History in artistic images (Alexander II). Monuments and temples in honor of Alexander II One of the most ancient temples in Crimea

SIMFEROPOL, April 13 - RIA Novosti (Crimea). Every year people come to Crimea to see ancient shrines with their own eyes and pray to sacred places. And there are plenty of them left on the peninsula. Dozens of temples, many of which are unique in their own way, preserve the memory of past times and famous personalities.

On the eve of the significant Christian holiday - Easter - RIA Novosti (Crimea) compiled the TOP 10 Orthodox churches in Crimea, which are visited with pleasure not only by local residents, but also by pilgrims from different countries.

One of the most ancient temples in Crimea

The erected church exceeded 30 meters (including the cross), the walls were a meter thick, and the interior was striking in its splendor. In the 1920s, the temple was closed, and during the Great Patriotic War it was destroyed. It began to be restored only in the 1990s.

In 1941-1942, the cathedral housed a hospital. After the Great Patriotic War, an archive was installed in it. Restoration of the temple began in 1966, but its original appearance was returned only two decades later. Divine services in the temple resumed in 1991.

The cathedral is located in two tiers: at the bottom is the Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, at the top is the Church of Prince Vladimir. Four memorial plaques with the names of admirals and the dates of their lives are mounted in the walls of the northern and southern facades. At the same time, their burials, located in the lower church, are united by a common tombstone in the form of a large marble cross.

Every year, memorial services are held here for sailors who died during the first and second defense, the crews of the Kursk submarine and the Varyag cruiser, as well as Soviet soldiers who died in Afghanistan.

The highest temple in Crimea

On the coast in the village of Malorechenskoye (Alushta region) there is an elegant lighthouse temple. It is considered the highest cathedral in Crimea - its height reaches 65 meters. The temple, created in honor of all those who died on the waters, was built in 2006, and two years later it was solemnly illuminated.

On each of the four sides of the church's façade is carved the shape of a large cross, into which is inscribed the image of a saint. The height of this panel is 15 meters. In addition, anchors and anchor chains are used in the decoration of the church, and the interior paintings are dedicated to Nicholas of Myra.

At the same time, a gazebo in the shape of the “Flying Dutchman” is equipped above the cliff on the territory of the temple. Tourists love to relax and take pictures here.

In 2009, another unique Crimean object began operating at the cathedral - the Museum of Water Disasters. It consists of 17 small rooms, each of which is dedicated to resonant tragedies that occurred in the seas and oceans.

Place of veneration of St. Luke

One of the main churches of Simferopol is the Holy Trinity Cathedral. It is located in the city center on the territory of the convent of the same name, and you can recognize it by its blue domes with openwork crosses and mosaic patterns on the facade.

The history of the temple begins in 1796, when a wooden church for the Greeks was erected on the site of the modern cathedral. It is famous for the fact that the relics of the Crimean saint are kept here - who was a doctor of medical sciences, a healer and a bishop of the Russian Orthodox Church. Also in the temple is kept the icon of the Mother of God "Sorrowful". In 1998, it was miraculously renewed, after which it was carried in a religious procession across the entire peninsula. Since then, the icon has become a pan-Crimean shrine.

It is worth noting that the monastery also has a museum, a bakery, workshops, a Sunday school and a bishop's choir.

Temple in neo-Russian style

It is considered one of the most beautiful temples. Its construction was inextricably linked with the Russian imperial house and was carried out from 1891 to 1902.

The temple was built in neo-Russian style, decorated with various decorative elements (pilasters, hearts, portals, etc.). At the same time, white and pink tones and golden domes give the church a festive look. However, despite the elegant decoration, the temple is a monument in honor of Emperor Alexander II, who died at the hands of the Narodnaya Volya.

At one time, this cathedral also experienced a period of oblivion. So, in 1938 it was closed, and a sports club was organized inside. Divine services in the cathedral resumed in 1942 and have not stopped since then.

Today there is a school at the cathedral and a children's choir.

In memory of the salvation of the family of Emperor Alexander III

On a steep cliff 412 meters high in a southern coastal village, the Church of the Resurrection of Christ has been rising since 1892. The church with black domes was built in memory of the rescue of the royal family on the railway in 1888. According to history, a train carrying Emperor Alexander III and his family crashed here. At the same time, the ceiling of the carriage began to collapse, but the head of state, who had great physical strength, held it until the whole family got out of the train.

In 1929, the church was looted; during the Great Patriotic War it served as a refuge for the border guards of the Foros frontier post. In peacetime, a restaurant first operated in the temple, then a warehouse was equipped here. The cathedral was returned to the Orthodox Church only in 1990.

In 2004, restoration work was carried out here: the façade was updated, the mosaic floor was repaired, the stained glass windows and heating system were replaced, the interior walls were painted, and the fence was restored.

Today, the Foros Temple is not only a place of worship, but also one of the favorite places for tourists. After all, from the cliff on which the church stands, picturesque panoramic views open up.

Cave temple on the outskirts of Bakhchisarai

In the mountains on the outskirts of Bakhchisaray, the Holy Dormition Monastery appeared several centuries ago. Ancient monks built several temples here, including in the rocks. They are the ones who attract people here every year - people go to the monastery to pray in the cave temple, as well as admire the unusual structures and beautiful nature.

It is known that during the Crimean and Great Patriotic Wars there was a hospital on the territory of the monastery, and soldiers and officers who fell in battle were buried on the holy lands. There was also a colony for the disabled here for several years. In addition, the monastery was destroyed and experienced years of oblivion.

Recently, construction work has been actively carried out on its territory. Thus, four churches, the abbot’s house, a bell tower and a staircase have already been restored, and a spring has been equipped. In addition, two new temples are being built here.

Next door to the mosque

The Orthodox church in Yevpatoria can be called a unique Crimean church. During its existence, it was rebuilt several times (the first building was erected in the 18th century), and was also destroyed twice - in the years. During Soviet times, the church was closed and then reopened. Today it is considered to be similar to the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople and can simultaneously accommodate up to 2 thousand people.

The temple has a concrete dome with a diameter of 18 meters and three altars: in the name of St. Nicholas of Myra, Holy Prince Alexander Nevsky and Apostle James Zebedee.

The cathedral is located in the historical part of Yevpatoria and is included in the “Little Jerusalem” tourist route. Next door to it is the medieval Juma-Jami mosque. Also not far from the temple are the Yegie-Kapai synagogue, the Crimean prayer house, Karaite kenasses, the Armenian Church of St. Nicholas and other interesting objects.

The picturesque church in honor of St. Catherine

In Feodosia, between the bus station and the railway station, there is a majestic church in the name of the Holy Great Martyr Catherine. Built in the traditions of the 17th century, the cathedral is a picturesque architectural monument. The laying of the future shrine took place in 1892 on his birthday.

The snow-white temple with lancet windows is crowned with bright green domes. The walls of the cathedral stand on a high plinth and are separated by columns at the corners. The plan of the temple is based on a Greek cross.

In 1937, the church was closed and turned into a warehouse. However, four years later it was reopened. In the early 2000s, a major renovation was carried out here, new facilities were built, including a Sunday school, a teaching room, a library and a hotel.

A little about monuments and temples in honor of Alexander II. The history of the Ryazan temple, founded in honor of the Tsar-Liberator.

130 years ago, Emperor Alexander II (1818-1881) died at the hands of terrorists.
Monuments were erected in Russia in memory of the murdered Emperor.
Thus, the famous sculptor A.M. Opekushin erected monuments to Alexander II in Moscow (1898), Pskov (1886), Chisinau (1886), Astrakhan (1884), Czestochowa (1899), Vladimir (1913), Buturlinovka (1912), Rybinsk (1914) and in other cities of the empire. Each of them was unique; According to estimates, “the Czestochowa monument, created with donations from the Polish population, was very beautiful and elegant.” Alas, after 1917 most of what Opekushin created was destroyed.

The Bolsheviks barbarously destroyed monuments to the Tsar Liberator throughout the country. Now that the merits of the Sovereign Emperor Alexander II have been appreciated, Russia is trying to revive the destroyed monuments.

Divers were unable to find a monument to Emperor Alexander II thrown into the river by the Communists at the bottom of the Volkhov River in Veliky Novgorod. The object, which was taken for a monument during sonar scanning of the bottom in 2004, turned out to be a bizarre pile of logs.
The stone monument to Alexander II was erected on the Trade Side of Novgorod at the end of the 19th century. In May 1920, participants in a communist subbotnik threw the monument into the Volkhov River.
(from here)

The monument to the Tsar in Moscow has its own history. On May 14, 1893, in the Kremlin, next to the Small Nicholas Palace, where Alexander was born (opposite the Chudov Monastery), it was laid, and on August 16, 1898, solemnly, after the liturgy in the Assumption Cathedral, in the Most High presence (the service was performed by Metropolitan of Moscow Vladimir (Epiphany) ), a monument to him was unveiled (the work of A.M. Opekushin, P.V. Zhukovsky and N.V. Sultanov). The emperor was sculptured standing under a pyramidal canopy in a general's uniform, in purple, with a scepter; the canopy made of dark pink granite with bronze decorations was crowned with a gilded patterned hipped roof with a double-headed eagle; The chronicle of the king's life was placed in the dome of the canopy. Adjacent to the monument on three sides was a through gallery formed by vaults supported by columns.

In the spring of 1918, the sculptural figure of the king was thrown off the monument. During the demolition of the monument, the bald, bloody little Lenin, seething with anger, threw a rope around the neck of the sculpture... The monument was completely dismantled in 1928.

But historical justice has triumphed. In June 2005, a monument to Alexander II was inaugurated in Moscow. The author of the monument is Alexander Rukavishnikov. The monument is installed 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. Conducted military and judicial reforms. He introduced a system of local self-government, city councils and zemstvo councils. Ended the many years of the Caucasian War. Liberated the Slavic peoples from the Ottoman yoke. Died on March 1 (13), 1881 as a result of a terrorist attack.”

Those monuments that were located abroad were luckier.
For example, in Bulgaria Alexander II is known as the Tsar Liberator. His manifesto of April 12 (24), 1877, declaring war on Turkey, is studied in a school history course. The Treaty of San Stefano on March 3, 1878 brought freedom to Bulgaria after five centuries of Ottoman rule that began in 1396.
To this day in Bulgaria, during the liturgy in Orthodox churches, during the Great Entrance of the Liturgy of the Faithful, Alexander II and all the Russian soldiers who fell on the battlefield for the liberation of Bulgaria in the Russian-Turkish War of 1877-1878 are remembered.
The grateful Bulgarian people erected many monuments to the Tsar-Liberator and named streets and institutions throughout the country in his honor.

Monument to the Tsar Liberator in Sofia

In the capital of the Grand Duchy of Finland, Helsingfors, on Senate Square, in front of the Evangelical Lutheran Cathedral, on April 17, 1894, a monument to Alexander II, the work of Walter Runeberg, cast from the model of the sculptor Takanen, was unveiled. With the monument, the Finns expressed gratitude for strengthening the foundations of Finnish culture and, among other things, for recognizing the Finnish language as the state language.

Monument to Alexander II on Senate Square in Helsinki

I remember once a friend showed me photographs that he took in Helsinki. And he was very surprised when I explained to him that in one of the photographs he captured the monument to Emperor Alexander II...

Temples became a kind of monument to the Sovereign Liberator.
For example, in St. Petersburg, at the site of the death of the Tsar, the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood was erected using funds collected throughout Russia. The cathedral was built by order of Emperor Alexander III in 1883-1907 according to a joint project of the architect Alfred Parland and Archimandrite Ignatius (Malyshev), and was consecrated on August 6, 1907 - on the day of the Transfiguration.

A temple was built in Ryazan in honor of the miraculous rescue of the Emperor from assassination attempt. But while the temple was being built, terrorists still killed Emperor Alexander II. And the Ryazan temple became one of the first temples in memory of the murdered Tsar.

On August 30, 1879, in the Ryazan suburban Troitskaya Sloboda, the foundation stone of a church in the name of St. Blessed Prince Alexander Nevsky. His Grace Vasily, Bishop of Mikhailovsky, Vicar of Ryazan, expressed his thoughts in the following words:
“With a prayerful invocation of God’s blessing, the foundation of a temple of God was laid among peasant dwellings... The construction of the beginning of the temple in this locality, in addition to the desire to have in it the most convenient satisfaction of their spiritual needs, was undertaken by the pious inhabitants of this area and with the aim of perpetuating in posterity the memory of the phenomenon of the greatest God's mercy to the Russian people in the miraculous salvation of the precious life of our beloved Monarch, the most pious Sovereign Emperor Alexander Nikolaevich from the hand of a vile villain. Therefore, this temple is being built with the highest permission, dedicated to the name of St. Blessed Grand Duke Alexander Nevsky. The foundation of this temple is fittingly placed on the day of His Majesty’s name day.”

And in his speech, the bishop touched on the idea that the residents of the suburban settlement of Ryazan, concerned about the future of their children, without anyone’s instructions, decided to build this temple in this very place. “With a sense of common sense, they assume that their children are in danger of trouble (how right they were!) - and so they rush to avert this misfortune, to create a temple of God, in which their children would learn to fear God and honor the king...”

The temple in Trinity Sloboda was conceived in honor of the miraculous salvation of Emperor Alexander II, which occurred on April 2, 1879. The story of the tragedy and miraculous salvation of the sovereign is as follows. Alexander II, as always, walked in the morning near the Winter Palace. Suddenly an unknown man, who unexpectedly appeared, grabbed a revolver and fired several shots at the sovereign. Fortunately, the bullets did not hit God’s anointed one - the sovereign remained alive this time, and the attacker was caught. “Why this time?” you ask. Yes, because six attempts were made on the life of the sovereign. The last one, committed in 1881, ended his life.

“Before my mind’s eye,” wrote I.S. Aksakov in the days of popular mourning for Tsar Alexander II, the liberator of the peasants: “steadily standing is the bloody image of the good, meek, benign Tsar, killed in broad daylight... On a tight police sleigh they carry him, the first a man of the Russian land, already half-dead, with his head naked, bowing from weakness, is being taken as the liberator of millions of people of his own and foreign peoples, who gave all of Russia a new existence, who bestowed such a spaciousness of life that she had not yet known... A Russian becomes ashamed and ashamed to look at the light of God . It’s as if someone had publicly desecrated us, publicly disgraced us with the most shameless disgrace, and we, defiled, stand before the whole world, before that world where everywhere the name of the deceased is revered with reverence...”

Almost 5 years have passed since the foundation of the temple in Ryazan and 2 years since the last attempt on the life of the emperor and his tragic, terrible death. And so on September 8, 1884, the Right Reverend Theoktist (Popov), Bishop of Ryazan and Zaraisk, consecrated “in the Novoaleksandrovskaya (Troitskaya) Sloboda, a temple newly built by the inhabitants of the settlement in memory of the deliverance from the danger of life in God of the late Sovereign Emperor Alexander II, a stone church in the name of the Most Holy Trinity "

This celebration was attended by the rector of the Ryazan Trinity Monastery, Archimandrite Vladimir (Dobrolyubov), the cathedral archpriest Kh. Romansky, the rector of the seminary, Archpriest John Smirnov, as well as a large number of archpriests of monasteries and churches in Ryazan. This temple was special, which was emphasized more than once in the speeches of the speakers. The consecration was completed with the solemn words of priest John Alakrov. The temple was not yet completely ready, and the main celebrations were planned for the future. But this day turned out to be bright.

In a solemn speech, the speaker expressed the hope that the residents of the settlement would soon be able to see the temple completely completed with two more altars in the name of the blessed Prince Alexander Nevsky and St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. “Sincere love for the sovereign will not allow the construction of this sacred monument to be left unfinished,” the speaker said in conclusion.

And so on November 23, 1884, on the feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, His Grace Theoktist (Popov) already consecrated two new limits. On the occasion of such a celebration, the settlement, which was called Trinity, because adjacent to the Trinity Monastery, by the Highest command it began to be called Novo-Alexandrovskaya on March 31, 1883.

The Ryazan Diocesan Gazette noted that the newly consecrated church, in terms of its historical significance, was the first church in Russia - a monument to the salvation of the sovereign-emperor. And therefore the celebration turned out to be grandiose for Ryazan.

The consecration took place in the presence of a large number of people, troops and clergy. Orthodox Christians flocked to the temple from all over Ryazan and local villages. According to eyewitnesses who left their unforgettable impressions on the pages of REV, two wonderful choirs accompanied the consecration ceremony, which was conducted by the Bishop himself. After the liturgy there was a concert and many good and warm words were spoken to the builders and beautifiers of the temple. Everyone could not fit into the temple, although it was very spacious.

At the end of the service, the troops were offered refreshments, which were accompanied by music and the singing of folk hymns. The honored guests were invited to a festive dinner at the house of the chairman of the committee for the construction of the temple of the merchant of the first guild, Pavel Aleksandrovich Khrushchev, who put a lot of effort into ensuring that this temple was erected.

Residents of the Alexander Nevskaya Sloboda were offered refreshments in the square near the newly consecrated church. The author of the article was not talking about the riotous fun that the reader of these lines might imagine. It was about high spiritual triumph that we were talking about genuine patriotism and love for Russia and the sovereign. You can thank the author of the lines - he focused not only on the external side of the holiday and the high spiritual rise of the Russian people. He led us inside the temple, a temple that, unfortunately, no longer exists.

“At the entrance to the temple, it amazes everyone with its majestic structure, the grace of the carved wooden iconostasis, the beautiful expressive painting of the icons and, most importantly, the completeness and completeness of the idea that the builders and experienced leaders tried to express in it... Without words, he expresses more eloquently than any words an idea that can be formulated in the following words: “Fear God, honor the Tsar, and keep the church statutes.”

On the left side of the western doors everyone was amazed by the picture of the crucifixion of Christ the Savior, on the right - the removal from hell of the righteous who were there before the Resurrection. In a high place in the depths of the altar, on the canvas there was an image of the Risen Christ, and on the dome above the very throne, where the gaze of the worshiper could not penetrate, there was an image of the Lord of Hosts. The temple was arranged in such a way that the iconostasis of all three limits was immediately visible.

In each area, the icons were arranged in such a way as to perpetuate the events that happened to the Tsar-Liberator, the martyr Tsar Alexander II, whom God’s providence more than once kept from the hands of murderers, hoping that the Russian people would not lose their minds to the end. No, that didn't happen. Therefore, the venerable martyr Evdokia, “struck by the horror of an unheard-of atrocity... The artist’s brush tried to express on her face the most terrible event in a number of atrocities....”

The throne in the name of Nicholas the Wonderworker symbolized a single church, the implementation of whose rules helps people become a true Christian. The icon of the Transfiguration of the Lord above the Royal Doors seemed to symbolize that, by becoming like God in our prayer, we, like Him, will be transformed.

And so, the temple was conceived and executed as a symbol of the unity of God (the Trinity limit) - the anointed king of God (the limit of Alexander Nevsky) - and the Church, its statutes (Nicholas limit) and reflected the history of Christianity, the Russian state and the Russian Orthodox Church. For many years the temple delighted the parishioners of the settlement with its beauty.

In 1906, the Ryazan Diocesan Gazette noted that the Trinity Church is the best church in Ryazan. This temple evoked many thoughts and feelings. After all, its builders and decorators openly declared war on unbelief, as was repeatedly stated in the spoken words during the consecration of the temple. The organizers also believed that for many years to come the Trinity Church “will serve as a sign of the struggle of faith against unbelief and as a measure of the civil and political well-being and power of the people” (think about these words spoken in 1884). The temple was loved. His parishioners did not hesitate to make sacrifices, because they were doing it to God. Next to the temple there was a cemetery, 2 dessiatines of land for which benefactors also donated.

A well was dug next to the temple, which provided the settlement with clean water. A chapel was erected near the well. Another chapel attached to the temple was built in memory of saving the life of Alexander II, and was located near the Ryazan station. In the parish there were a two-class exemplary school for men and women, which was maintained at the expense of the Ryazan-Ural Railway Society, a two-class Ministerial School at Art. "Ryazan", Alexander Teachers' Seminary and elementary zemstvo school. Residents of the Troitskaya Sloboda were pleased with their arrival.

By 1917, the temple had three altars. The main one is in the name of the Life-Giving Trinity, the right one is in the name of the blessed Prince Alexander Nevsky, the left one is in the name of the saint and wonderworker Nicholas of Myra. He had enough utensils. According to its staff, it was supposed to have three priests, a deacon and three psalm-readers, who were not paid a salary.

The church had 3 ½ acres of land.

In 1923, the Trinity Church was described in documents as follows: “The church is made of stone, with the same bell tower with 11 bells on it, covered with iron, durable, with three altars and iconostases.” “The church has a stone dome with an iron cross over it. There are 18 windows in it. The church is surrounded by a stone fence.” Eleven bells of the temple carried their ringing over the city for a long time. They hindered some, but helped many survive during that terrible period.

S.D. Yakhontov, a Ryazan historian and archivist, recalled after his stay in the Ryazan prison in 1929: “...It was especially difficult for me during the holidays. Standing in front of the window towards the Trinity Church, when the gospel was heard from there, I grieved at the distance from the temple. There they pray, open their souls in prayer and thereby alleviate their grief, but I am deprived of this medicine. Loneliness would not be possible if it were not for religious desire. Temple! Temple! How long did I stand there like that, imagining myself in the temple and tears... tears! The Lord heard me and saw the tears. This saved me from despair. This was my life, invisible to others. Take care of God!...Whoever has no religion has had a bad time.” It was a difficult time for the Orthodox. Do not believe that churches were closed without Christian tears. There were many of them, our relatives, who grieved in their souls when the domes of the temples were lowered...

During this period, many house churches and city monasteries began to close. S.D. Yakhontov wrote: “At the beginning of the revolution, all house churches in Ryazan were destroyed. I will name some of them so that they do not completely disappear from the memory of history: 1 - Under Eparch.zh. uch., 2. spiritual male. Learned. 3. When archri. Forerunner 4.St. Stratiga under the Archbishop. same house 5.Technical. city. School, 6. At the House of Labor, 7. At the prison. 8.Eparh. diocesan Vicariate, 9. Almshouse of the Nobles, 10. Gymnasium. boarding house, 11 Seminaries. 12.Regimental Church."

Icons that were collected by still functioning churches and monasteries began to be removed from institutions and from the streets. Trinity Church received holy icons from the Ryazan station and depot. When the Kazan Convent in Ryazan was closing and the issue of its property was being resolved, the temple council made an interesting note in pencil on the letter accepting the property of the monastery: “It is advisable to have St. Icon of the Kazan Mother of God. Unfortunately, the temple could not accept any other icons. And the miraculous icon was transferred to the Resurrection Church in Ryazan.

In January 1924, Bishop Gleb (Pokrovsky) arrived in Ryazan. In his archival investigative file there are memories of the Trinity Church. They are touching, and involuntarily take us back to those times: “Trinity Church. The clergyman reverently performs the service, with strict rules, they preach, a wonderful choir, the regent has changed his proud disposition, he is rather a nervous person, he treats his duties very conscientiously. Always, when I serve in Trinity Church, I am touched by the beautiful singing; the temple is kept clean. The church elder and the council always treat me with respect; you feel like you are in your family. Would it be possible for Your Eminence to allow me to perform divine services here, and in the cathedral on the twelve feasts and local revered ones? Here I will find a tolerable apartment and some peace for myself. The Church Council willingly agrees to do everything necessary for me. Evening conversations are well organized here, and I could always take part.”

For a long time, the rector of the Trinity Church was Archpriest Nikolai Mikhailovich Urusov. He experienced difficult years of persecution of the Church of Christ. And he was one of the first to experience this persecution in our diocese.

The State Archives of the Ryazan Region preserved a letter written by Archimandrite Ioannikiy of the Solotchinsky Monastery, Archpriest of the Trinity Church in Ryazan Nikolai Urusov and the priest. Solotchinsky Church by Theodore Orlin to Vladyka John (Smirnov), in which they congratulated Vladyka on the day of the Angel and thanked him for the help provided to them, the prisoners of the Intercession camp. “With sincere filial love and devotion, we congratulate you on Angel Day and earnestly ask for your Archpastoral blessing and holy prayers for us imprisoned prisoners.” The prisoners also thanked Patriarch Tikhon, who also showed fatherly care for them, and reported: “In the Pokrovsky camp, among the imprisoned clergy, one is from Petrograd, and the rest are all from Ryazan. Of the Ryazants, four are in Nizhny Novgorod - priests Mikhail Ozersky, Gavriil Speshnev, John Mostinsky and Andrei Timofeev, and one in the Yauzinsky hospital Nikolai Volynsky. 1919 September 26/October 9"
This letter is priceless, as it reveals a certain secret about the priesthood that they wanted to hide from us. There are many holy martyrs, many of them we do not know, but God reveals these secrets...

Nikolai Mikhailovich Urusov returned to his native church after the camp. He put a lot of work in this field. In 1926, he was unfairly dismissed from his duties by a decision of members of the community, among whom people who were far from religion began to appear. The indignant parishioners of the Trinity Church could not come to terms with this. They asked for justice to be restored and Fr. Nicholas. Many letters were written, and in all of them there was a request to return the beloved shepherd. This time, justice was restored. It was already 1928.

In 1935, the temple was transferred to the renovationists, allegedly at the request of the parishioners. Even more indignant parishioners wrote a protest, but this time it was all in vain. The Renovationists settled in a temple that did not belong to them. The parishioners forgot the way there, and by the decision of the Ryazgorsk Executive Committee dated September 16, 1935, it was transferred to the MKR club. Many years later it was demolished, as its beauty was turned into nothing. On the site where there once was a temple to the Tsar-Liberator, a trade union palace was erected, later renamed the MCC - a municipal cultural center.

From here: Sinelnikova T.P.

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

Details about the architecture This brightest example of the “Russian style” in St. Petersburg can be read in the article “Savior on Spilled Blood: Church Architecture”. Descriptions and photographs of the interior of the Church 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

Erecting 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 Spilled 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 joyful event: Savior on Spilled Blood stands in the place where March 1, 1881(old style) was mortally wounded as a result of a terrorist attack Emperor Alexander II.

Alexander II entered Russian history as king liberator, the initiator of many reforms, but no other ruler was hunted by terrorists for so long and mercilessly.

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

Under Alexander II, a real restructuring of the state began, numerous reforms, which had no equal in the history of Russia: the liquidation of military settlements, the introduction of jury trials, the organization of zemstvo self-government, censorship reform, education reform, military reform (the transition from conscription to universal conscription) and, the most important reform, abolition of serfdom.

However, in reality the reform turned out to be half-hearted. For many peasants, it boiled down to the fact that they ceased to be formally called “serfs,” but nothing changed in their situation. The great reforms did not affect the organization of power itself. Public discontent grew. Peasant revolts broke out. Many protest groups appeared among the intelligentsia and workers. The radical intelligentsia called on the country to take 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 rescue of the emperor, a chapel was erected on that site (now demolished; photo source):

About a year after this, on May 25, 1867, in Paris, Alexander II was unsuccessfully shot 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 fueled public outrage and marked the beginning of terrorist activities. If until then most anti-government groups were engaged in propaganda and agitation, then from the mid-to-late 1870s there began a clear shift towards terrorist acts. 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 office (photo source):

So, on April 2, 1879, on Palace Square, the revolutionary populist Alexander Solovyov shot at Alexander II almost point-blank. The terrorist missed. Then, on November 19, 1879, members of Narodnaya Volya attempted to blow up the imperial train near Moscow, but a mixed-up route accidentally saved the Tsar. Already on February 5, 1880, the Narodnaya Volya organized a new attempt on the emperor’s life: 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. The soldiers on guard duty were killed.

Attempt by A. Solovyov on the life of Alexander II (illustration source):

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, there were ominous omens: the day before, the emperor saw dead pigeons several times under the windows of his palace. It turned out that a huge kite had settled on the roof and was killing pigeons. Korshun was caught, but in St. Petersburg they started saying that this was not good.

Having studied in advance 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 his route and, after the guards were relieved in the arena, went to visit his cousin, Grand Duchess Ekaterina Mikhailovna, mistress of the Mikhailovsky Palace. Having learned about this change, Sofya Perovskaya quickly got her bearings and transferred the “bombers” to Catherine Canal(now Griboedov Canal) .

After tasting tea with his cousin, Alexander II returned to the Winter Palace along the embankment Catherine Canal. Sofia Perovskaya, who was standing at the grating of the Mikhailovsky Garden, saw the royal carriage, waved her handkerchief, after which a student member of the Narodnaya Volya party N. Rysakov rushed after the carriage and forcefully threw a package 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 guards and a peasant peddler boy were writhing in their death throes.

The royal carriage damaged by a bomb (source of illustration):

The killer was captured. The king was not harmed. Coming out of the carriage, he wanted to look at the criminal, and then headed along the canal to the wounded, but suddenly the figure of another “bomber”, unnoticed by the guards, separated from the canal bars. It was a member of the Narodnaya Volya Ignatius Grinevitsky.

A bomb thrown by Grinevitsky tore off both of the emperor’s legs. Here it is appropriate to recall another eerie legend: as if, even at the birth of the future Russian emperor, a certain city holy fool Fyodor 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 of elected delegates from cities and provinces to the State Council). And so, on the eve of the publication of the decree, which was supposed to mark the beginning of constitutional rule in Russia, on March 1, 1881, the Tsar-Liberator was killed.

The seriously wounded Alexander II is placed in a sleigh (source 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 attempt on his life.

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 died in the court hospital, which was then located in house No. 9 on the embankment of the Catherine Canal (;). The remaining participants in the attempt - Rysakov, Kibalchich, Mikhailov, Zhelyabov and Perovskaya - were sentenced to death by hanging, which took place on April 3, 1881 at the Semyonovsky parade ground.

They said that, while climbing onto the scaffold platform, Sofya Perovskaya suddenly seemed to snatch a white handkerchief from somewhere and wave it over the assembled crowd, as when she gave the signal to the bomb throwers. Since then, the legend about the most famous ghost of St. Petersburg - the ghost Sofia Perovskaya. They say that every year on the first of March, before dawn, a silhouette of a young woman in a shroud, with a scar on her neck and with a white handkerchief in her hand, appears on the bridge over the Griboyedov Canal.

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

The very next day after the tragedy, 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 emergency meeting, decided to ask Emperor Alexander III, who had ascended the throne, to “ authorize the city public administration to erect... at the expense of the city a chapel or 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 not a chapel, but a whole church at the site of the regicide. He ordered to build temple, which would resemble " the viewer's soul about the martyrdom of the late Emperor AlexanderII and evoked loyal feelings of devotion and deep sorrow of the Russian people» .

First design attempt

Contest the creation of a memorial church was announced by the City Duma commission for perpetuating the memory of Alexander II on April 27, 1881. Thus, the construction of a temple on the site where " the sacred blood of the Emperor was shed", it was only a matter of time.

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

Temporary chapel on the Catherine Canal (photo source):

The money for this construction was allocated by the famous St. Petersburg merchant and timber merchant I.F. Gromov, and the construction work was paid for by the merchant Militin (Militsyn). In the chapel, memorial services were served daily for the repose of the soul of the murdered servant of God Alexander. Through the glass of the door one could see a link of the embankment fence and part of the pavement with traces of the blood of the murdered emperor. 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 Catherine Canal the chapel stood until the spring of 1883 - before the construction of the stone church began. After that, it was moved to Konyushennaya Square, and in 1892 it was finally dismantled.

Meanwhile continued competition for temple-monument projects, which it was decided to build on the embankment of the Catherine Canal. Projects were submitted under a conditional motto (so that the authority of the participant would not dominate). The deadline for submitting drawings was set at December 31, 1881. By this time, 26 projects had been submitted for consideration by the jury, chaired by the rector of the Academy of Arts for Architecture A. I. Rezanov, 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 a Baroque church) (illustration source):

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 was inferior to the version of A. L. Gun and I. S. Kitner under the motto “March 1, 1881”, and the third place was taken by L. N. Benoit’s project “What is Caesar’s to Caesar”.

A total of 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 recognized 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 purely Russian tasteXVII century, examples of which are found, for example, in Yaroslavl". The king also wished that “ the very place where Emperor AlexanderII was mortally wounded, 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 we can see, already at the initial stage the creation of the temple-monument was carried out under the vigilant control of the emperor. This was an 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. A reflection of the new course was the manifesto of April 29, 1881 on the steady preservation of the principles of autocracy, compiled by the Chief Prosecutor of the Synod, K. P. Pobedonostsev. Along with the revision of the political program, the official movement “ Russian style" Now the style of architecture was established in Russia " Great Orthodox Rus'», « style of the era of the Moscow Tsars", which, according to the instructions of the monarch, was now to be followed. The priorities of the authorities were clear: architects had to focus on a specific circle of prototypes.

The new tsar, who loved pre-Petrine antiquity, perceived Petersburg almost like a hostile city, a hub of terrorist activity. In addition, too much here reminded us of the difficult relationship with his father and of the previous reform course, which was now declared to be the result of “foreign insanity.” 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 St. Petersburg’s introduction to the precepts of Old Moscow Rus'. Reminiscent of 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 at all.

The second competition and the intrigues of the archimandrite

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

Now projects were drawn up with mandatory consideration of the monarch’s stylistic preferences. Thus, 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 mid-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 clearly manifested. Project by L. N. Benois (source illustration 15]):

The future builder of the temple also took part in the second competition - A. A. Parland. IN project under the motto “Old Age” he was based on the Moscow Church of John the Baptist in Dyakovo (16th century), but his version had significant design differences. The central part of the temple was cut through by a high window with a semicircular end - this detail will then go on to the façade of the bell tower of the completed building. On the west side, Parland designed a narthex with two chapels, one of which marked the site of the mortal wound of Alexander II. (It was precisely on the model of these symmetrical pavilions that Parland then built the chapel-sacristy near the Savior on Spilled Blood).

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

When his own competition project under the motto “Antique” was already ready, he approached the architect with a proposal to develop a joint project Archimandrite Ignatius .

Archimandrite Ignatius(in the world I.V. Malyshev) (1811-1897), a native of the Yaroslavl province, in 1857 he became the rector of the Trinity-Sergius Hermitage near St. Petersburg, the successor of the famous ascetic and spiritual writer Ignatius Brianchaninov. Ignatius was no stranger to art: in his youth he studied painting at the Academy of Arts and studied ancient Russian architecture.

Feeling like an “architect by calling,” Ignatius launched a large construction project in the desert. In 1881 he was awarded the title of honorary free associate of the Academy of Arts. Parland also carried out a number of works in the Trinity-Sergius Hermitage at the request of Ignatius: for example, according to his design, the now defunct Resurrection Cathedral (the church in the name of the Resurrection of Christ) was built there.

During the second competition Church on the Catherine Canal Ignatius suddenly " the idea dawned on me 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 sentiments of the royal family. According to the memoirs of mosaic artist V. A. Frolov, through the devout Grand Duchess Alexandra Iosifovna, who often visited the hermitage, Ignatius brought “ to the information of the king about the appearance of the Mother of God to him in a dream, who allegedly showed him the main foundations of the temple» .

However, the archimandrite was hardly able 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 his 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 about 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. On June 29, 1883, Alexander III deigned to approve joint project of the archimandriteIgnatius and the architect Parland(this was just one of the three projects submitted later than the others).

The personality of the archimandrite played almost a decisive role in the choice of this particular option. It was officially stated that the emperor had 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 clear: the first place for the authorities was not so much the artistic merits of the project, but rather the “divine inspiration” and, in general, the religious and symbolic aspect.

Finalize the project!

The option chosen by the emperor, developed by A. A. Parland together with Archimandrite Ignatius, vaguely resembled the tripartite type of churches of the 17th century, planned “ship”. The site of the fatal assassination attempt on Alexander II was distinguished by a memorial hipped bell tower, which was adjacent to hipped porches. 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 Djakovo, and the side aisles were reminiscent of gate churches from 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 by the public in the early years as the main character. However, Ignatius was not a professional architect, although they tried to mitigate this circumstance, calling him “ experienced owner-builder"and emphasizing the clergyman's penchant for the arts.

The choice of this particular option caused some confusion among the architectural workshop. Many professionals rated the artistic merits of the winning project extremely low. A. N. Benois recalled: “... The architect Parland came to the sovereign with his project (using connections with the clergy and lower officials), and his monstrous invention, presented in a very effective coloring, found 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 Parland’s project be corrected» .

And indeed, the emperor accepted the project only “in general”, with the condition of further refinement, “ so that the project is reviewed and where it should be changed for execution Professor of the Imperial Academy of Arts D.I. Grimm". The professor tried to take advantage of the situation I. V. Shtrom, who in January 1883 proposed his own candidacy for developing Ignatius’s idea. He proposed to build a structure made of multi-colored bricks with majolica, gilded and enameled domes and interior paintings, reminiscent of St. Basil's Cathedral. Strom's candidacy was rejected, but his proposals significantly influenced the composition of the completed building.

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

This new project envisioned the construction of not just a single temple, but a grandiose complex similar to a monastery. The complex included a church, a memorial area, a museum, a bell tower and a processional gallery, the corners of which were marked by small buildings with folded domes (a copy of the chapels from the competition project “Antiquity”; these corner pavilions are reproduced by the realized chapel-sacristy 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 spanning a 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 adjacent to the main volume. As the further course of events showed, this composition turned out to be completely self-sufficient - from here the image of the Savior on Spilled Blood that we know today crystallized.

Large-scale project of 1883 (source of illustration):

Apparently, at this stage of design, Ignatius’s participation in the development of the project was already purely nominal, and the “final version” of the project departed so far from the joint competitive version that A. A. Parland could already rightfully call himself sole by the author the building being created. Details of the project were clarified during construction. The final approval of the project took place only May 1, 1887.

Final Project (Illustration Source):

As you can see, both of Parland’s competition projects - both “Old Man” and the joint one with Ignatius - ultimately turned out to be very far from the realized version. This is for the better, since the final temple turned out to be incomparably more complete and artistic. The construction eventually lost the scale that distinguished the alternative project of June 1883, but became more integral and compact. The pillar-shaped tower above the site of the emperor’s mortal wound retained the function of a monument and at the same time turned into a bell tower.

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

Although among the people another name has taken root - Savior on Spilled Blood, the canonical name of the cathedral is Temple in the name of the Resurrection of Christ on the site of the mortal wound of the late Emperor Alexander in BoseII.

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

The dedication of the temple to the Resurrection of Christ also affirmed the connection between the martyrdom of Alexander II and the atoning sacrifice of the Savior, crucified and then resurrected. I. V. Shtrom wrote: “Just 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: “ The Emperor's life ended / Christ was crucified for the second time" This parallel found additional confirmation in calendar coincidences: the emperor was born on April 17, 1818 on Easter week and was killed on the first Sunday of Lent.

Thus, the memorial temple was built as an atoning sacrifice for the martyrdom of the Tsar-Liberator. 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 ideas 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 all the 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: history of construction

Ceremonial 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.

Laying the foundation of the temple (photo source):

Before this, a fragment of the canal grate, granite slabs and part of the cobblestone pavement, stained with the blood of Alexander II, were removed, placed in boxes and transferred for storage to the chapel on Konyushennaya Square. Subsequently, these relics were returned to their historical places, 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 excavation work was carried out. It is interesting that during the construction of the cathedral they abandoned the usual method of driving piles under the base of the building: for the first time in the history of St. Petersburg architecture, it was used concrete foundation under the entire area of ​​the structure (; ). The solid foundation made of rubble slab on a solid concrete pad is 1.2 m thick. The outer base of the cathedral was lined with granite by craftsmen who worked in the famous workshop of Gaetano Bota in St. Petersburg. Then they began laying walls made of bricks supplied by the Russian plant “Pirogranit”, and then pylons made of rubble slabs on granite bases.

Construction of the temple (photo source):

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

In 1889, a scandal broke out related to the misappropriation of public 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 reigned in the work of the commission, as well as by Parland’s reluctance to part with the prestigious position of architect-builder.

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

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

The construction of the 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 at the base of the central drum. The walls and parts of the facade were faced with durable, strong materials: Estonian marble (supplied by Kos and Duerr), glazed bricks made at the Siegersdorf factories ( Siegersdorfer Werke) in Germany, as well as colored tiles ordered from the Imperial Porcelain Factory. The dome structures and the iron frame of the tent were installed at the St. 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 “Savior on Spilled Blood: Description of Architecture”.

An 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, and gilded crosses were also made there. The middle altar chapter was, at the suggestion of P. P. Chistyakov, lined with gilded smalt (the work of the Frolovs’ mosaic workshop). The heads of the side apses and the bell tower were covered in 1897-1900 with gilded copper. True, the dome of the bell tower quickly darkened, and in 1911-1913 the gilding was replaced with cantarel coating (golden 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, enameled tiles created in the workshop of M. V. Kharlamov sparkled on the facades (colored glazed tiles for apses, the central tent, as well as the tents and slopes of the 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 carried out by the workshop of the Kostroma jeweler Savelyev in 1905-1907. The silver bas-reliefs of the gates depicted the patron saints of the reigning house of the Romanovs (out of 80 plates, only 33 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 interior decoration.

At whose expense is this temple

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

General 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 paintings with mosaics, the high cost of the canopy and cases of financial abuse.

Subsequently, 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 Spilled Blood, sermons were read daily, memorial services were served, and services were held dedicated to the memory of Alexander II. However, no baptisms or weddings took place here, since the temple “ due to its special significance as a national monument"was not parish (;). A place was reserved for believers near the western facade, in front of the mosaic “Crucifixion”, where church services were held.

The history of the Savior on Spilled Blood after the revolution

Temple under the new government

After the revolution, the fate of the Savior on Spilled Blood developed dramatically. In 1918, the temple came under the jurisdiction of the People's Commissariat of Property of the RSFSR, and in January 1920 it became a parish church. 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"(from 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 Josephiteness in Leningrad - a movement in the Russian Church that arose as 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, following an appeal from the Leningrad branch of the All-Russian Society in Memory of Political Prisoners and Exiled Settlers, decided: “ In order to stop the Black Hundred agitation going on in the church, and also taking into account the abuses of a criminal nature discovered in this church, in fulfillment of the order of the voters, to bring the Leningrad before the Presidium. Council petition to close the said church and transfer the building for cultural and educational needs". By Resolution of the Presidium of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee of October 30, 1930 No. 67 Savior on Spilled Blood was closed. Attempts to establish a museum of the revolutionary struggle of the People's Will here failed.

The cathedral was used as a warehouse. For some time, a crushing workshop for producing granite chips was located within its walls. Due to the lack of proper supervision and security, 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 devout 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 autocracy, in official assessments of the Soviet era, the Savior on Spilled Blood was assessed with caution at best, and sometimes outright negatively. The non-acceptance was also due to a negative attitude towards the entire architecture of the eclectic period, including examples 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 was not of historical and artistic value and its architecture was alien to the appearance of the city, in the 1930s decisions were made to dismantle the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood, transfer fragments of the decoration to museums, and use rare minerals for new construction. In the 1930s, the bells were thrown from the temple. The question has been raised repeatedly 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 unique building, characteristic of a certain period of Russian architecture» .

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

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

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

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 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 House of Romanov. 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-Delagarde. 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 construction were collected all over the world. Significant sums were donated by noble citizens of B.V. Khvoshchinsky and I.F. Tokmakov, and a plot of land for construction was donated by Baron A.L. Wrangel. The casting of the bells for the temple, which took place in Moscow, was paid for by the Crimean wine manufacturer 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. Eshliman. However, this option was not approved. The Emperor noted that there was “little Russian element” in him. On the contrary, the project of the famous Crimean architect P.K. Terebenev was to everyone’s taste. A two-tier, five-domed building, equipped with a three-tiered bell tower, generously decorated with open external 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 ancient Russian style.

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

More than 10 years were spent on construction. During this time, two floors were built, containing two churches: the lower one in the name of St. Great Martyr Artemy, and the upper, main one, in the name of the Grand Duke Alexander Nevsky.

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

And so, after long and painstaking work, the miracle church was ready. In December 1902, Emperor Nicholas II himself arrived at its lighting along with his retinue. This was a significant event for Crimea, which attracted a huge number of people. The lighting ceremony was conducted by Archbishop Nicholas, 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 is excellent, fundamental, durable and stylish: the Russian style is remarkably well maintained,” was the opinion of the selection committee and all those present 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 foundation of which I was present in 1891, remembering all those who worked at its founding and thinking with joy about the prayers that are now for everyone in it they will be exalted." Later the newspapers would write: “Nicholas II and Alexandra Fedorovna venerated the holy cross, then the emperor lit the lamp. Then a procession of the cross was made around the cathedral and into 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, reminiscent of a Russian tower. Its author was M.I. Kittens. In 1903-1908, another three-story house was built on the church grounds; there was an assembly hall for the Alexander Nevsky Brotherhood. It also housed a parish school, named after Tsarevich Alexei, and a shelter for people suffering from pulmonary diseases. The first archpriest of the cathedral was Alexander Yakovlevich Ternovsky, who had previously served in the Church of St. John Chrysostom.

The Alexander Nevsky Cathedral has become a favorite place for Crimeans. In one of the letters from A.P. Chekhov described the cathedral this way: “Here, in Yalta, there is a new church, big bells are ringing, it’s nice to listen, because it looks like Russia.” Both on holidays and in moments of sorrow, the doors of the church were open to people. People were baptized here, got married, and held funeral services.

Troubled times

The temple shared the sufferings and sorrows of its parishioners during the turbulent times of the revolution and civil war. Like an island surrounded by a stormy ocean, it became a refuge and consolation for the suffering. The cathedral protected, supported the faith, and protected the lives of people. In 1918, during the shelling of Yalta, city residents took refuge within its walls.

During the revolution, the building survived, but not all of its rich decoration. Amid cries of “religion is the opium of 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 using photographs from the personal archive of the architect N.P. Krasnova.

Divine 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. Voino-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 Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. For 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, work was carried out to gild the domes of the temple and restore the painting of the iconostasis. 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 secondary school has been operating at the temple, in which about 100 children study.

190 years ago, on April 17, 1818 (April 29, new style), at 11 a.m., a son was born into the family of Grand Duke Nikolai Pavlovich and Grand Duchess Alexandra Feodorovna. He was born and this alone greatly influenced the further course of Russian history. Emperor Alexander I, who had no sons, learned that his younger brother had an heir, and decided to transfer the throne to Nicholas, and not to his brother Constantine, who was next in seniority to Alexander. 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, from the height of impartiality to pacify mutually hostile parties by the force of reasonable agreements, then one cannot but admit that Emperor Alexander Nikolaevich correctly understood the essence of his vocations during the memorable years of his reign 1855-1861.”
Professor Kiesewetter

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

Alexander's mentor since 1826 was the famous Russian poet Vasily Andreevich Zhukovsky. For six months Zhukovsky developed a program for training and educating Alexander. The program did not allow concessions or leniency. Emperor Nicholas regretted that he did not receive the education necessary for a 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 these lines:

May he meet a century full of honor!
May he be a glorious participant!
Yes, on the high line he won’t forget
The holiest of titles: man...

Zhukovsky declared the goal of educating and training the heir to be “education for virtue.” Here is the routine of a typical school day “like a king.” You need to get up at six in the morning. After finishing your 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. Before noon - lessons. Languages ​​- German, English, French, Polish and Russian; geography, statistics, ethnography, logic, the law of God, philosophy, mathematics, natural science, chemistry, physics, mineralogy, geology, domestic and general history... and even a course on the history of the French Revolution of 1789, banned in Russia. And, in addition, drawing, music, gymnastics, fencing, swimming, horse riding, dancing, handicraft, reading and recitation. In the afternoon there is a two-hour walk, at two o'clock in the afternoon there is lunch. After lunch, rest and go for a walk, but at five in the evening there are classes again, at seven there is an hour reserved for games and gymnastics. At eight there is dinner, then almost free time, during which, nevertheless, one is supposed to keep a diary; record the main incidents of the day and your condition. At ten o'clock - go to bed!

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, St. George's Hall and the large church of the Winter Palace were decorated in honor of Alexander Nikolaevich. 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 topped 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 ceremonial part ended with the singing of the imperial anthem “God Save the Tsar!” shortly before the composition. On that day, an amazing precious mineral was mined in the Urals. In the sun it was bluish-greenish, and in artificial light it became crimson-red. It was called alexandrite.

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

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

Coronation celebrations took place in Moscow from August 14 to 26, 1856. To carry them out, the Great and Small Crowns, a scepter, an orb, porphyry, crown insignia 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 procession consisting of carriages, but rather modestly - by rail. On August 17, 1856, Alexander Nikolaevich with his family and brilliant retinue drove along Tverskaya Street to the ringing of numerous Moscow bells and the roar of artillery salutes. At the chapel of the Iveron Mother of God, the Tsar and his entire retinue dismounted (the Empress and her children got out of the carriage) and venerated the miraculous icon, after which they walked on foot to the Kremlin territory.

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. Most Holy Confirmation of the Sovereign 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 popularly called a bad omen. Standing with the “power” was old man M.D. Gorchakov suddenly lost consciousness and fell, dropping the pillow with the symbol. The spherical “power”, ringing, rolled along the stone floor. Everyone gasped, and only the monarch calmly said, referring to Gorchakov: “It doesn’t matter that he fell. The main thing is that he stood firm on the battlefields.”
Alexander understood well 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 the disastrous domestic policy of his father. Radical and immediate changes were required. Already in 1856, Alexander II signed the Paris Peace Treaty with Turkey, and in 1861 he took one of the most significant internal political steps in the entire history of the country - he abolished serfdom. While still an 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 no longer be tolerated. A secret committee was created to develop peasant reform, which in 1858 became the Main Committee.

Alexander II calls on the Moscow nobles to begin liberating the peasantry. 1857.
Engraving. Early 1880s

Emperor Alexander II, photo from the mid-1860s

Lavrov N.A. Portrait of Emperor Alexander II in the mentic of His Majesty's Life Guards Hussar Regiment. 1860
(From the collection of the Regimental Museum before 1918, Tsarskoe Selo)

On February 19, 1861, the day of accession to the throne, the “Regulation” on the liberation of the peasants was delivered to the Winter Palace. The manifesto about this act was compiled by Metropolitan of Moscow Filaret (Drozdov). After fervent prayer, the Emperor 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. The Old Believers, loyal to the secular authorities, were allowed to freely worship, open schools, hold public positions, and travel abroad. Essentially, the “schism” was legalized and the persecution of Old Believers that took place under Emperor Nicholas I stopped. During the reign of Alexander II, the Caucasian War (1817-1864) was completed, a significant part of Turkestan was annexed (1865-1881), borders were established with China along the Amur rivers and Ussuri (1858-1860).

Sverchkov N.E. Riding in a stroller (Alexander II with children)
(Yaroslavl Art Museum, Yaroslavl)

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

Thanks to Russia's victory in the war with Turkey (1877-1878), in order to assist the Slavic peoples of the same faith in their liberation from the Turkish yoke, Bulgaria, Romania and Serbia gained independence and began their 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 completion. In Bulgaria, Alexander II was revered as the Liberator. The Cathedral of Sofia is the 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 Right Bank Ukraine. In 1864, the uprising was suppressed, Alexander was forced to carry out a number of progressive reforms in Poland, but the authority of the tsar was already undermined.

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

Alexander II had long lived under the tormenting sign of a prediction allegedly given at his birth by the holy fool Fyodor. The incomprehensible, mysterious words of Blessed Fyodor have been passed down from mouth to mouth for several decades among the people: “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 explosion of a bomb would tear off both the king’s legs, and he, bleeding, 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 from 1856 of Alexander II’s wife Maria Alexandrovna

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

Emperor Alexander II with his second wife, Ekaterina Dolgoruka and children

The first attempt on the life of Alexander II was made on April 4, 1866 during his walk in the Summer Garden. The shooter was 26-year-old terrorist Dmitry Karakozov. He shot almost point blank. But, fortunately, the peasant Osip Komissarov, who happened to be nearby, pulled away the killer’s hand. Russia praised God with songs, who prevented the death of the Russian emperor. In June of the following year, 1867, the Russian emperor was in Paris at the invitation of Napoleon III; on June 6, when Alexander was riding in the same carriage with the French emperor through the Bois de Boulogne, the Pole A. Berezovsky shot at the king with a pistol. But he missed. Seriously frightened, Alexander turned to the famous Parisian soothsayer. He didn't hear anything comforting. Eight attempts will be made on his life and the last one will prove fatal. It must be said that people have already told a legend about how once, in his youth, Alexander Nikolaevich met 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 occur on April 2, 1869. Terrorist A. Solovyov will shoot at the Tsar right on Palace Square. It will miss. On November 18, 1879, terrorists blew up the railway track along which the imperial train was supposed to travel, but it managed to pass earlier, before the explosion.
On February 5, 1880, the famous explosion in the Winter Palace took place, carried out by Stepan Khalturin. Several guard soldiers will be killed, but the king, by a lucky chance, will not be harmed.

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

In the summer of the same year, terrorists Zhelyabov and Teterka would lay dynamite under the Stone Bridge across the Catherine Canal at Gorokhovaya Street, but fate would again be favorable to Alexander II. He will choose a different route. This will be the sixth attempt on the Tsar's life. New assassination 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. Every morning, several dead pigeons lie in front of his bedroom windows. Subsequently, it turned out that a kite of unprecedented size had taken up residence on the roof of the Winter Palace. The kite was barely lured into the trap. The dead pigeons no longer appeared. 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 Narodnaya Volya members Rysakov and Grinevitsky with an interval of several minutes as two assassination attempts, then the Parisian sorceress 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.

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

He died on the very day when he decided to give way to 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.” 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 created throughout the country. The scale of the 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 installed in Vyshy Volochyok, in the villages of 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 king and next to him a shaggy dog. The state, in the form of a helpless dog, did not look so powerful. They said that another artist, Vasily Vereshchagin, having seen the portrait, suggested calling 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)

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

The most famous Russian artists and architects took part in the construction and decoration of the temple with mosaics, frescoes and icons: Afanasyev, 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 King the Liberator are engraved.

Through the western, massive, silver-chased gates, the worshiper enters the temple and sees in front of him a canopy in the place where the mortally wounded king fell. The following are preserved in complete original form: part of the cast iron grate of the Catherine Canal, panel slabs and part of the cobblestone street with traces of the sovereign’s blood. This place is surrounded by a lattice with four columns, covered 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 tented canopy over the figure of the emperor, crowned with a double-headed eagle (a motif for 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 Vladimir the Saint 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-tent composition of the monument organically fit into the existing ensemble of the Kremlin; the richness and elegance of the decoration aroused the admiration of contemporaries. The monument was created by sculptor A.M. Opekushin and architects P.V. Zhukovsky and N.V. Sultanov. The monument has not survived to this day. The figure of the Tsar-Liberator was thrown from the pedestal in 1918, the canopy and gallery were finally dismantled in 1928.

In June 2005, a monument to Alexander II was inaugurated in Moscow. The author of the monument is Alexander Rukavishnikov. The monument is installed on a granite platform on the western side of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. On the pedestal of the monument there is the inscription “Emperor Alexander II. He abolished serfdom in 1861 and freed millions of peasants from centuries of slavery. Conducted military and judicial reforms. He introduced a system of local self-government, city councils and zemstvo councils. Ended the many years of the Caucasian War. Liberated the Slavic peoples from the Ottoman yoke. Died on March 1 (13), 1881 as a result of a terrorist attack.”