The construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway was begun by Emperor Alexander III. During the reign of this representative of the Romanov dynasty, the length and number of railways in the country doubled. The descendants put several monuments to the tsar in gratitude for the development of roads, and with them the entire economy, but these gestures happened before the revolution. In 2012, it was decided to resume historical justice, and Novosibirsk was the first to do this. The monument to Alexander III was erected at the most honorable place where citizens can visit it, and the autocrat proudly looks around the city.
Pride of Siberia
The beginning of Novosibirsk was laid in the plans for the construction of the Great Siberian Railway in 1893. A place for the city was chosen by the river Ob in the area of the village of Krivoschekino. In this place it was necessary to build a bridge for the unhindered movement of trains traveling from the center of the country to the Far East. The matter was argued quickly, and not only was the bridge mounted, but the working settlement, Novonikolaevsk, also grew.
The completion of the bridge was the impetus for the development of the village. By 1897, a pier, a railway station, a sawmill were built on the banks of the Ob, and the city became a transshipment point, a major trading center of rich Siberia. After the devastating fire, from 1909 to 1912, only stone buildings began to be erected in the city, and taking into account all the benefits of civilization, they were equipped with steam heating and a sewage system.
The revolutionary events in the country did not pass by Novonikolaevsk, fate began to come from here, and therefore, since 1925 the city received a new name that was not connected with the royal family - Novosibirsk. The monument to Alexander III appeared here by chance. Much time has passed after the decree on the construction of the road, the Soviet power has already ended, and the road that linked the country together continues to function.
The capital of Siberia is Novosibirsk
The monument to Alexander III was a gift from the railway workers in honor of the City Day. The author of the project is sculptor Shcherbakov Salavat Aleksandrovich. The initiator of the installation of the monument and the sponsor of its implementation was Russian Railways. The opening took place on the eve of City Day, at midnight. Accompanying the event was the victorious overture of composer P. I. Tchaikovsky “1812” and cannon fire. One of the tsar’s descendants, his great-great-grandson Pavel Kulikovsky, was invited to the ceremony.
Location
The terminal point of the Trans-Siberian Railway was Novosibirsk. The monument to Alexander III was erected in the most popular city park - "City Beginnings", which is located on the picturesque embankment of the Ob River. By its location, the monument faces the city with the front part, behind it is the farm of the old bridge, which once connected the banks of the river.
The monument to Alexander III (Novosibirsk) has a height of five meters, made by bronze casting. The granite pedestal on which it is installed is eight meters high. The title part of it depicts the rescript of Alexander III to his heir, Nicholas II, where a decree is written about the command to begin construction of a railway line through all of Siberia. Above the commemorative inscription on the dedication of the monument to the sovereign, on the pedestal, the coat of arms of Russia is depicted.
Other monuments
The monument to Emperor Alexander III in Novosibirsk is the third of those erected in honor of the development of railway communication in Russia. The first appeared in Irkutsk. The monument was designed in 1902, and the opening took place in 1908. The figure of the king was cast in bronze in the image of the ataman of the Siberian Cossacks.
Another monument to Alexander III, in appreciation of the beginning of the construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway, was erected in 1909 in St. Petersburg on the initiative of the royal family. In 1937, the monument was dismantled and given to conservation in the Russian Museum. For general access, it was again opened in 1994 in front of the entrance to the Marble Palace (formerly V.I. Lenin Museum).
