{{Infobox monument , name = Alexander Garden Obelisk , native_name = Памятник-обелиск в Александровском саду , image = File:Obelisk in Alexandrovsky Garden (1914).jpg , caption = Monument obelisk in 1914 , location =

Alexander Garden Alexander Gardens (russian: Александровский сад) was one of the first urban public parks in Moscow, Russia. The park comprises three separate gardens, which stretch along all the length of the western Kremlin wall for between ...

Moscow, Russia Moscow ( , American English, US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia. The city stands on t ...

, designer = S. A. Vlasev , type =

obelisk An obelisk (; from grc, ὀβελίσκος ; diminutive of ''obelos'', " spit, nail, pointed pillar") is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape or pyramidion at the top. Originally constructed by Anc ...

, material =

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...

, length = , width = , height = , begin = Spring 1914 , complete = 10 July 1914 , open = , dedicated_to = 300th anniversary of the

House of Romanov The House of Romanov (also transcribed Romanoff; rus, Романовы, Románovy, rɐˈmanəvɨ) was the reigning imperial house of Russia from 1613 to 1917. They achieved prominence after the Tsarina, Anastasia Romanova, was married to th ...

, map_image = , map_text = , map_width = , relief = , coordinates = {{coord, 55.7537, N, 37.6149, E, source:wikidata, display=inline,title , website = , extra = The Alexander Garden Obelisk is an

located within the

, near the walls of

Kremlin The Kremlin ( rus, Московский Кремль, r=Moskovskiy Kreml', p=ˈmɐˈskofskʲɪj krʲemlʲ, t=Moscow Kremlin) is a fortified complex in the center of Moscow founded by the Rurik dynasty, Rurik dynasty. It is the best known of th ...

, in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

. The obelisk was initially designed by S. A. Vlasev and erected on July 10, 1914, at the entrance of the garden. It was created as a celebration of the

tercentenary An anniversary is the date on which an event took place or an institution was founded in a previous year, and may also refer to the commemoration or celebration of that event. The word was first used for Catholic feasts to commemorate saints. ...

of the

. The obelisk was moved closer to the center of the garden in 1966. Soon after the

revolution In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...

, by dismantling its parts, the drum was filled with reliefs and counter-reliefs that were then converted into a Monument-obelisk to commemorate the "outstanding thinkers and personalities of the struggle for the liberation of workers". It thus became the first monumental statue of the new state. In 2013, on the 400th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty, the monument was dismantled for the sake of creating a modern replica of the original monument to the Russian rulers of the Romanov dynasty. According to specialists, the original monument was almost lost in the process.

Russian Empire

Made in Vlasieva, the project of the obelisk (under the motto "the Truth") won the 2nd place in a special contest titled "Project of the Monument-Obelisk to Commemorate the 300th Anniversary of the Romanov Dynasty" in 1912, which was celebrated in 1913. Money for its construction came from the city; up to fifty thousand

rubles The ruble (American English) or rouble (Commonwealth English) (; rus, рубль, p=rublʲ) is the currency unit of Belarus and Russia. Historically, it was the currency of the Russian Empire and of the Soviet Union. , currencies named ''rub ...

was allocated by the Moscow city

Duma A duma (russian: дума) is a Russian assembly with advisory or legislative functions. The term ''boyar duma'' is used to refer to advisory councils in Russia from the 10th to 17th centuries. Starting in the 18th century, city dumas were for ...

. Since the initial plan did not gain the approval of the Academy of Arts and Vlasyevo, it took some time to correct the shortcomings as direct work on the construction of the monument only began in the spring of 1914. The solemn ceremony of a bookmark, which was attended by representatives of various social classes omm 1 was held on April 18, 1914. During the laying of the first stone of the obelisk, in it had a basis of V. D. Bryansk, the second A. A. Adrianov, the third Prince N. N. Odoevsky-Maslov, fourth Earl N. L. Ants and fifth — N. I. Guchkov. The ceremony was ended with the threefold singing of

God Save the Tsar! "God Save the Tsar!" () was the national anthem of the Russian Empire. The song was chosen from a competition held in 1833 and was first performed on 18 December 1833. It was composed by violinist Alexei Lvov, with lyrics written by the court poe ...

, the national anthem of Russia. "Leading to the Alexandrovsky garden from Voskresenskaya Square gate and surrounding iron fence were decorated with national flags. Near the obelisk, closer to the Kremlin wall, there was a small elevation, beautifully draped with garlands of greenery; on the dais was placed Muscovites revered relic — the miraculous

icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The most ...

of the

Iveron Mother of God The Monastery of Iviron ( ka, ქართველთა მონასტერი, tr; el, Μονή Ιβήρων, Monḗ Ivirōn) is an Eastern Orthodox monastery in the monastic community of Mount Athos in northern Greece. History The mona ...

. Along the entire length of the alley of the Boulevard stood the rows of cadets of the Alexander, Alexis and Tver cavalry school and part of the troops of the Moscow garrison with orchestra music." Obelisk in Alexandrovsky Garden (1914)

At half-past 11pm, Reverend Demetrius and Bishop of Mozhaysk, assisted by the Deputy Spiritual Department in the city, Duma Archpriest N. S. Vinogradov and other clergy had given thanks with the blessing of water to the singing of the choir of the

Cathedral of Christ the Savior The Cathedral of Christ the Saviour ( rus, Храм Христа́ Спаси́теля, r=Khram Khristá Spasítelya, p=xram xrʲɪˈsta spɐˈsʲitʲɪlʲə) is a Russian Orthodox cathedral in Moscow, Russia, on the northern bank of the Mosk ...

. Before the end of the

molieben A Paraklesis ( el, Παράκλησις, Slavonic: молебенъ) or Supplicatory Canon in the Byzantine Rite, is a service of supplication for the welfare of the living. It is addressed to a specific Saint or to the Most Holy Theotokos whose ...

his Eminence Dimitri spoke a word, that indicated a high significance of the monument erected, which is continually broadcast to the residents of the mother, seen of great service to Russia of the Reigning House of Romanov. The thanksgiving ended with the proclamation of many years to the Emperor, the Empress, the Crown Prince and Heir to the entire Russian Royal House and the eternal memory of resting in the Lord crowned members of the Romanov family. After that, Bishop Demetrius ascended the steps of the monument and sprinkled

Holy water Holy water is water that has been blessed by a member of the clergy or a religious figure, or derived from a well or spring considered holy. The use for cleansing prior to a baptism and spiritual cleansing is common in several religions, from ...

on all four sides. The choir sang the national anthem. Then there was a parade in the garden of the troops. The parade was commanded by the commander of the 1st Grenadier brigade, major General Holmsen. The parade commander of the Moscow Military district the General-of-cavalry P. A. Pleve, appearing in the middle of the front troops, proclaimed a toast for your Adored Sovereign Master of the Russian Land of the Emperor and the whole Reigning House. The troops, taking "on-guard" position, replied with thunderous, long smolkowski cheers; the orchestra played God save the Tsar! Then, General P. A. Pleve declared a toast to the prosperity and welfare of the city of Moscow, built a glorious monument, "Wow Moscow!" — said General Pleve, and in response to this, there was a mighty Bang; the orchestra played the March of the Transfiguration. I. D. mayor, V. D. Bryansk on behalf of the city of Moscow thanked the General P. A. Pleve and proclaimed a toast. Then the troops were overlooked by the ceremonial March. General P. A. Pleve thanked valiant and held a military unit" ("Moscow news" No. 134 – June 11, 1914).

Original appearance

The memorial was erected in the Upper Alexander garden near the main gate, leading from Voskresenskaya square in the Alexander garden. The monument consists of two parts. Foursided obelisk of Finnish

was crowned with a

double-headed eagle In heraldry and vexillology, the double-headed eagle (or double-eagle) is a charge (heraldry), charge associated with the concept of Empire. Most modern uses of the symbol are directly or indirectly associated with its use by the late Byzantin ...

. At the top of the obelisk sits the

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...

of the Romanov

boyars A boyar or bolyar was a member of the highest rank of the feudal nobility in many Eastern European states, including Kievan Rus', Bulgaria, Russia, Wallachia and Moldavia, and later Romania, Lithuania and among Baltic Germans. Boyars were sec ...

— a

Griffin The griffin, griffon, or gryphon (Ancient Greek: , ''gryps''; Classical Latin: ''grȳps'' or ''grȳpus''; Late Latin, Late and Medieval Latin: ''gryphes'', ''grypho'' etc.; Old French: ''griffon'') is a legendary creature with the body, tail ...

with sword and shield. Below were inscribed the names of the kings and emperors of the Romanov dynasty from

Mikhail Fyodorovich Michael I (Russian: Михаил Фёдорович Романов, ''Mikhaíl Fyódorovich Románov'') () became the first Russian tsar of the House of Romanov after the Zemskiy Sobor of 1613 elected him to rule the Tsardom of Russia. He ...

Nicholas II Nicholas II or Nikolai II Alexandrovich Romanov; spelled in pre-revolutionary script. ( 186817 July 1918), known in the Russian Orthodox Church as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer,. was the last Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Pola ...

(except for Ivan VI Antonovich; after " Empress Anna Ioannovna" comes " Empress Elizabeth Petrovna"). The cubic base had a relief of Saint George and the small coats of arms of provinces and regions of Russia in shields. "Romanovsky obelisk is erected under the project of architect S. A. Vlasiev in that part of the Alexander garden, which is next to the Voskresenskaya square. For setting the composition of the monument represents a cubic pedestal, on which stands the obelisk, ending in a gilt bronze double-headed eagle. The whole monument rests on two plateaus that are elevated at 0.60 fathoms above the surface of the earth. The monument is constructed from grey finish granite with embossed inscriptions, coats of arms and ornaments. The upper part of the monument (obelisk) is made of seven monolithic granite pieces and the lower one of granite-faced slabs. The obelisk crowning the double-headed eagle is from cast bronze, chased and gilded. In the inscription on the obelisk are the names and patronymics of all the kings and queens throughout the tercentenary of the House of Romanov in chronological order, beginning with Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich and ending with the name of the reigning Sovereign Emperor. On the upper part of the anniversary inscription is the coat of arms of the House of Romanov, and on the pedestal is an inscription reading: "In memory of the 300th of the accession of the House of Romanov" and the coats of arms of Moscow, Kazan, Astrakhan, Poland, Siberia, Georgia; the United Coats of Arms of the Grand Duchies of

Kiev Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

Vladimir Vladimir may refer to: Names * Vladimir (name) for the Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Macedonian, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak and Slovenian spellings of a Slavic name * Uladzimir for the Belarusian version of the name * Volodymyr for the Ukr ...

Novgorod Veliky Novgorod ( rus, links=no, Великий Новгород, t=Great Newtown, p=vʲɪˈlʲikʲɪj ˈnovɡərət), also known as just Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the ol ...

, arms of the

Grand Duchy of Finland The Grand Duchy of Finland ( fi, Suomen suuriruhtinaskunta; sv, Storfurstendömet Finland; russian: Великое княжество Финляндское, , all of which literally translate as Grand Principality of Finland) was the predecessor ...

" ("Moscow news", No. 90 – April 19, 1914)

The Soviet period

Adopted after the October revolution,

Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 19 ...

's plan of monumental propaganda involved the demolition of "monuments in honor of tsars and their servants" (the decree of the CPC 12.04.18 G. "On removing monuments erected in honor of tsars and their servants and the elaboration of projects of monuments of Russian Socialist Revolution") and the construction of a large number of monuments and memorial plaques in honor of the fighters of the revolution of all times and peoples. The obelisk in the Alexander garden, without being physically liquidated, embodied both sides of Lenin's plan — it was turned into a monument to the leaders of the

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

and

Communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

thoughts and their precursors. During August–September 1918, according to the decision of the city Council Executive Committee, dated August 17, 1918 under the direction of architect N. A. Vsevolozhsky, the obelisk was altered: * the eagle from the peak was removed (with the help of the Latvian Riflemen) * emblems with the Foundation were removed (

cartouche In Egyptian hieroglyphs, a cartouche is an oval with a line at one end tangent to it, indicating that the text enclosed is a royal name. The first examples of the cartouche are associated with pharaohs at the end of the Third Dynasty, but the fea ...

and shields from the coats of arms preserved) * in the central cartouche, the image of

Saint George Saint George (Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldier ...

was replaced with the inscription "R. S. F. S. R." and "

Proletarians The proletariat (; ) is the social class of wage-earners, those members of a society whose only possession of significant economic value is their labour power (their capacity to work). A member of such a class is a proletarian. Marxist philo ...

of all countries, unite!") * the names of the kings of the needle of the obelisk were shot down. In their place a list was put of 19 social thinkers and political figures, approved by Lenin. The list of names was entrusted to a prominent Bolshevik, Vladimir Friche. The order of the names is not chronological: the list begins with

Marx Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 p ...

and

Engels Friedrich Engels ( ,"Engels"
''

German Social Democratic Party The Social Democratic Party of Germany (german: Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, ; SPD, ) is a centre-left social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been the ...

(1860) and then the figures of the

utopian socialism Utopian socialism is the term often used to describe the first current of modern socialism and socialist thought as exemplified by the work of Henri de Saint-Simon, Charles Fourier, Étienne Cabet, and Robert Owen. Utopian socialism is often de ...

of the XVI and following centuries, also non-chronologically. The complete list contains five Russians — representatives of different political currents, including subsequently the opposition to Bolshevism (for example, the

populist Populism refers to a range of political stances that emphasize the idea of "the people" and often juxtapose this group against " the elite". It is frequently associated with anti-establishment and anti-political sentiment. The term developed ...

N. K. Mikhailovsky,

anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not neces ...

M. A. Bakunin and Menshevik G. V. Plekhanov). There are no Bolsheviks named on the

stele A stele ( ),Anglicized plural steles ( ); Greek plural stelai ( ), from Greek , ''stēlē''. The Greek plural is written , ''stēlai'', but this is only rarely encountered in English. or occasionally stela (plural ''stelas'' or ''stelæ''), whe ...

(the list included only deceased figures, the last of them, Plekhanov, died the same year as the alteration of the monument). " The alteration of the monument was the actual and symbolic value: a revolution that destroyed the tsarist dynasty destroyed the obelisk that is associated with the glorification of the dynasty, and erased all the names of its rulers" (the magazine of Art, 1939) " The opening of the monument, called "Monument obelisk outstanding thinkers and personalities of the struggle for the liberation of workers", was timed to coincide with the first anniversary of the Revolution and took place in October 1918.

Inscribed names

In order, they are: #

Karl Marx Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 ...

Friedrich Engels Friedrich Engels ( ,"Engels"
'' Wilhelm Liebknecht Wilhelm Martin Philipp Christian Ludwig Liebknecht (; 29 March 1826 – 7 August 1900) was a German socialist and one of the principal founders of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD).Ferdinand Lassalle Ferdinand Lassalle (; 11 April 1825 – 31 August 1864) was a Prussian-German jurist, philosopher, socialist and political activist best remembered as the initiator of the social democratic movement in Germany. "Lassalle was the first man in Ger ...

August Bebel Ferdinand August Bebel (22 February 1840 – 13 August 1913) was a German socialist politician, writer, and orator. He is best remembered as one of the founders of the Social Democratic Workers' Party of Germany (SDAP) in 1869, which in 1875 mer ...

Tommaso Campanella Tommaso Campanella (; 5 September 1568 – 21 May 1639), baptized Giovanni Domenico Campanella, was an Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, theologian, astrologer, and poet. He was prosecuted by the Roman Inquisition for heresy in 1594 and w ...

Jean Meslier Jean Meslier (; also Mellier; 15 June 1664 – 17 June 1729) was a French Catholic priest (abbé) who was discovered, upon his death, to have written a book-length philosophical essay promoting atheism and materialism. Described by the author as ...

Gerrard Winstanley Gerrard Winstanley (19 October 1609 – 10 September 1676) was an English Protestant religious reformer, political philosopher, and activist during the period of the Commonwealth of England. Winstanley was the leader and one of the founde ...

Thomas More Sir Thomas More (7 February 1478 – 6 July 1535), venerated in the Catholic Church as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, judge, social philosopher, author, statesman, and noted Renaissance humanist. He also served Henry VIII as Lord ...

# Claude-Henri Saint-Simon # Edouard Vaillant #

Charles Fourier François Marie Charles Fourier (;; 7 April 1772 – 10 October 1837) was a French philosopher, an influential early socialist thinker and one of the founders of utopian socialism. Some of Fourier's social and moral views, held to be radical in ...

Jean Jaurès Auguste Marie Joseph Jean Léon Jaurès (3 September 185931 July 1914), commonly referred to as Jean Jaurès (; oc, Joan Jaurés ), was a French Socialist leader. Initially a Moderate Republican, he later became one of the first social demo ...

Pierre Joseph Proudhon Pierre-Joseph Proudhon (, , ; 15 January 1809, Besançon – 19 January 1865, Paris) was a French socialist,Landauer, Carl; Landauer, Hilde Stein; Valkenier, Elizabeth Kridl (1979) 959 "The Three Anticapitalistic Movements". ''European Social ...

Mikhail Bakunin Mikhail Alexandrovich Bakunin (; 1814–1876) was a Russian revolutionary anarchist, socialist and founder of collectivist anarchism. He is considered among the most influential figures of anarchism and a major founder of the revolutionary ...

Nikolay Chernyshevsky Nikolay Gavrilovich Chernyshevsky ( – ) was a Russian literary and social critic, journalist, novelist, democrat, and socialist philosopher, often identified as a utopian socialist and leading theoretician of Russian nihilism. He was t ...

Pyotr Lavrov Pyotr Lavrovich Lavrov (russian: Пётр Ла́врович Лавро́в; alias Mirtov (); (June 14 O.S.">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="une 2 Old Style and New Style dates">O.S. 1823 – February 6 anuary 6 O.S. 1900) was a ...

Nikolay Mikhaylovsky Nikolay Konstantinovich Mikhaylovsky () (, Meshchovsk–, Saint Petersburg) was a Russian literary critic, sociologist, writer on public affairs, and one of the theoreticians of the Narodniki movement. Biography The school of thinkers he belo ...

Georgi Plekhanov Georgi Valentinovich Plekhanov (; rus, Гео́ргий Валенти́нович Плеха́нов, p=ɡʲɪˈorɡʲɪj vəlʲɪnˈtʲinəvʲɪtɕ plʲɪˈxanəf, a=Ru-Georgi Plekhanov-JermyRei.ogg; – 30 May 1918) was a Russian revoluti ...

Move

In 1966, the monument, originally located at the entrance to the upper garden, was moved to the center of the upper gardens to the grotto "Ruins" in connection with the construction of the memorial "Tomb of the Unknown Soldier". Just at this place on the 3rd of November, 1918, the first anniversary of the Revolution, was established and stood for several days the concrete figure of Robespierre (work of sculptor B. J. Sandomirsky). But soon the monument was blown up by unknown persons — on the 7th of November, the sculpture was found destroyed. "Northern commune" reported: "the Monument to Robespierre on the night of 6th to 7th of November had been destroyed by someone's criminal hand. The figure of Robespierre, made of concrete, turned into a pile of small fragments scattered around. The pedestal has survived. On a guarded scene and put under investigation". However, another newspaper, "Izvestia", offered another version of the monument allegedly collapsed", due to improper location of the center of gravity of the whole figure of the monument is that it was noticed even when it was being built".

Recent years

The proposal to restore Romanovsky obelisk in its original form to the 400th anniversary of the Romanov house has been repeatedly heard from members of the public, in particular, the Fund's "Return". At the beginning of 2013 Vice-President of Fund "Return" on legal issues, Daniel Petrov said that "another appeal of Fund "Return" on Romanovsky obelisk, mutilated by Bolsheviks and standing in the Alexander garden near the Kremlin wall, finally, gave a preliminary result. The Ministry of culture is ready to consider returning the monument to its historic appearance". According to him, now "the Ministry needs ALL the documentary and historical materials on this monument, including local literature in Moscow". In this regard, he urged Russian historians and ethnographers to connect to this work, and "if anyone has materials on this subject (articles in books, guidebooks, photos before 1918 and after), etc., I am grateful for them sending me to message the Ministry of Culture". May 27, 2013, in the Alexander garden, on visual axis " Manezhnaya Square, the obelisk is the grotto" was erected an entirely new monument to

Patriarch Hermogenes Hermogenes, or Germogen (russian: Гермоге́н) (secular name Yermolay) (before 1530 – 17 February 1612) was the Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia from 1606. It was he who inspired the popular uprising that put an end to the Time of Troub ...

. After nearly a month, July 2, 2013, the obelisk was dismantled for reconstruction, without prior announcement, which caused questions from some residents about its fate. The press-Secretary of Department of presidential Affairs Viktor Khrekov explained that the monument will return to its place by November 4. According to him, the obelisk was dismantled, because "when you transfer to a new place in Soviet times, mistakes were made, which further has led to the fact that the obelisk tilted and began to pose a serious threat to people". A special working group under the Ministry of Culture came to the conclusion that the monument was "necessary to restore and strengthen the foundations". The restoration of the obelisk has been in charge of the company "Alfastroy", questioned for not having the proper license. For the restoration of the monument was found a Karelian marble that was originally used to create the obelisk. At the end of October 2013, the restored monument began to be mounted. Sculptor Nikolai Avvakumov found mistakes and inaccuracies when the restoration took place. In particular, the inscriptions were made standard font Izhitsa Cyrillic, while in some words there is a spelling error; the reconstructed image also does not correspond to the original. At the same time, the photographs of the monument, common on an opening day, November 4, 2013, two of the Avvakumov spelling errors have been fixed (hard sign in the word "memory" has been replaced with soft, added existed in the original text the hyphen in the word "300th anniversary"). Public movement " Arhnadzor" declared that "the restoration of the obelisk took place without any open expert and public discussion of its plan and project", in the end, "the original of 1914 has not been raised, and the original 1918 died in Alexander garden is now showing off a replica, not a monument of any era." Later "Arhnadzor" declared that "carried out in 2013 on the obelisk of work cannot be called restoration."

Popular culture

* Soviet school book to read — A. P. Shikman, "Obelisk in Alexandrovsky garden: lives of the great socialists" (1990) consisted of biographical essays about people whose names were carved on the obelisk. * Dimitry Valovoi & Henrietta Lapshina.
Names on an Obelisk
'. Moscow:

Progress Publishers Progress Publishers was a Moscow-based Soviet publisher founded in 1931. Publishing program Progress Publishers published books in a variety of languages: Russian, English, and many other European and Asian languages. They issued many scientific b ...

. 1983. English-language Soviet book providing short biographies of the persons named on the obelisk. 1914 establishments in the Russian Empire Buildings and structures completed in 1914 Monuments and memorials in Moscow House of Romanov Obelisks in Russia Cultural heritage monuments of federal significance in Moscow