. The kite was barely able to be lured into a trap. The dead pigeons didn't reappear. But an unpleasant aftertaste remained. According to many, this was a bad omen.

Finally, on March 1, 1881, the last assassination attempt took place, ending in the martyrdom of the tsar-liberator. If we count the bombs thrown by the Narodnaya Volya Rysakov and Grinevitsky with an interval of several minutes as two assassination attempts, then the Parisian witch managed to predict the serial number of the latter. No one could understand how this whole state, huge and powerful, could not save one person.

Chapel erected on the site of the mortal wound of Alexander II. Designed by architect L.N. Benois

He died just on the day when he decided to set in motion the constitutional project of M. T. Loris-Melikov, telling his sons Alexander (the future emperor) and Vladimir: “I do not hide from myself that we are following the path of the constitution.” The great reforms remained unfinished.

At the beginning of 1881, the city duma created a commission to perpetuate the memory of Alexander II. Similar commissions were set up throughout the country. The scale of mourning events is evidenced by the materials of the report of the Technical Committee of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for 1888: monuments to Alexander II were erected in the Moscow Kremlin, in Kazan, Samara, Astrakhan, Pskov, Ufa, Chisinau, Tobolsk and St. Petersburg. Busts of Alexander II were erected in Vysheye Volochek, in the villages of the Vyatka, Orenburg, and Tomsk provinces.

Makovsky K. E. Portrait of Alexander II. 1881

After the assassination of Alexander II, the artist Konstantin Makovsky painted a portrait: the tsar and, next to him, a shaggy dog. The state in the form of a helpless dog did not look so powerful. It was said that another artist, Vasily Vereshchagin, saw the portrait and offered to name it: "The Dog Who Didn't Save the Tsar." The people were sure that the tsar was killed by the nobles "in revenge for the liberation of the peasants."

Makovsky K.E. Portrait of Alexander II on his deathbed. 1881
(State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow)

On the site of the assassination of the emperor in 1883, the Church of the Resurrection of Christ (“The Savior on Blood”) was erected - an outstanding architectural monument, one of the main shrines of St. Petersburg. According to the estimate, the state allocated 3 million 600 thousand silver rubles for the construction of the memorial temple. It was huge money for those times. However, the actual cost of construction exceeded the estimate by 1 million rubles. This million rubles for the construction of the memorial temple was contributed by the royal family.

The most famous Russian artists and architects took part in the construction and decoration of the temple with mosaics, frescoes and icons: Afanasiev, Bondarenko, Bruni, Bunin, Vasnetsov, Dmitriev-Orenburgsky, Zhuravlev, Nesterov, Parland, Ryabushkin and others. On three sides of the temple, on the outer walls, luxurious granite slabs are inserted at the height of human growth, on which inscriptions about the major events of the reign of the Tsar Liberator are engraved.

Through the western, massive, with silver chased gates, the worshiper enters the temple and sees a canopy in front of him at the place where the mortally wounded king fell. In the complete original preserved: part of the cast-iron lattice of the Catherine Canal, panel slabs and part of the cobblestone pavement with traces of the sovereign's blood. This place is surrounded by a lattice with four columns, covered on top with a tent topped with a cross.

Monument to Alexander II in the Kremlin

The monument was founded in 1893, consecrated and opened in 1898 in the presence of the imperial family and representatives of all classes of Russia. The composition of the monument is unusual: a tent canopy over the figure of the emperor, crowned with a double-headed eagle (the motif of the completion of the Kremlin towers), is surrounded on three sides by an arched gallery, the vaults of which were decorated with images of the rulers of Russia from St. Vladimir to Nicholas I. The entrances to the galleries are also marked with tents, the left one is crowned the coat of arms of Moscow, the right one - the family coat of arms of the Romanov family. On the sides of the gallery there were descents to the Kremlin garden, from which a beautiful view of Moscow opened. The three-hipped composition of the monument organically fit into the existing ensemble of the Kremlin, the richness and elegance of decoration aroused the admiration of contemporaries. The monument was created by the sculptor A.M. Opekushin and the architects P.V. Zhukovsky and N.V. Sultanov. The monument has not survived to this day. The figure of the Tsar-Liberator was thrown off the pedestal in 1918, the canopy and gallery were finally dismantled in 1928.

In June 2005, a monument to Alexander II was solemnly opened in Moscow. The author of the monument is Alexander Rukavishnikov. The monument is set on a granite platform on the western side of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. On the pedestal of the monument there is an inscription “Emperor Alexander II. He abolished serfdom in 1861 and freed millions of peasants from centuries of slavery. He carried out military and judicial reforms. He introduced a system of local self-government, city dumas and zemstvo councils. He completed the long-term Caucasian war. He freed the Slavic peoples from the Ottoman yoke. He died on March 1 (13), 1881 as a result of a terrorist act.