Tsar Alexander III Monument

Prince Paolo Troubetzkoy’s equestrian statue of Tsar Alexander III was opened on Holy Sign (Znamenskaya) Square in front of the Nicholas Railway Station on 23 May 1909. Immortalising the founder of the Trans-Siberian Railway from St Petersburg to Vladivostok, the monument was reworked by the sculptor into a symbol of Russia. Troubetzkoy said: “I wanted to convey the great might of Russia in my image of Alexander III.” His revolutionary design evoked heated debate in the Russian press, continuing unabated until October 1937, when the monument was removed by the Communist authorities. The Russian Museum saved the statue from being melted down by agreeing to accept it for storage. After the fall of Communism, Troubetzkoy’s statue was placed on permanent exhibition in the courtyard of the Marble Palace (1995).