“I do not engage in politics. I simply portrayed one animal for another.” These words belong to Paolo Trubetskoy. He is the sculptor of the Alexander III Statue. We stand before a monument that sparked intense debate from the moment it was unveiled.
This is the Alexander III Statue. It immortalizes Tsar Alexander III. He was the founder of the Trans-Siberian Railway. It ran from St Petersburg to Vladivostok. The statue became a symbol of Russia itself.
Unveiled in 1909, the Alexander III Statue quickly became a lightning rod for controversy. Some people were indignant. They felt the statue was a caricature of the Tsar. Others embraced it. They saw it as a powerful representation of Russia. The debates even reached the city Duma. They seriously questioned the statue’s right to exist.
Trubetskoy remained unfazed by the uproar. He famously said he wasn’t involved in politics. He stated that he simply portrayed one animal for another. His words did little to quell the storm of opinions surrounding the Alexander III Statue.
Critics labeled the monument everything from “scarecrow” to “brute”. These unflattering names reflected the public’s view of the Tsar. There were popular riddles that underscored this negative perception. The Alexander III Statue became a symbol of the Tsar’s unpopularity.
In 1937, the Alexander III Statue was removed from its original location. It stood in Ploshchad Vosstaniya. It was placed in the courtyard of the Russian Museum. It was separated from the city. Popular folklore referred to it as “the prisoner of the Russian Museum.”
Some believed the Alexander III Statue protected the city. Along with two other horsemen, it guarded the well-being of Leningrad. Its removal was seen as a sign of misfortune. Officially, the reason for the removal was that it obstructed trams. However, trams had been running there for over 30 years without incident.
After the fall of Communism, the Alexander III Statue was liberated. In 1994, it was moved to the Marble Palace. This was once the site of Lenin’s armored car. City authorities claimed it was a temporary location.
The Alexander III Statue is unlikely to return to its original location. The Hero City Leningrad obelisk now stands there. It is interesting to note that Alexander III seems to be President Putin’s favorite Tsar. The Alexander III Statue remains a powerful symbol. It represents Russia’s complex history. It also shows the enduring power of art to provoke thought.