This part of the country's cultural heritage is located on the famous Yekaterininsky Square in the city located in the south of Ukraine. Next to it are also monuments to the associates of Catherine the Great, and part-time and founders of Odessa - de Volan, de Ribas, Potemkin and Zubov.
The pedestal was erected in 1900, and dismantled in 1920. In 2007, the monument was restored, which caused serious political resonance.
Facts from the history of the monument
As you know, in 1794, at the behest of Catherine II, the construction of the port city, later called Odessa, was begun. After 200 years, the inhabitants of this city erected a monument in honor of the Empress, which was erected on the eponymous square. Then the Bolsheviks came to power, and it was decided to dismantle it. The statues of de Volan, de Ribas, Potemkin and Zubov - to transfer to the museum of local lore, and the statue of Catherine the Great - to destroy.
In 1965, a new monument was erected on the same Catherine Square, which is dedicated to the 60th anniversary of the uprising of the sailors of the legendary battleship "Potemkin".
2007 was marked by the fact that the city authorities decided to recreate the monument to Catherine in Odessa as a tribute to the founders of this city. The sponsor of this project was R. Tarpan (City Council deputy). The monument "Potemkinites - descendants" was moved to the Customs Square. The statues of both Catherine II and her associates were returned to their rightful place. In view of the early loss of part of the monument (the head of the empress), it was decided to re-manufacture the missing element.
What turned the grand opening of this monument
In October of the same year, a monument to Catherine the Great was presented to the townspeople. This event was accompanied by a meeting of both supporters and opponents of the revival of the country's cultural heritage.
Ukrainian nationalists who arrived earlier tried to disrupt the erection of the monument by setting fire to the Empress’s stuffed animal and fighting with representatives of law enforcement agencies. They, in turn, were guided, in their opinion, by facts from the story that the empress unjustifiably dissolved the Zaporizhzhya Sich and always acted as the “executioner of the Ukrainian people”.
What does this monument look like
It is no coincidence that the monument to Catherine 2 in Odessa was erected on the square of the same name. She is one of the most beautiful places in the city. Catherine’s Square, together with the historical monument, forms an ensemble with the Potemkin Stairs, more precisely with its upper part (unofficial name associated with the success of the film by S. Eisenstein). It was erected a bronze monument to Duke - the Duke of Richelieu (Governor-General of Odessa in 1805-1814).
Along with the steps of the Potemkin Stairs, the famous funicular has been recreated according to an exclusively original design. It has two trailers that alternately slide in two directions - up and down. They replaced the escalators installed in the Soviet era, which were more idle due to breakdowns than they were fully moving. Currently, the funicular is maintained by the mayor's office, and travel is free of charge.
The significance of the restoration of the historical monument in question
The Potemkin Stairs via a ramp is connected to the building of the Marine Station, as well as access to the picturesque moorings to which passenger liners from around the world again moor. All of the above creates a single architectural historical ensemble. To recreate the monument to Catherine in Odessa and her associates - this means taking the first steps towards the restoration by Odessa architects of the most important historical center of this city, which has a very bright past.
Biography of Catherine the Great
Previously, she was the princess of the German principality of Anhalt-Zerbst. Her name was Sophia Augusta Frederic. She was brought to Russia in 1744 and married. Her narrowed was the heir to the Russian throne, Grand Duke Peter Fedorovich. Then came the anointing, in which Sophia Augusta Frederic was called the Christian name Ekaterina Alekseevna. She quickly won both the sympathies of the courtiers and the entire guard.
Further, Ekaterina Alekseevna, through the guards and the Brothers Grigory and Alexei Orlov, who led the plot, carried out the overthrow of the husband of Emperor Peter III from the throne. And in 1762 she was crowned under the name of Great Catherine II.
Merits of the Empress
They can be grouped into the following list, namely:
- She issued the class privileges of the nobles.
- During her reign, a peasant war took place, the leader of which was Emelyan Pugachev.
- In the era of the reign of Catherine the Great, Russia was annexed to: Crimea, the North Caucasus, the Northern Black Sea Region, Belarusian, Lithuanian, and Western Ukrainian lands.
- According to the decrees of the empress, hetmanism was abolished in Ukraine.
- The liquidation of the Zaporizhzhya Sich was carried out.
- The Black Sea Cossacks formed. In a legal aspect, its leaders were equated with nobles.
- Catherine II created a medical college and built more than a dozen hospitals.
- The period of her reign includes the introduction of vaccination against smallpox.
- A whole network of orphanages was created.
- During her reign, the country's first Russian Academy of Sciences was founded.
It is known that Empress Catherine II spent her last years of her life caring for the created city, which she named Odessa. She sought to ensure that its population was predominantly international. Constantly monitored the progress of construction in Odessa and provided all kinds of material and moral support.
Thus, no one doubts the correctness of the decision to recreate such a historical value as the monument to Catherine 2. In Odessa, it was erected by right.
How the memory of the empress in the city of Podolsk was perpetuated
Her monument was erected in September 2008 in the park of the same name. Its specific feature is the way the empress is represented - at work, in contrast to the way the monument to Catherine in Odessa, which is proudly looking at people passing below, is shown.
The authors captured the moment when she signs an important document - a decree on October 5, 1781, according to which the empress ordered to begin the foundation of the city of Podolsk. This monument is the result of a joint activity of Alexander Rozhnikov and Nikolai Pestovoy. To be precise, the very idea of creating historical value belongs to Pestov, and Rozhnikov embodied it. About two tons weighs a bronze monument to Catherine. Podolsk, although it is not the city that she formed, however, the Empress made a considerable contribution to its development.
St. Petersburg: a monument to Catherine
This historical heritage is reflected in the Northern capital. In St. Petersburg on the famous Ostrovsky Square in 1873 a monument to Catherine II was erected. The idea to create a monument to Catherine in St. Petersburg arose a century after the empress came to the throne.
The authors of this sculpture were famous Russian sculptors and artists: Mikhail Mikeshin, Matvey Chizhov, Alexander Opekushin, as well as architects Joseph Grim and Victor Shterer. The stone for the manufacture of a granite pedestal was delivered specially from the shores of the Karelian Isthmus. To do this, I had to overcome the path by water directly to the St. Petersburg Neva embankment. To deliver the stone to the right place, it took to lay the railway tracks.
The sculpture of the empress is 4.35 m high. The monument to Catherine the Second is represented by her towering statue. She holds a scepter in her right hand, and a laurel wreath in her left . The crown of the Russian Empire is symbolically located at her feet , and the order of St. Andrew the First-Called is on her chest .
Companions of the Empress
Their figures are located below around the pedestal, in particular:
- poet and statesman Gabriel Derzhavin;
- Russian military count Alexei Orlov-Chesmensky;
- statesman Count Peter Rumyantsev-Zadunaysky;
- the great Russian commander and our national hero Alexander Suvorov;
- statesman and favorite of the Empress Gregory Potemkin ;
- Russian navigator and admiral Vasily Chichyagov;
- Princess Ekaterina Dashkova;
- President of the Imperial Academy of Arts Ivan Betskoy;
- diplomat Alexander Bezborodko.
It was decided to recreate the monument to Catherine in Simferopol
It was consecrated in October 1890. This monument is represented by a statue of the empress on a pedestal. Near Catherine II there are statues of her associates: G. Potemkin-Tauride, V. Dolgorukov-Krymsky, A. Suvorov and Y. Bulgakov. They made a lot of efforts to make Crimea a part of the Russian Empire, and the city of Simferopol appeared on the peninsula.
This summer, the mayor of the above city announced a decision to restore this historic value. Assistance in the reconstruction of the monument was offered by the sculptor Zurab Tsereteli.
The newly restored monument of the Empress in the city of Krasnodar
It was originally erected in 1907, and in 1920 it was destroyed by the Bolsheviks. The monument to Catherine in Krasnodar was restored and accordingly solemnly presented in 2006.
It was designed in honor of the 200th anniversary of the Kuban Cossack Army (1895) by the famous artist and sculptor Mikhail Mikeshin. The grand opening of this historical heritage took place in the month of May 1907.
Like the monument to Catherine in Odessa, this monument is represented by a statue of the empress on a pedestal. She is dressed in royal porphyry and holds a power and a scepter in her hands. The front part of the pedestal is represented by the Letter of Merit of 1792. To the left of Catherine the Second, against the background of various military banners and military signs, is the Prince and her favorite Potemkin-Tauride, and to the right are the first atamans of the Cossack army: Anton Golovaty, Zakhary Chepega and Sidor Bely. The back of the monument is represented by a blind kobzar with a guide and a list of victories that were won by Russia with the participation of the Kuban Cossacks.
The newly created monument is the work of the sculptor of the Kuban Alexander Apollonov. In the process of manufacturing the monument, he was guided by photographs of the bronze original, as well as models, drawings and archival documents. This monument was made in the art casting workshop of Rostov University.